Moving Forward!

Moving Forward may seem like an out of place title because there are so many days when Lee feels like he is making no progress and somehow moving backward.  Today he is into the fifth day post chemotherapy as of Wednesday, July 25.  The past two sessions of therapy seemed to attack his body harder than the ones previously. This extreme fatigue begins on the third day and at first lasted about three days.  Unfortunately, the days of lethargy and fatigue have now stretched into a week or more.  It seems as though he begins to recoup just in time to return for another therapy session that will knock him off his feet once again.

He will continue to return to Duke every other week for his drugs and right now he is on schedule for another CT scan on September 18.  We are praying the results from the future scan will show as much progress in reducing the size of the tumor as the one done in June.  I have said before that Lee Kanipe is the strongest man I have ever known, both in his physical stamina and his mental determination to excel and to win at any and all obstacles that come his way.  As we pray together each morning to begin the day, Lee's prayer is that he asks for another day.  He is not greedy in his request, he is thankful for yesterday, today and sends a request for just another day.

That is what I mean by the title of this blog.  No matter what the circumstances that surround us, particularly Lee, he is always moving forward toward another day to face.  In spite of a future full of questions, Lee continues to take care of his family.  He has become a teacher of sorts, making sure that each of us know and understand so many of the things he has taught us over the years.  I told him I needed to write a short book of "grandadisims" because everything he does is the best and the right way!  We have begun to collect some of those as they are remembered.

So it is that today I will make that fresh peach pie from the large delicious peaches that Lee purchased on Saturday from the local fruit growers in the Vale area.  We will begin planning a time to can tomatoes and maybe green beans from another local farmer. This, another day, will move forward as on all those past days when we have enjoyed the summer months.

More Later............................................................Brenda