Day -9; Yesterday and Today, by Vic

Hi, everyone! Dad was happy to be able to come home on Monday night and spend a couple of days here in Huntsville before returning to Birmingham for a very long time. Yesterday (Tuesday) morning Dad came over to our house to witness a huge dead pine tree be removed from our back yard. Dad has been feeling very tired and generally not good since his first dose of chemo drugs on Monday.

In the afternoon Eva and I went over to Al and Amanda's to hang out with Dad for a while. When we arrived Dad was taking a nap in his room, so Eva and I decided we would take naps too. Dad awoke from his nap to find us both fast asleep on the couches. We eventually woke up and Al and Amanda came home from work. We ordered pizza for dinner and enjoyed delicious chocolate oatmeal cookies, courtesy of Amanda. We wrapped up the night by watching a few episodes of an interesting, but gruesome, documentary on America.

This afternoon Dad had a physical therapy appointment for his left arm, which has experienced some nerve damage from the cancer. He had a different therapist than his usual one, who he really likes, but he said this one was okay too. After his appointment Mom dropped Dad off at our house. When I got home from work around 2:30 Mom, Dad and Eva were here. Mom left and Eva, Dad and I ate popcorn and watched a few episodes of the Simpsons until it was time for Eva and Dad to leave for Birmingham. They have since informed me that they arrived safely at the Hope Lodge in Birmingham. For those who aren't familiar with it, the Hope Lodge is free lodging near UAB hospital for cancer patients and their families. When they arrived, the Hope Lodge was hosting a hotdog/hamburger dinner, which was sponsored by a local urologist's office. At the dinner Eva and Dad met a couple from Decatur, Alabama, Carol and Lloyd, who were also staying at the Hope Lodge. Lloyd is getting ready to begin radiation treatments. After dinner Eva and Dad went for an evening stroll and were caught in some rain. Tomorrow Dad will be going to the hospital to continue his chemotherapy treatments. Dad will be an outpatient for the next few days.