3,2,1…..Happy New Year! Could it be true, that this is finally coming to end? It appears that our prayers have been answered, we are medically in remission!!!!! A clean MRI of the brain, two clean CT scans, and a PET scan that our physicians are positive is clear (results pending). All a day before the rest of the world begins their resolutions, we have but just one, FAITHFULLY LIVE EACH DAY with MEANING and PURPOSE!!!!!

Our eyes wide open with the reality that life is a gift, one that was threatened so gravely this year. I will never lose the images of Carl fighting that endotracheal tube post surgery. I will never be able to describe the fear in my heart as I waited for 12 hours as he lost his organs. It was more than that, these were the parts that make up much of the man that I love, the person that so many if you love! His stomach is his world, his passion, his career, his life, and most of it has been lost. After stepping away from professional cooking to fight cancer, Carl learned the joys of stay-at-home parenting, and how to slow way down!!!

There have been more recent days where I cried those tears of relief, finally finding some peace as I realize that we actually won this fight! Tears because there are so many people who are not as lucky! I cannot begin to tell you how much I have learned, but most of it amounts to little things in life. The important ones are
Counting our blessings, and slowing down to see all the beauty in our life. For me, remembering to never take for granted the magic of a hug from my husband, because there were months where it was too painful for him to be touched. Or to feel the joy while watching him toss our children, because it too was something that was once taken from him. The sheer magic in praying together as a married couple, knowing and believing that God has you in his arms, and through him all things are possible. I am especially grateful to all of the angels God sent us throughout our journey. Big and small reminders that God’s love is all around us and never-ending! I will think about all of the patients in the Chemo unit, and how their lives are consumed with the fight, praying that they too feel the same love and support that we have been blessed with. I am writing this as Carl is getting his last PET scan. We have one more holiday together before his big return into the working world, where yet again his stomach ( a much smaller version of itself) will be in charge!!! The best is yet to come. A New Year, A New Life, A New Us! The more grateful and faithful us!!!!! Cheers to good health, family, and life!