A bunch has happened since my last post, so let me catch you up on most of it. Denny had his first chemo treatment on June 24. The process wasn't as bad as we expected, and his first few days afterwards weren't that bad. We were encouraged and thinking to ourselves that this wasn't gonna be so bad after all.

Then reality showed up on day 3. And, for what its worth . . . reality can hit pretty hard. For a week, he felt terrible. Fortunately, though, he was able to hold off nausea with magic pills the doctor prescribed, and he didn't have some of the more undesirable symptoms we were warned about. But take my word for it, fatigue can hit just as hard as reality can, and they both knocked him on his butt. I will spare you details - just know that he had several bad days.

As time goes on, however, we see improvement and he feels better each day that is further from the chemo date of June 24. His body is now back to the point where we are thinking that this might not be so bad after all. He doesn't need the nausea medicine right now and pills to relieve pain keep him comfortable. Knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel will help us as he goes through the next round of chemo.

We learned fast that I had to come up with a system to keep track of all the pills, food, fever, misc symptoms, fatigue and pain levels. But that kind of thing is right up my alley, so a log book was created and it works like a charm (if I must say so myself).

I am in awe of Denny's attitude through this. His body is weaker than normal, but his faith is strong. He has so much support from friends and family that it makes me weepy just to think about it. Apparently, I am not the only person who recognizes what a truly special person he is, and for that I am thankful.

So . . . this is where we are as of today: His energy level is up, and he actually has somewhat of an appetite. Yay!!! His Chemo treatment was 12 days ago. He has 3 1/2 more days of chemo pills to take (he takes 4/day) and then he has a week off before beginning the second round of chemo. He is scheduled to have a stint in his bile duct replaced next week, and his next round of chemo will begin shortly after that - the date is yet to be determined since we have to schedule it around a surgery that I have to have week after next.

The love and support we've received from everyone has been overwhelming. Please keep us in your prayers.