To three cool women: J, C, & K

OK, so there are billions of very deserving people out there, but this is dedicated to three of them:

Cindi H., who is right now at Hardwood Hills, Ontario, Canada, leading a UCI race with a crew of fine, fine Canadians. Cindi has been an undying supported of Judy's cause, even though the two have never met in person. Good luck this weekend, scootr!

Kathy J., whose hugs and rubs and good-luck wishes have been more than an inspiration during the TX TMBRA Spring Championship Series, and who is currently staying at the same hotel as I am in Pellham, AL--together with her hubby Alan, aka Jürgen--or is it Jürgen, aka Alan? (Don't read too much into this--A. and I always get mixed up at races because of our superior facial hair!)

And: JuJu herself, who made it through another week of post-chemo and work, was the great wife she is, and built that wonderful graduation cake for Emily--only to leave on Saturday morning for the 24 Hours in the Canyon. She's incredible.

Thanks for all your support, amigas y amigos!

Jürgen

#7 and Memorial Day are behind us

My, how time flies. Memorial Day is already three days past, and Judy's latest chemo treatment was more than a week ago. It was not a very kind chemo as it made her more nauseated than any of the other treatments before, but Judy is a tough cookie.

Over Memorial Day we stayed in town, had good dinners with friends, and rode the bikes. Judy tried to get back into the cycling mood since she will be going to Palo Duro Canyon this weekend to participate in the 24 Hours in the Canyon Ride for Cancer. She has promised me to be sensible and careful and not to overdo it. I can't keep an eye on her since I am writing this from a hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama, where I am as the Secretary for the Bump and Grind UCI mountain bike race.

When I talked to Judy earlier tonight on the phone, she told me that she had finished Emily's graduation cake and that our young friend was just estatic when she saw the objet d'art. Last night we had a little graduation ceremony for Em at Wayne and Lorane's place, and this Friday Emily's family will honor her--and then she'll run off to join Judy at Palo Duro.

That's it for the latest update. I hope to have new photos next time.

Jürgen

Chemo Round #7 Tuesday, May 19

For all of our friends whom we have been seeing over the past few weekends at the races—and all those of you who have been following the blog—comes the latest news: Judy has been given the green light for her penultimate chemo treatment tomorrow, Tuesday May 19. Her platelet count was 103—three itty-bitty, tiny platelets above the minimum of 100 to get chemo. It probably was that last little piece of steak that she ate last night after we got home from X Bar.


Jürgen

No chemo this week

The title says it all: Once again, chemo has been postponed by at least another week. Judy's blood just takes a huge hit every time she has a chemo treatment, and it takes her weeks to recover. she had her lab work done this morning, and once again the verdict is that she'll have to wait until next week.

On the bright side, Judy (and I) had a ball this weekend working the Texas High School Championship races in Amarillo. The kids were super-nice, and the organization and volunteers in Amarillo are incredible.

In the top photo, Judy starts the boys' criterium; in the middle photo, she poses with the top three riders in the girls' crit; and the bottom photo shows her with our long-time friend, the flamboyant Doc Nolan--note the stethoscope around his neck. Yes, he's a real doc.

Jürgen

Between #6 and #7

My, how time flies! It seems as if I updated this blog just yesterday, but here we are, almost three weeks later.

This is just a short update to let you know where we stand: Judy saw Dr. Phillips yesterday, and the lab work hints (but not forcefully) that she will have chemo round number 7 next week Tuesday. Her blood values are down, as usual, but we're hoping that she can get on with the program. Otherwise, it'll be yet another week later.

It came as a little bit of a disappointment when Dr. Phillips mentioned that most likely round # 8 will be the end of chemotherapy proper but that Judy will have to undergo "maintenance" treatment. That means that her port will not be removed for months to come and she will have to continue lab work and check-ups on a frequent basis. At this point we don't have any details whatsoever, but Judy was disappointed as she had hoped to get rid of the port, which is at times uncomfortable and will keep us from going back to our diving days as long as she has it.

Oh well. The most important thing is that we continue the recovery and get rid of the cancer completely, regardless of how long that will take.

Jürgen