The Year: 0001 AT (after treatment)
You may not have realized it, but there are 9,389 cliches about how fast a year goes, about how much has happened, and about how unbelievable it all is.
I'm not opting for any of those. (You're welcome.)
It was about a year ago when Joella finally started to begin feeling better after her epic treatment schedule, which included standard chemo drugs, more pills than she will ever willingly swallow again, derivatives of jet fuel...and an IV pole we lovingly named Lance. And today? Things are better. Her most recent appointments and scans all showed negative results. So...they found nothing abnormal. (Insert: Happy Dance!) Plus, her energy levels have pretty much returned to normal. She can drink through a straw (you laugh, but try having part of your tongue removed and then drink through a straw!). And in many ways, she's back to her pre-treatment self, sans evidence of the nastiness known as mucosal melanoma. She even still laughs at most of my jokes, so I'm thankful for that.
Some things have changed, though. Her sense of taste has been warped. It's not that things taste bad that once tasted good, or vice versa, but things taste...different. Some flavors are more bland; others more robust. She also has full-on curly hair. Before all of this, it was straight. Now? Yeah...not straight. Everyone thinks it's cute. Except her. Although, it's growing on her (ha...ha...ha!!), but I think she'd rather have her straight hair back. Who knows? It may return. Or not. I'm okay with it either way...I still have her around, so I'm thankful for that.
Some things have been enriched. Moments, for one. There are no more fleeting moments. Every day matters. Every conversation matters. Every person we interact with matters, especially our girls. Yes, we still have work obligations, but we both enjoy deep conversations with others no matter where we are, and we both crave moments with family. Seeing our girls grow into wonderful young women swells our heart, and we soak as many of those moments in as we can handle...and we can handle a lot. The best word, at least for me, has become "savor." Which is ironic considering Joella's tastebuds are malfunctioning. But we will take savoring life with each other and our girls over flavors of food. And even though we both firmly believe there is more life to come after this current one because of Jesus, he still promises life to the full...and that includes life here and now on this side of heaven. So we savor everything, and we are thankful for that.
That brings us to now. One year After Treatment. 0001 AT. So far, no more cancer. The doctors won't give an "all clear" because of the aggressive nature of mucosal melanoma until she has been free of it for three years. But we are one-third of the way there. And for that, we are thankful.
I guess 0001 AT doesn't just have to stand for "After Treatment."
It also stands for "Always Thankful."
And we are.
We hope you will join us in our thankfulness, especially during this holiday season. And we thank you for journeying with us and checking in with us over the past year when you were able to see how Joella has been doing. The unexpected notes of encouragement and texts have been great. We have savored those, too.
Our deepest love and thanks to each of you. Next up: 0002 AT.
