Chemo--Round Three

I apologize for the lack of posts, I've been consumed with trying to get my life, house, work back in order after my long absence.

My Dad had his third round of chemo on Monday. He drove himself there and back and while it has knocked the stuffing out of him, he said today that he's starting to feel like he's on the road to recovery. He's been fortunate in that the chemo hasn't made him nauseated, just overwhelmingly fatigued. If he's feeling up to it, he'll head back to Munsungan this weekend--it truly is the best medicine for him.

Prior to this round of chemo, he had been in the woods for a week. While he was there, he made beet pickles (pictured), put up over 100 lbs of onions and also put in more wood in for winter. While he still has to take naps through the day, he says he feels stronger each day. The big "wins" are that he's now able to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, egg mcmuffins and pancakes. These are great positive strides and indicators that the chemo is working and shrinking his tumor enough that he can finally eat some solid food. He said he gained over a pound at camp and hopefully this trend will continue. He sounds strong when I talk to him and much like his old self. While I think he gets discouraged that he can't do as much as he would like, I think he's got a great attitude and that he believes that he can live with this....and beat many of the odds!

I am blessed with such an abundance of love and support! I appreciate everyone's concern and questions about how he's doing--I love to share that he's doing well...actually better than we ever expected! I am also a firm believer in the power of prayers and positive thoughts--they are helping more than anyone can know! Please keep them coming!

Love, Hannah

Lessons Learned in Maine

I type this while sitting at my dining room table in Florida. It's my Grandmother Carter's table and it was the host for many Carter family meals. It's good to be back to my life--my animals, my house, etc. But I'm grateful for the time I had with my Dad in northern Maine the past three weeks. I learned some things while I was there....

1. We all need to slow down, unplug from technology and just spend quality time with one another and talk. Life is so filled with distractions and our "to do" lists--we need to make the time for what's truly important--our family and friends. They are what make life what it is--not our iphones, blackberries, computers, etc.

2. No matter how old or how accomplished I may be, I will always be "Hannie" and Jim Carter's daughter. One of the hardest things I've struggled with since my Dad's diagnosis is the thought of not "belonging" to anyone other than my sister if something happened to my Dad. A good friend of mine told me that I belong to a lot of other people and families--which was a great comfort.

3. We all need to have the conversations with our loved ones that we are all putting off in regards to what happens when we die. I learned that the Carter plot in our local cemetary as room for me and "all my friends" as my Dad put--good to know. Hadn't thought that far in regards to my resting place, but glad that we had the conversation that no one wants to have.

4. Work does go on without you. I'm headed to the office tomorrow and know that the Wedgworth Leadership Institute has gone on in my absence thanks to Janice. Through the past few years I've really let work become my life and this time away was a good reminder that I'm not that important.

There are a few more things that I will share in future posts. My Dad called me this morning on his way to town from Munsungan--he sounded just like his old self with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm in his voice. I can't tell you how good it was to hear him like that. He was feeling well and happy to be in the woods. He's enjoying each day and we should all do the same.

Happy it's almost 7pm and still light (it would have been dark an hour ago in Maine!)

Hannah

From Rock Hill, SC

I type this from a hotel room in Rock Hill, SC. My sister, her dogs and I haven't made great time on the drive back to FL. Yesterday we ran into really bad weather and several accidents that caused us to fall behind in our schedule of returning to Florida in two days.

Being in Maine for three weeks lulled me into notions of returning to Maine--being close to family, the beautiful scenery, the familiarity of everything--but I have to admit, when we pulled into the hotel at 7:00 p.m. and it was still light out and 70 degrees, made me thankful for living in the south! I missed the sunshine and warm temperatures!

When I logged onto my computer tonight, I found this picture that my Dad sent me. It made my sister and I smile and I knew I had to share it. My Dad did go into Munsungan alone yesterday with no problems on the ride in. One of the reasons he was so anxious to get there is that he had a hunting party in that he wanted to see--it's a group thats been with him several years--a couple of gentlemen and their boys. Pictured are the young hunters with my Dad. Apparently four of them shot their first grouse today. Their excitement at being at camp was part of the reason why my Dad wanted to get there to spend some time with them. We're happy he there's and enjoying life. Again, it's a lesson to us all. Enjoy each day.

I can't wait to return to Gainesville tomorrow--

Hannah

Heading South

Updating my blog is the last thing on my "to do" list today. My sister and I are all packed and ready to head south at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning.

I arrived in northern Maine three weeks ago tomorrow. When I got here, I was expecting the worse as far as my Dad's condition went and that's what I found. I leave here tomorrow comforted that he's in better shape then when I got here. I know that his cancer is here to stay, he will always have it--but even in knowing that, I have hope. I'm hopeful that he has more time to spend at his beloved Munsungan, I'm hopeful that he is responding to his treatment better than we could imagine and I'm hopeful that he keeps up with his spirit and humor throughout his ordeal.

Everyone keeps asking my sister and I if we have a plan. We honestly don't. As we were sitting in his living room today and he told us that if he felt like it tomorrow, he was going to drive himself into camp (about an hour and a half drive). We began voicing our opposition to this plan--why not have someone drive you in? why not wait another day or two? He said, if he felt like it, he was going to do it, end of story. We realize that he is independent, he is feeling better and if he feels like it, why not? It's much better for him to be there, then it is lying on the couch and flipping through tv channels feeling sorry for himself. So we made him promise he would let us know that he arrived safely, that he wouldn't overdo and that he would take care of himself. And that's all we can do right now. If he's able to be independent, in control and able to enjoy doing the things he loves, he should be able to. When he's not able to do those things, then we'll formulate a plan.

We are incredibly blessed to have so many people here offer to help him and to keep an eye on things. We leave knowing that he has lots of friends and a great support system in place. We have no idea what the future holds, but as I've said each day during the three weeks I've been here--we're just taking things one day at a time. And as a lesson to us all, we should enjoy each day as they come as we never know how many we have left.

So we begin the drive to Florida in the morning. We had hoped to do the drive in two days, but we're afraid some bad weather might slow our progress down. I'm anxious to return home, to my animals, friends and job. I realized today that I've never taken three weeks off of work. While I'm grateful to have had the time with my Dad, I am looking forward to getting back into my routine.

While my Dad is blessed with great people around him, I am equally blessed with incredible people in my life. Thank you all for your support and prayers. It is truly what has been getting me through these past few weeks.

I will continue to update this blog even when I return to Florida so keep everyone informed about my Dad and his condition.

All my best,

Hannah

Munsungan Recap & Second Round of Chemo

I apologize for the one-day delay in my blog update. When I returned from our four days in Munsungan, I needed a day to recover--which meant I didn't go near my computer.

This is a picture of my Dad and I on the front porch of his camp on Saturday (notice I was sporting my Florida sweatshirt in honor of the Gators). We took this picture so he could post it on his blog to herald the news that he was back in Munsungan. For those that know my Dad, you'll note he's lost a considerable amount of weight, but the good news is, since I've been here, he's actually gained two pounds! So we're moving in a positive direction.

The four days we spent in the north Maine woods was the best medicine any one could have given him. He sat in his rocking chair, looking out the window at the mountain and the scenery (which is the top picture on the blog) and entertaining his visitors and three bird hunters from New Hampshire. He has had amazing support from his friends--they have not only kept his spirits up, but they've kept his sporting camp operating through the fall which is his busiest season. I also attached a picture of the main camp at Munsungan, which now sports a satellite dish for internet access, which still amazes me!

It had been a long time since I've spent any time in at Munsungan and I was happy to have the opportunity to share this time with him there. It's obvious how much the camp, the woods and the history of it all means to him.

We returned on Sunday afternoon and he had his second round of chemo on Monday. His doctor cleared him to return to Munsungan as soon as he felt up to it and he already has plans with a friend of his to get back there hopefully this weekend. He again had all day chemo yesterday and came home with a 24 hour pump, which was unhooked this afternoon. If it's anything like the last time, we expect that he'll be wiped out tomorrow and Thursday, but hope that that's the worst. Alix and I plan to begin the trip to Florida on Friday morning and while it will be hard to go, I leave feeling like he's actually better off than when I got here. He planted garlic in his camp garden while we were there and fully expects to be there to harvest it next year--with that attitude, I expect it as well.

Thank you for all the love and support throughout this past three weeks--I am overwhelmed and grateful.

Update from Munsungan

This will be a brief post, but will follow up tomorrow with a longer one and pictures. Had to steal some valuable generator/satellite time to post what an absolutely beautiful day it is in Munsungan. The temperature is 77 degrees with a light breeze and the views from the camp are breathtaking. It has been like grand central station here deep in the north Maine woods, with pick up after pick up coming down the camp road and people getting out to see how Dad's doing. Most are being pressed into service helping haul canoes and docks out of the water, but people are happy to pitch in and lend a hand. The sense of community here is amazing and something that I forget about living in Florida.

Dad is very happy to be here and I think it's done him a world of good! I will probably have to drag him out of here tomorrow as it's suppose to be even warmer. He has his second round of chemo on Monday, so we don't want to play him out too much.

My thoughts are with all my WLI family at the Smoak Foundation event in Lake Placid, next year I'll be there with you all!

Until tomorrow--

Hannah

While not a critter shot, this is a common scene across Aroostook County during this time of year as it's potato harvest season. It's rained the past few days and growers are up agaisnt the clock now as the forecast is calling for temps in the low 20s tonight and tomorrow night with hard freeze warnings in effect. Hopefully most will be done harvesting within the next week. High schools in our county still take a harvest recess break for three weeks so students can help with the harvest.

Today was a good day for my Dad. He was in much better spirits than he was yesterday. I think he's really looking forward to going to Munsungan tomorrow. He's looking forward to seeing some guests, doing some cooking and sitting in his rocking chair next to the camp wood stove. I hope that he continues to feel well and can make the most of his time at camp. While it's suppose to be freezing cold the next couple of days (I type this sitting next to my sister's wood stove as it's only 50 degrees in her lake place right now), it is suppose to warm up to possibly 70 degrees this weekend. We are planning on staying at Munsungan until Saturday evening or Sunday morning and during this time, I won't be posting to the blog. I'll write an update when we return.

For those that are interested in learning about my Dad's sporting camp at Munsungan, please check out his website at: http://www.munsungan.com.

Trying to keep warm,

Hannah

The Big "C"...

And I don't mean cancer. Today's "C" word is cranky, which is what my Dad was today. I don't blame him and I certainly expected him to have a bad day, but it was a little brutal being on the receiving end of his crankiness--thankfully my sister was right there with me!

We did have an oncologist's appointment today and again, were struck with the level of care and competence his oncologist has--she is truly amazing! While the chemo did "knock the stuffing" right out of him as far as being fatigued, he was fortunate that he didn't experience much nausea at all. Dr. Kirtani (his oncologist) did warn us that a second wave of nausea might hit and that it will take 2-3 chemo treatments before they will know if it's shrinking his tumor at all. That's the goal for chemo--to shrink his tumor so he can eat more solid foods and to maybe buy him a few more months. We're hopeful for both. He had a feeding tube inserted several weeks ago which was necessary as the only foods he can eat are ice cream, yogurt and Ensure shakes.

If he feels better in the next day or two, then I will take him into Munsungan--his sporting camp. I think the change of scenery will do him a world of good. His camp has been completed booked this fall for moose, bird and deer season and he is so fortunate that several people have stepped up and stepped into running his camps for him. This has been really hard for him to turn the reins over to other people (maybe I know where some of my control issues are from), but he has and is able to accomodate all the guests who have had long-standing reservations. He receives emails on a daily basis from friends and former (and current) guests who send their support and prayers. These have gone a long way to perk him up. If we are able, we'll spend 2 nights in camp. I'm borrowing all the warm clothes I can since temperatures the next few nights will be in the low 20s. If we do go into Munsungan, I won't be able to post much due to the internet connection, but I will report when we come out of the woods.

Thank you all for the continued thoughts and prayers--

Hannah

Survived hunting season

Figured if I put critter sightings in the title, I should start off with one. The picture doesn't do him justice, you'll have to believe that the moose featured here was a rather good size creature (i.e. if we met him going 50 mph on the road, he would have won the duel with the Honda Pilot). He lived to grow another year as this photo was taken the day after moose season ended and within a mile of a tagging station.

The past week was perfectly perfect as far as the weather and foliage went, this week it has gone down hill. There are snow flurries in the forecast for tomorrow night and the leaves have definitely lost their vibrant colors. I'm borrowing sweatshirts and warm clothes as I didn't come prepared for winter weather. In the week I've been here, we've also lost almost an hour of daylight--another reason I live in Florida!

This past week has had held some highs and lows in regards to how my Dad is doing. On Tuesday he had his first chemo appointment. It was an eight hour process in addition to him leaving hooked up to a small pump giving him another dose for the next 24 hours. On Wednesday, he surprisingly felt pretty good--good enough to go grocery shopping after we took him back to the hospital to have the pump unhooked. From Thursday on though, it's been pretty much downhill--which we were warned about. The biggest side effect they said would be overwhelming fatigue and they were right--even though I think my father thought he wouldn't feel any side effects. We are hoping that he might start feeling a little better as he desperately wants to go into Munsungan (his beloved sporting camp) this week and I agreed to take him in for the night and am hopeful we can make the trip. We have an appointment with his oncologist this afternoon so she can see how he's handling the chemo. Even though it's northern Maine, he hit the doctor jackpot with his oncologist. I was struck by her confidence and competence and it doesn't hurt that she's "a looker" as my Dad says!

I feel very far removed from my life in Florida and my job--but I've learned a valuable lesson--to not feel like I have to keep up with the rat race and be consumed by my job. Even though I dearly love what I do, it's not as important as taking the time to stop, enjoy the moment and the people who share those moments with you.

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. They mean more to me than I'll ever be able to convey.