Happy New Year

I, like you, have checked the blog on a daily basis to see if my mom has written. After a day or two she usually logs on to tell us about her week, but this time I have noticed that we are almost to a week and I know that many of you are wondering if something is wrong. I wanted to take a few minutes to fill everyone in on the last week.

Since mom last wrote, there haven't been any medical updates. No news can sometimes mean good news, so we are fine with that. My mom hasn't had much of an appetite lately and that has been a little bit of a problem. She isn't nauseous, she just has difficult eating because she is always coughing. When she coughs as much as she does it's impossible to eat without vomiting. We've had some family discussions about staying on top of the food issue because her lack of food and/or water is affecting her ability to absorb her medicine properly. For those of you who have spoken with Dor on the phone the past week or so, you probably know what I'm talking about. She often sounds like she is heavily drugged up and has a difficult time holding a conversation for very long without falling asleep. It can be scary at times to hear her that way. With that being said, I know she is careful not to take too much medicine. She is very much aware of what she is doing, she just has a difficult time getting enough food into her system... but we are working on that.

My dad seems to be feeling alright this week, or at least he hasn't said anything that would make us believe otherwise. He took mom out for New Year's Eve so she could get out of the house and enjoy time with friends. She hadn't left the house since Christmas and with the weather being so dark and gloomy these days, I think he realizes how important it is to keep both of their spirits up. Jake & Megan spent the past week in San Diego and Dave and Val were in Eastern Washington so it was a quiet house for the most part. Sometimes quiet can be good, but this week, I think quiet was a little too quiet for everyone. I firmly believe that everyone, especially my parents right now, benefits from good company and smiling faces on a regular basis. I probably don't tell Jake and Megan thanks nearly as often as I should. I know they do a lot around my parents house and it certainly doesn't go un-noticed.

So, that is what you've missed from the past week. Mom has had better weeks, but she seemed upbeat on the phone today so maybe we are heading in the right direction. Dad is feeling pretty good, but some of that might have to do with the numerous college football bowl games that seem to be on every channel. As for the rest of us, we are hanging in there and remind each other daily how lucky and grateful we are.

After watching Farrah Fawcett's documentary back in May I had been wanting to read the book that just came out about her journey with cancer. I finally bought the book a few days ago and found that I couldn't put it down. I don't know much about Farrah Fawcett, but I will tell you, she sounds like a courageous woman who endured more than any of us could imagine, while doing her best to keep it out of the tabloids. She had dozens and dozens of surgeries and still continued to live life to the fullest. Reading the daily journal entries from the last three years of her life, I learned a lot. So many times I would read something and smile because I have literally said the same thing or felt the same exact way. As I was nearing the end of the book, there was a wonderful quote that put everything into perspective for me. It said, "Fear doesn't stop you from dying; it stops you from living". So that my friends is how I will leave you this evening. I encourage you to fear less and live more.

Sending our best from the Schmitt family to your family-
Happy New Year-
Amy