Hello everyone out there,
A few weeks ago we held an appreciation gathering for all of those who have shown so much care and support for my family and I during this very emotional time. Unfortunately I was locked out of my account and only now recovered the original posting, so the content of this was originally written a few weeks ago and is now being expanded upon.
At the gathering we had a great time seeing our friends and meeting all of those faces who had been writing their support but still remained faceless. We cooked our world famous Urzua's chili and home-made BBQ sauce from scratch, had lil' smokies and a ton of hot dogs for everyone. We had a great turn out with people beginning to show up around 2 p.m. and filtering in and out until late into the evening. Even though I was a little drained in the afternoon from my Chemo, I was very uplifted by the company and was able to keep up all night, it was fantastic. I miss having gathering like that and sharing with so many new and existing friends alike. I feel incredibly blessed that with all that has been going on and all I have been through, I can still enjoy a carefree day of just sharing company, experiences and good food with really great people and not feel like I have an illness. I mean, there is no denying I have cancer, but no one really looks at me or treats me like an invalid, which is great. I love that people just accept that no matter what, I'm just Joey. Even those who couldn't make it or live too far away dropped in on our Facebook page and left little messages showing that they were here in spirit.
So many people showed up it was amazing, lets see if I can still remember who all came, From K-9 there was Chris, Kevin, Cody, Dan, Mark and a couple more, also Sara, Shayna and a few more of the wives. CPT Hegge showed up, as did COL Edwards and his wife Vanessa with their son Dylan. Ashley Myers, Tamara Richards, Katy Bowden, Thomas Odeen, Jessica Lynn Estebane-Venturino, Mike Kimball, lots of kiddos, Tony and Summer Lozano, Vanessa Asis-Perrigo, Issac and Christina Bliek, Chris and Amanda and Kayla Sansing, Chaplain Tisher, his wife Shannon and their children, my good friend Wayne Grimsrud, plus a whole bunch of children, our yard was packed. If I forgot anyone else, I apologize, please drop me a line and I'll add you in. It was great. Once we get to Texas and get situated, I want to have more gatherings like that. Already have a few visits lined up for some of my friends and family members to come out and see us.
The day really made me appreciate how much people care and how blessed my family and I really are. Since the diagnosis, Susanna has stopped working in order to care for me and make sure I get to my appts. and what not, and while I have done very well with my treatments, I still have days where i am in a lot of pain or am very emotional, especially now that I am being slowly weened off of my steroids in preparation for my MRI in a couple weeks. In addition we are trying to rent out the house before we leave for Texas and have a lot to do in anticipation of that. Unfortunately I am an emotional mess at times and can be a little unbearable. I am glad that Susanna and the kids are so patient with me as I adjust to this. One of the other big adjustments is getting used to supporting the family on my income alone. With everything packed up and gone, we are very limited on clothes and food and going through our resources like crazy, luckily we have some very good friends here who have offered to help out with use of their washer/dryer to clean our stuff. While I strive to remain upbeat and positive throughout my diagnosis and treatment, I must admit I have experienced the occasional bouts of anger and sadness. However, as I have been slowly reduced on my doses of steroids I have noticed the instances are fewer and a little more far between. I am still bloated like you wouldn't believe but am beginning to feel my strength return and am looking forward to be starting to exercise soon. Overall, I am feeling more good than bad and, as always, am grateful for my family, friends and the prayers and support of everyone out there. Thank you all.
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