Home safe

Steve returned late last night from a quick trip to Austin. He returned with shiny teeth and a new hairdo, thanks to the Jones family. He even slept past 7 a.m. There were no adorable children climbing into his bed at 5 a.m.

We had a slight scare the night before he left -- his temperature was elevated. He's normally about 97 degrees. Wednesday night he was 99.4. We've been instructed that a slight fever is actually a high fever in his case because Decadron often masks symptoms of infection.

He paged Dr. M, who responded in less than two minutes. She advised that we watch for other symptoms or a higher reading. Thankfully, his temperature dropped by the end of the night, and he had no other viral symptoms, so we didn't need to make a second call.

His fatigue level is high, and he looks especially wobbly to me this week. We're learning to expect these symptoms with continued chemotherapy, which will last at least five more months if his blood counts cooperate.

We're looking forward to one of our favorite church services of the year -- a Thanksgiving service Sunday night with Christ's Foundry United Methodist Church and sponsoring churches (including ours) at Lovers Lane UMC. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, but this year it takes on even greater significance. Our gratitude list grows daily.