Dad and Linda Come to Visit, and I gave them both a good scare and a fun visit

After having a rough start to their trip (delayed flight because of mechanical problems, switching airlines, getting upgraded to first class and finally arriving a bit later than planned), Dad and Linda finally made it to Phoenix late on May 28.

I had an early appointment the following day for a CT scan just to see where we were with my treatment so I decided to head out myself since Dad and Linda were recovering from the layover and Mark had to go to work. Well, I think that will be the last time I'm allowed to go to an appointment at the hospital by myself. I drank the yucky "apple smoothie" for contrast and had my scan...all uneventful. Until I was I walking toward the exit and a nurse comes running down the hall yelling "Mrs. Ezzell, Mrs. Ezzell, the doctor wants to stay a little longer!"

So I headed back to a waiting room for a nurse to come tell me the CT scan had shown a few pulmonary embolisms in my lungs and one in my iliac vein on my right leg. Um, what? Off they escorted me to the emergency department where I called Mark and Dad. Mark left work immediately and picked up. Dad and Linda to come to the ER. Turns out they were admitting me and administering IV heparin for 24 hours to get stable.

So the whole point of the scan has to see the state of my liver and the official radiology results said there had been a slight increase in the masses. However, after talking to the oncologists, they pointed out that there had been a 3 week break between my first CT scan and first chemo so their belief was had grown in those initial 3 weeks and has shrink some since then. So it was working and not letting the cancer grow! Good news for the week but we'd probably be reevaluating treatment options later. They did notice a spot on my femur and lower spine so they'll be ordering a bone scan soon too. Won't do any treatment unless it starts causing me pain but it will tell them if they need to give me bone strengthening medicines.

I was sent home with boxes full of syringes and told I'd be giving myself blood thinner injections twice a day for the foreseeable future.

The hospital stay didn't keep us down. Dad, Linda and I spent quite a bit of time relaxing on the back patio chatting and having a good time while Marl went to work.

We did make it to the Grand Canyon and Sunset Crater Volcano which were two places Dad and Linda wanted to see and had never seen. On the way, we drove through Sedona and had lunch so they could see the Red Rocks. We even drove them by Slide Rock, which you may have heard in the news recently where the are battling forest fires.

Sunset Crater Volcano

Ripples

Mount Humphreys

Lava

Welcome to the Grand Canyon (whoops, cut myself out)

Dad and Linda at their first Grand Canyon Visit

As far as the rest of the trip, we went down to Old Town Scottsdale for some souvenir shopping. We checked on this bi-annual vintage market called Junk in the Trunk for inspiration for projects to come.

Sadly, I had to return dad and Linda to the airport on Monday afternoon but it was a great visit and we're glad they got to come...even if a day was spent in the hospital.