Missing the Outdoors

Susie headed off to her chemo treatment this past Thursday like the warrior she is accompanied by her best friend Norma. A dose of Demerol was given with this particular treatment because pain associated with the administration of this drug is pretty intense. The few hours after returning home meant some not-so-pleasant side effects (like fever, chills and more). Within a few hours (fortunately) those side effects were gone but utter and complete exhaustion has parked itself within her and refuses to depart.

This past weekend, San Antonio had one of the most beautiful, spring-like weekends we’ve seen in a long time. If you know my mom, you know that she loves the outdoors so much “Outdoors” should have probably been her middle name. As children she took us on hundreds of hikes through Eisenhower and McAllister parks, several spontaneous trips to Port Aransas, a climb up Enchanted Rock, on a road trip to New Mexico among many other adventures. Suzanne’s appreciation for nature and the outdoors is perhaps one of her most defining and endearing qualities. In fact, if you look at our family photo albums, I’d say a good 80% of our pictures were taken outdoors.

one of our many getaways to Port A

oh the stories we could tell about our trip to New Mexico... an adventure indeed.

a Corpus/Port A trip with our cousins

a family picnic... outdoors of course

this beautiful picture of mom was taken by Becky at Eisenhower park

Cancer and the debilitating side effects of treatment can, at some point, make it nearly impossible to get outside and do something as simple as take in the sunshine. This has been the case for Suzanne for some time now and it frustrates her to no end. This weekend was no exception; perfect temperatures for a hike through Eisenhower Park but feeling like she’d been run over by a tractor made it impossible to do much of anything. She was able to enjoy one dinner out to celebrate stepdaughter Mandy’s birthday and a quick trip to the grocery store on Sunday… and that was the sum total of excursions for the weekend.

In an attempt to build up strength and hopefully offset some of the chest pains she’s been having, Suzanne will most likely get a blood transfusion in the coming days. We will definitely keep you posted on how she does.

Mom has asked me to pass on her sincere gratitude for all of the emails and comments you have left for her. While these last few days have been challenging, I know that your messages of faith, strength and hope give her the grace to carry on each day. And for that, my family and I thank you too.

With love,
Lauren