Happy Grandpa

Good news to report. Dad is doing great so far on Temador (oral chemo). He takes it for more or less in alternating 1-week cycles. He finished his first round completely unscathed. No nausea, no excess fatigue. In fact, he has seemed a bit more energetic and downright chipper lately. I don't know if he's processing it well or if his lack of short term memory is keeping him blissfully unaware, but he seems rather upbeat lately. No complaints here.

Baby Ian received his sacrament of baptism this past Saturday night. We had a small private ceremony with mom and dad and Ian's Godparents, Shelby and Selso. The baptism was performed by our dear friends, Deacon Jim and Diane Daniels, who performed our marriage convalidation. It was sincere, moving and spiritually refreshing. Baby Ian was absolutely precious. Pictures will follow soon hopefully.

What makes this event that much more interesting is that dad has admitted to being fond of Deacon Jim - a "man of the cloth" mind you. For those of you out of touch with dad's religious preferences, well, there are none. In fact, I'd go as far as to call him an atheist. It has been my understanding over the years that dad finds religion to be something only for the narrow-minded and unintelligent. He has no concept of spirituality. This has been the center of many a heated a debate between the two of us back in the day. With that said, it makes his interest in Jim that much more remarkable. I see it as a blessing that my dad can not only find friendship in a wise, interesting, educated man like Jim, but that he can see that someone with the traits he holds in great esteem can also go hand in hand with faith. I see a window opening here and it brings me great comfort.

And talk about a blessing..... It turns out that dad has received a grant from a program of the chemo drug company that is going to cover his astronomically high co-pay for the Temador. Otherwise they were looking at a $700-$800 a month expense to get dad this life-saving drug. And the grant is good for 2 years! If the tumor responds to this drug well, he could be on it for years. I still think that pharmaceutical companies are somewhat inherently evil, but in this case, we are so grateful for their charity.