Saturday, October 27, 2007

The day after chemo and the Free Boat

Hello all,
Candace is pretty zonked post chemo again so I am filling in and posting for her. She has started a post but has yet to publish it. Stay tuned.
We had a very busy week last week, both with work and a little bit of fun thrown in on the side. Candace and I were given a free boat last weekend and the big move to store it at our house was on Friday at the same time as Candace's chemo. So we had a "ask a friend to drive to chemo day" while Dennis moves the boat. Candace called on my "boat mom" and all around good person Wendy Ford to drive her down to Brunswick at 8:00 am. Here is a shot I took when I finally arrived to relieve Wendy at Camp Chemo.


Blood counts were up a little from last week so that is good. It is the first time we have seen them go up since the treatment started. Her white count is still quite low so still no hugs or crowded places for a while. She also got her flu shot after chemo so lets hope it works. We don't need to get the flu during treatment.
You can see Candace has truly set up camp, complete with stuffed animals, water bottles and lunch.
The chemo side effects seem to be a little different each round. This time she had slight nausea and was very tired right after treatment. The nausea seemed to get better after she took her meds but she slept for 15 hours straight before she got up this morning to greet her parents. After watching her mom clean the bathrooms and vacuum (thanks Carol) we had a marathon watching of Lifetime weekend movies (not for me, I cleaned the basement) and a nice dinner of chicken soup and salad. That was the day for Candace and she went to bed at 8:00 to get rested up for our mini vacation to my family's summer place in the Rangeley lakes. Should be very restful. I am sure we will have some pictures to post as Candace can't go up without her camera.
Speaking of pictures here are some shots of our FREE boat from Craigslist. It was right down the river from our house and fit all our needs for a weekender so we had to go for it. I want to thank Chip for his generous gift and Garth and Carlos for their help getting it home. Candace and I had a nice trip up the river to the public landing but we had no wind so it was the motor for us. We will sail it next year after much cleaning and painting.

Rowing out to pick it up

Boy there are a lot of rocks in this river!

Up the Weskeag River

In our Yard!

OK, so I know all our boat friends are chuckling at us owning a boat like this but I have to remind them of a few things. It was free (thanks Chip), We don't have a boat we can weekend in, It was free.
So the boat is named Oyster, but we are going to go against tradition and rename it. Here is where we could use some help and if your name is chosen you will win a sail with us next summer! OK, you can probably come for a sail anyway but we do want your ideas.
That's it for now, tomorrow is a new day!
Dennis

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi guys-
A new name for the boat eh? Deja Vu, Cancer Survivor (a little long for this size boat perhaps?), Wet N' Wild, Carpe Diem...y'all hang in there and my best to you both-
Bridget

Kelly Kane said...

First of all, I LOVE Candace's haircut, seriously!! It looks great!

As for the boat name... hmmm.... Cease The Day? Or Serendipity? If you Google boat names, you can find lists! Best of luck on your hunt, and maybe I'll sign myself up for next summer, afterall, you're not too far from me :)

Hope you're all doing well!

XO
Kelly

Anonymous said...

Ooh, ooh... Hodgkin's Warrior Princess (the HWP)!! And Sean and I want a ride - I know it only comfortably sleeps three, but we're all family, so we'll deal, right? If I think of any other fun boat names, I'll let you know.

Anonymous said...

New name idea: La Conquistadora

Unknown said...

Boat name: "Safe Port"
Get it. Port. I'm way to punny for my own good.
Muah!

Anonymous said...

I love it. My children got a "free boat" and that is what they called it "free boat". I like the name Melanie
chose "HWP". "The HWP" has a certain ring to it. You are going to love it.

After all, "Who would sell the farm and go to sea?"

Enjoy and God Speed,
foghornbarb

Anonymous said...

Dear Dennis and Melanie,

I thought of another name for your boat, Joie de Vivre, Joy of Life or Living.

Love,
Mamacita

Candace Kuchinski said...

MOM! You are hilariously confused! I think you've mixed up your daughters' relationships! "Dear Dennis and MELANIE" ?????? Ha,ha,ha. I know what you meant. Gotta tell Melanie that our mom has lost it :)

Anonymous said...

Well, I AM the other woman. ;)