Valerie started writing this sometime in August 2021, and finished it the night Eli graduated. Death Sentence I wish the memories weren’t so vivid. But here we are, with clear names, dates, and events all trapped in my head. It was Halloween (2018), not when it started, but when the first death sentence came. My …
I thought up the title for this post months ago, knowing the final destination, but not knowing how long it would take to get there. Eli is still with us, but I can tell it won't be for much longer. I have sought to learn what to expect here at the end of the road, …
Radiation Eli finished his radiation Wednesday, October 13th. He had some increasing pain in his back, so he had previously been unable to lay down on the table long enough for the radiation. So, I gave him all the pain meds at my disposal (maybe 5 or 6?) and he was able to finish. Eli …
For the longest time, when asked how he was doing, Eli's response was "Same as always". In his mind, this response made perfect sense since he felt generally well and that was the same as he always felt. It bugged him to always be asked the same question by every medical person who rotated in …
View as we drove away from radiation treatment As Eli and I were driving home from the couple of appointments he had today, we were greeted by pouring rain, pounding hail, thundering lightning, glowing sunshine, and a stunning rainbow. As I pondered the visits with doctors and staff, I realized the weather was a perfect …
Sir Eli the Boss Last Thursday, August 26th, our friend Erin texted me to see if we were going to the Utah Renaissance Faire, which was starting the next day. We've been attending for a number of years, but with Eli's declining health, I had decided not to go this year and I hadn't even …
Since my last post, I have come to think of each day as a good day or bad day for Eli. Saturday and Sunday were "Bad" days, while Monday was a "Good" day. Today? A little bit of both. What is a bad day? This is a day where Eli is too tired to engage …
Since the very beginning of this journey, the thing that has made it bearable and even beautiful has been the support from our community, near and far. Cancer is a terrible disease, but it has brought about the best in everyone around us. Past grievances just faded away and we have been surrounded by love. …
I wrote this post in October 2020 after September's round of radiation. I never managed to publish it, but no time like the present. This is one of Eli's wishes that I'm surprised didn't happen sooner. With a busy schedule and a failed attempt or two to schedule a battle with Nerf guns, this feat …
I shouldn't be surprised by the complexity of getting some prescriptions filled, but even so, it shouldn't be as difficult as it is. When we were trying to get Eli discharged from the hospital last Friday, July 30th, the only thing holding us up was getting a prescription filled. We had been transitioning from a …
Eli The Boss 