Yes, Really! One Year!

Today marks exactly one year since Justin’s grueling, 18-hour surgery and I find myself at an utter loss for words.

Wow. What a year. From this.

We were told it would be tough. Certainly not a journey for the faint of heart.

But my champion rose to the occasion.

I haven’t had a post in many months. Apologies. However, we’ve had the fortune of not having much to update. Since last fall, Justin has continued his recovery, gained strength and stamina, and has kept his unwavering optimism and hope.

He continues to have routine CT scans, iron transfusions, doctor and dietician appointments, and the occasional fluids infusion when hydration becomes challenging or a pesky virus finds refuge in his GI tract. His weight continues to hover around 150 lbs, which is still nearly 60 lbs (more than 27 kg for my metric friends) lighter than before, but Justin has embraced his smaller frame and has begun lifting weights to tighten and tone. Woo-woo! The largest toll was the muscle mass in his legs. Building this back becomes troublesome as those muscle groups devour quantities of calories that are difficult for him to absorb. Slowly but surely. Our Yarbrough motto.

We did have one scare towards the end of last year. A routine CT scan showed nodules in Justin’s right lung and the doctors were quick to assume the worst… metastasized cancer. I distinctly remember feeling the blood drain from my head. And I maybe could have handled myself a tad better at that appointment, yet, I am only human. Justin on the other hand, with his grace and stillness, said to me, “I’m not worried.” He chose to wait two months for a follow-up scan before undergoing additional testing.

Talk about a stressful two months!

But alas, at the end of January, another scan indicated that the spots were not likely cancer. Justin has his next scan soon (23 April) where we anticipate further dissolution of the lung issue and little volume growth or stability of his known tumors.

In the mean time there has been lots of living! Hallelujah!

And not quite as much working. Double hallelujah! He stays busy, but has some extra free time for the little things that mean so much.

As you would expect, there are good days and bad, highs and lows. But in these last couple of weeks, a month even, there has been a marked uptick in Justin’s overall being. I see energy and enthusiasm more and more each day.

I know there is so much going on in the world and in each of your lives and I cannot possibly thank you enough for your thoughts and prayers for Justin and our family. Please, with all of my heart, I ask you to continue your prayers for him.

He’s my best friend.

My love goes out to each of you,

Christina

P.S. Roll on spring! Finally!