That's right, you read correctly. We're going to Spain. Not today. Not this month. Not even in the next few months. But we are moving temporarily to Spain this year. Apparently. But enough about me.
My mom's status is as follows: the last operation removed nothing but healthy, cancer-free flesh. This is a blessing in the sense that we know that there is no cancer running around in her system trying to start more problems. On the other hand, I suppose she wishes she still had a couple of those healthy lymph nodes and whatnot, right?! Seriously, though, thanks for your prayers and well-wishings, I'm sure the prayers did more than the other, but they're all always welcome.
So I suppose you're asking, "now what?" From what we know now, there's really nothing more to do except keep an eye on the situation and make sure that we keep a watchful eye on things and go in for the regular checkups to make sure there aren't any new issues. Oh, and pray lots. Pray.
Ok, so that's the big deal stuff that's going on right now. You may wonder why we're going to Spain, and I guess it would be nice for me to clarify that. So here's the deal: I'm working on my dissertation right now, on one of the more important Roman cities of Hispania, which is to say Roman Iberia. I don't really like to use the term "Spain" when talking about the ancient world, because this always suggests to people that Portugal isn't very important, when in fact it is just as important as Spain for many reasons. But we are moving to modern Spain for nearly a year, in order for me to be able to continue my dissertation work right on the site, rather than having to jet back and forth several times a year.
I guess that's all I have to say about any of that. We're still working on exactly what Alicia will be able to do in Spain, because at this point we don't know what sort of visa we're going to be able to arrange for her. But she's being very good about all this, and is looking forward to improving her Spanish (as am I my own!) during this really awesome opportunity. Until later, or hasta luego as we say.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Things That Aren't The Way I Want Them
This started out as just a quick update on my foot and the healing process. So here goes: my foot is probably at 100%, because there's no pain, no annoyance, no discomfort whatsoever. The scar feels kind of weird, but I feel perfectly comfortable getting stomped by 250 pound guys in indoor soccer games on occasion, so it must be all better. I think I might have waited about a month longer before returning to my normal running and kicking activities (I think it was 2 months after the operation that I started some more strenuous activities, like running), but otherwise I feel that the surgery and recovery processes were a complete success.
Now for a brief update on my life over the past 4 months. Sometimes, so I have been told, it's healthy (they probably said "therapeutic" or something like that) to express some of one's frustrations, lest they all bottle up inside and come bubbling out at just the wrong moment. Maybe the opposite is also true. I'm not so sure, but being such a positive person has often caused me to explode in torrents of well-wishings and exuberance. Naturally, one can imagine how this might be a problem in many circumstances, so it's imperative that I work to avoid such embarrassing outbursts in the future.
Since I don't really have an exciting list of complaints and frustrations, my faithful internet readers must assume that I have been bottling in everything since my last post, way back in December. I don't have a list of celebrations and rejoicings either. I suppose it depends entirely on how we look at things, but my personal perspective casts a rather negative light on the past few months. Ironically, having introduced the following with that tone, I will start with a very brief description of the most meaningful and amazing experiences of my life, my brother's Brazilian wedding. The members of my immediate family were all able to be present in Brazil in late December to share in the celebration of my brother's wedding to his dream girl. Our family was so well received and hosted by our soon-to-be in-laws that I, for one, would have loved to stay much longer than the 9 days we had.
The wedding itself was in a smallish town in central Brazil, but we still managed to spend some time in Brasília and then in Rio de Janeiro. Our time in Rio was fantastic, I highly recommend a visit to anyone who is willing to take the extra precautions needed in a city that has it all. We returned from our great escape to Brazil just in time to really take advantage of the Chicago winter. I participated in a professional conference there, and we also got to spend some time with a couple of our closest friends while visiting the upper central midwest.
Having finally returned to Cincinnati, I discovered that I left one of my favorite pairs of shoes in Chicago--an excuse to go back, or at least to force Grant to try to visit us sometime! I also discovered that my dissertation had been stubbornly refusing to write itself while I was away, so I was forced to drive myself back into the writing rut. I spent a brief period (merely a month or so) in Spain, adding to my databases full of pottery and small finds, and conveniently missing out on some of the worst weather Cincinnati has seen in decades. Much to my dismay, however, I found myself quite sick for the weeks on either end of the trip, meaning that the enjoyment that one normally experiences upon visiting his home (that's still Portugal) and workplace (Mérida) was largely absent. Actually, despite this unpleasantness, I was able to spend some time with some old friends and colleagues, and because my dad was currently in Angola, I had some good one-on-one time with my mom.
This last fact brings me to a subject I'd really rather not discuss, but I will anyway. My mom was diagnosed last week with tongue cancer. Usually people blame this particular sort of cancer on tobacco or alcohol use, but my mom hasn't really taken advantage of those particular vices in life, so we are left to speculate as to the actual cause of her condition. Her medical team has removed the cancerous lump from her tongue, but today she underwent a second surgical intervention in order to remove a safety margin around the affected area. I don't know anything about these processes, but there is also the possibility that she will get to have some radiation treatments after the operations are all completed, if any of the lab reports come back positive.
Most of my family is probably still more in shock than anything else. It's not every day that you get the news that your mom's going to have a substantial portion of anything removed. I don't expect that the operations will significantly improve my mom's Portuguese, but an adversely affected accent is probably not a major concern, given the alternatives in this situation. I am told that today's procedure went very well, with no complications or problems, and this is the best we could have expected from all we have been told up to this point, so I'm quite relieved. I'll probably be updating this new topic from time to time, but I don't expect to change the title of my blog.
Now for a brief update on my life over the past 4 months. Sometimes, so I have been told, it's healthy (they probably said "therapeutic" or something like that) to express some of one's frustrations, lest they all bottle up inside and come bubbling out at just the wrong moment. Maybe the opposite is also true. I'm not so sure, but being such a positive person has often caused me to explode in torrents of well-wishings and exuberance. Naturally, one can imagine how this might be a problem in many circumstances, so it's imperative that I work to avoid such embarrassing outbursts in the future.
Since I don't really have an exciting list of complaints and frustrations, my faithful internet readers must assume that I have been bottling in everything since my last post, way back in December. I don't have a list of celebrations and rejoicings either. I suppose it depends entirely on how we look at things, but my personal perspective casts a rather negative light on the past few months. Ironically, having introduced the following with that tone, I will start with a very brief description of the most meaningful and amazing experiences of my life, my brother's Brazilian wedding. The members of my immediate family were all able to be present in Brazil in late December to share in the celebration of my brother's wedding to his dream girl. Our family was so well received and hosted by our soon-to-be in-laws that I, for one, would have loved to stay much longer than the 9 days we had.
The wedding itself was in a smallish town in central Brazil, but we still managed to spend some time in Brasília and then in Rio de Janeiro. Our time in Rio was fantastic, I highly recommend a visit to anyone who is willing to take the extra precautions needed in a city that has it all. We returned from our great escape to Brazil just in time to really take advantage of the Chicago winter. I participated in a professional conference there, and we also got to spend some time with a couple of our closest friends while visiting the upper central midwest.
Having finally returned to Cincinnati, I discovered that I left one of my favorite pairs of shoes in Chicago--an excuse to go back, or at least to force Grant to try to visit us sometime! I also discovered that my dissertation had been stubbornly refusing to write itself while I was away, so I was forced to drive myself back into the writing rut. I spent a brief period (merely a month or so) in Spain, adding to my databases full of pottery and small finds, and conveniently missing out on some of the worst weather Cincinnati has seen in decades. Much to my dismay, however, I found myself quite sick for the weeks on either end of the trip, meaning that the enjoyment that one normally experiences upon visiting his home (that's still Portugal) and workplace (Mérida) was largely absent. Actually, despite this unpleasantness, I was able to spend some time with some old friends and colleagues, and because my dad was currently in Angola, I had some good one-on-one time with my mom.
This last fact brings me to a subject I'd really rather not discuss, but I will anyway. My mom was diagnosed last week with tongue cancer. Usually people blame this particular sort of cancer on tobacco or alcohol use, but my mom hasn't really taken advantage of those particular vices in life, so we are left to speculate as to the actual cause of her condition. Her medical team has removed the cancerous lump from her tongue, but today she underwent a second surgical intervention in order to remove a safety margin around the affected area. I don't know anything about these processes, but there is also the possibility that she will get to have some radiation treatments after the operations are all completed, if any of the lab reports come back positive.
Most of my family is probably still more in shock than anything else. It's not every day that you get the news that your mom's going to have a substantial portion of anything removed. I don't expect that the operations will significantly improve my mom's Portuguese, but an adversely affected accent is probably not a major concern, given the alternatives in this situation. I am told that today's procedure went very well, with no complications or problems, and this is the best we could have expected from all we have been told up to this point, so I'm quite relieved. I'll probably be updating this new topic from time to time, but I don't expect to change the title of my blog.
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