(no subject)

Doing Friday errands lent a sense of normality which was nice for a change. Afterward we decided to leave homemade dinner for tomorrow since I'd not defrosted the ingredients in time. Instead we had pizza in deference to GNO, which didn't happen this week due to folks being out of town. The respite from chaos was brief, however: it looks like I'll be going to Rome from the 10th-13th. We've rescheduled my part of Friday for Wednesday, so at least I won't be missing any time.

Gerry called the doctor today. She said it's hard to gauge, and that Grandpa could have a week, or it could be a month. Not "months", but "a month". She didn't know he was planning on going off of chemo, and warned Gerry that if Grandpa does so voluntarily that they will assume he's given up and no longer treat him (I hope pain killers aren't considered medical treatment for purposes of the exercise), which means Roswell won't even look at him if he does. Provided the storm hitting the northeast lets up this weekend, Gerry and Mom plan to discuss it with Grandpa when they're all in the same room. I just hope Mom doesn't tell Aunt Eileen, who has been known to call Grandpa in hysterics in similar situations in the past. I'd rather he be introduced to the situation by people who are a bit less agitated.

The fun part about this whole thing is that the Roswell trip for his surgery is Jan 9th. Due to USAir's new rules, I can't change an itinerary on or after the departure date. If he doesn't go to Roswell this won't be a problem. If he does, I'll have to hope Mom remembers to call on Thursday to tell me if the surgery is going on. If it is, I need to reschedule since he won't be home for the weekend if the surgery occurs. It's hard to decide what to hope for at this point, other than a minimum of suffering on Grandpa's part.

For those just joining us

If it seems I'm going a bit overboard when it comes to visiting and worrying about Grandpa, please note that for all intents and purposes I could be saying "Dad". I spent most of my childhood, when not in school, staying with Grandma and Grandpa Pilny, and I had/have always been especially close to them even before my parents divorced.

My biological father has been a non-entity in Pamela's and my lives for nigh on 15 years by his own choice (at my Grandpa Shad's funeral he went so far as to have two other girls in the receiving line but not my sister, and said they were his daughters). Grandpa has filled that void, up to and including walking down the aisle with me when I married Andy.