Cancer Diary
Update, Mostly About the Weather
2026 has been a whirlwind! During January and February we were in New York three separate times for a total of 32 days. That’s a lot of travel and a long time to be away from home.
I recounted the first trip and the complications with the first clinical trial vaccine in my last blog. The next three vaccines went smoothly, it was the weather that complicated things.
On January 23, 2026 we hurriedly rescheduled our flight to New York in order to get out of Texas ahead of the winter storm arriving that day. We were on the last flight out of Dallas before snow shut everything down. We arrived in New York as a winter storm hit that region of the country also. I was grateful to have made it because the second vaccine of my clinical trial was scheduled for 1/27. This was our second trip to New York this year, my first vaccine was two weeks earlier.
Because of family events, or what I like to call SILVER LININGS, we stayed in New York for twenty-two days, thirteen of those days were below freezing. I was able to get to NYU Langone Medical Center for vaccines two and three in spite of the snow and freezing temperatures.
Another silver lining was getting to bring our grandkids home to Lubbock for the week of their Winter Break. It was wonderful to leave the snow and cold and enjoy 70 degree temperatures in Texas. We even had a “good ole” west Texas dust storm. We flew the kids home on Sunday 2/22, and guess what? We flew directly into the New York blizzard! The pilot in Dallas even announced, “This is your last chance to get off of the plane.” We didn’t have a choice. We had to get the grandkids back for school and me there for my 4th vaccine.
I am very grateful that we made it into New York with no delays or cancellations. The cab ride from the airport to my daughter’s apartment was very “blizzard-y.” The next day the entire city was under a travel ban and schools were closed. New York sure knows how to clean up after a blizzard! We had no trouble taking an Uber to the Medical Center for my 4th vaccine. What a relief. Now that I’ve had what they call the “priming dose,” the every two week vaccines, I am shifting to an every two month vaccine.
We flew home the next day, in the snow, and very much delayed. We missed our connection in Houston, but were booked on the next (and last) flight to Lubbock. It is great to be home!
Now what? Monthly chemo, lots and lots of doctor’s appointments, and a scan (MRI) on Friday the 13th that will let us know what this cancer is doing inside my brain. I am very thankful for all of the prayers and good intentions being sent my way. Keep ‘em coming!
