Starting the weekend off with help from friends and a pep talk

Our friend Marty came from California to visit this weekend, and we feel very lucky to have his company.  He brought us real tortilla chips, avocados, organic chocolate, and good coffee from California.  He also did three loads of laundry and kept us company for the better part of the day.  My classmate Nina also came over and dropped off some supplies.  In the afternoon, we went to see Shane's surgeon, who said that he is generally satisfied with Shane's progress.  He said Shane needs to eat more and suggested that a small amount of activity each day, such as a walk around the block, would help stimulate his appetite.  With more nutrition, his body would heal faster and Shane would regain some energy.  The surgeon also recommended another CAT scan on Monday to check on Shane's healing and make sure fluid isn't building up again in the area of infection.  The doctor also sensed that we are a bit weary and suggested we take the long view: even though the recovery has been difficult, this will pass and a year from now we won't even remember a time when Shane didn't have an appetite.  He said we should focus on the fact that Shane's pathology report looked very favorable - the chance that Shane's cancer will re-occur is low.