“What’s new? How’s the world treating you?” -Frank Sinatra (Johnny Burke wrote the lyric)
It has been an eventful few weeks since the last update.
I had a rough weekend before Christmas. I mentioned at a card game with some friends that I wasn’t feeling particularly great and that my goal was to stay out of the Emergency Room. I made it all the way to Sunday, December 22, before I had to head in for a potential bowel obstruction. The doctor shared the best radiology results we could ask for, “no acute findings.” I was sent home with a regimen of Miralax and instructions to eat some bacon or White Castles to help get things moving.
We weren’t too sure how Christmas would be different in the midst of our cancer journey, but it was good. We had to scale back on our normal activities and prioritized four things: Christmas Mass, Christmas Dinner, enjoying a quiet Christmas Day, and spending time with both the Behan and Wright extended families. A particular joy was that I was asked to substitute for one of the accompanists at our parish and I played organ and piano for Christmas Eve Mass for the first time in five years.
SURPRISE! Our van died the day after Christmas. We were coming home from running some errands when the van downshifted hard, and then struggled to go. I’m confident all seven of our guardian angels were outside pushing the van as we somehow made it from the exit ramp uphill to a parking lot. After weighing the starting cost of repairs against the life and worth of the van, we decided it was time to bid farewell to the van and look for a new vehicle. Keep in mind, the last time we shopped for a vehicle of any sort was in spring of 2013. Things have certainly changed. By the end of the day on the 27th, we ordered a vehicle and are currently shuttling all seven Wrights where they need to go through an odd dance of logistics (and with the help of my parents and Beth’s). When will the new vehicle arrive? Not soon enough. How are we paying for it? We’re not 100% sure, but we’ve learned a lot of lessons in trust this past year and we’re ready to trust again.
The new year started off with a fun and exhausting, work trip that was luckily cut short. I was in Salt Lake City for the FOCUS Seek25 Conference and was able to conduct several interviews and record a few podcasts on location. A heavy mix of snow and ice forecast for St. Louis led me to cut the trip short and fly home a day and a half early. It turned out to be a very wise decision. A particular highlight of this trip was getting to spend some time visiting with Servant of God Michelle Duppong’s parents and with the postulator and president of Michelle’s Cause for Canonization.
The kids started the new semester a few days late thanks to the snow. This was not unwelcome given the van situation. They are back in classes though, and the “normalcy” is appreciated. We’re still battling the snow and ice. Hopefully it will melt today.
Here is the unexpected part. I noticed that one of my doctors added a telemedicine appointment to my schedule. I’m always happy to participate as I usually have a question or two I’m saving for a future appointment. I don’t want to go into too many details, but the bottom line is this: I’ve had 9 months of MRCP scans that have showed zero change in the tumors in my liver. They are the same in number, size, and location. New doors for treatment may open up this year if my March scan yields the same result.
I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but I’m asking everyone to pray for stable disease with no growth/no new tumors. It could lead to some game changing options.
As always, thank you for your prayerful and financial support of our family during this time. We’ve had to dip into the GoFundMe as we settled up all of my insurance claims for missed work during 2024. It was a great comfort to know we had a safety net as we navigate medical bills, reduced income, and the expenses a life with five kids entails. Please keep praying for us. We will keep praying for you!
Sincerely,
Adam Wright