The Waiting

Ruth and Cheryl arrived in Kansas city after spending a not so restful night in the Denver airport. :) (Standby sometimes really is just that:) After showers and naps Mom was able to start meeting all of the 7 brothers and sisters and 15 nieces and nephews. It was a happy household and over the next few days Ruth and Cheryl found their spot in the Reno clan. Will told Ruth he wanted to start to look for rings. Ruth still wasn’t sure if this meant he wanted to get married now or later. Will thought this was obvious. Oh the difference between men and women!
June 23rdwas their one year anniversary. Will took Ruth out to Ruth’s Chris steak house and they enjoyed dinner and conversation. Ruth went to the bathroom and came back to find 12 roses on her chair. Will had never given her red roses except for the time he told her that he loved her. Will got down on one knee as he asked Ruth to be his wife. There were a few teary eyes and Will’s brother popped out from the restaurant to reveal he had been taping the whole thing. What a special memory to have on tape! Will then revealed the wedding would happen in 3 weeks and everyone was on board. Both families had agreed to do everything they could to make the wedding special and not to mention possible while Ruth’s family would be in the country! At this the whirlwind and the fun began!
Ruth returned home to begin the process on moving to another state and switching jobs. She was working for the Veterans hospital in SF. They were immensely helpful in getting her transferred to the Kansas City VA. Her cousin, Marcelle, whom she had been living with helped pack up the apartment and after a few more days of work, time with the family, and her grandparents 60th wedding anniversary she was trucking across the country to her new home in Kansas. Mom/Cheryl went with her and they passed the time laughing and catching up on life that had not gotten to be shared.

Prior to all of this, it was discovered that Will’s tumor was a cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. This type of tumor is a fast growing and non surgically removable tumor so although they got all of the tumor that they could see there was still more on a cellular level. A trip to St. Luke’s cancer center just a couple of weeks after Will’s operation opened up the possibilities of participating in a clinical trial. The doctors and staff were impressive with their knowledge and evident concern about Will’s recovering. After many prayers and much discussion, all decided to have Will participate in a trial where he would receive radiation and chemotherapy under the supervision of a clinical trial. There were assurances that Will’s best interest would be in mind at all times. A five week waiting period was in order after his surgery to allow healing and then began the second part of his journey to recovery two weeks before the wedding.