I need your help. For starters let me explain our chemo schedule because it is a bit different than we had anticipated.

Every three weeks we are admitted to the hospital for a four day stay. Once it was eleven days. Once or twice we stayed for five. I stay with Mark and sleep on the couch provided for a family member. He also spent a couple nights when his white blood count was super low.

Mark is very tired of staying at the hospital – but his final chemo will begin in two weeks and I have an idea…. Backing up a bit – I was thinking the other day that in total we will have had six chemotherapy hospitalizations. When Greg went through chemo in high school we had roughly 18 hospitalizations, each lasting 4-5 days, not counting surgery. He was on 3 or 4 different chemo drugs – it was intense…

However, six stays is also a lot – we are definitely feeling it!! I think we have both aged five years in the past couple of months. Oh well. Maybe we were stuck in being too young beforehand…

One thing that was fun while Greg was in the hospital was decorating his room. We had posters and holiday decorations – friends made signs and brought balloons. Mark’s room tends to be drab – except for the Christmas visit from our kids which filled it with snowflakes. With each admission I tell myself that I will bring a silk plant and a family photo, but I always forget.

These final weeks are supposed to be the worst yet and I know I am a witness that they are just that.

So… Here is what I am thinking, and I need your help. I want to fill his room with pictures of our friends in a “thumbs up” pose – or just a smile if that’s all you can muster. It will be a surprise for Mark (don’t worry, he usually doesn’t read this) – so if you are not Mark… please be involved! Family, friends and everyone! By yourself, with your family, with a group – doesn’t matter… I just want to plaster his room. Our goal is to see him smile and know that you care.

Please send them via text, email or Facebook messenger. If you are friends with one of my kids just send to them. If you don’t know us or don’t want to take a photo – feel free to send an encouraging message that I can print out and tape up – you can send it via messenger, email or make a comment on this blog post. If you are going to see me in the next few days I will take your picture then…

Occasionally I will read Mark comments from Facebook and point out to him that they are coming from all over… the many places that we have lived, my kids’ college friends, my high school friends, coworkers, biological relatives (Mom was adopted) in New York and Florida and a high school friend or two of hers as well! Keep them coming! They do help us – and now please send in those photos ASAP.

Thumbs UP! Don’t be shy! Say Cheese!