I won't even go there about how we are going to deal with the chest hair! The AIU nurse offered to do a wax, but I think he'll be a little more protective of this area!
I have to laugh! Brian gave me step by step instructions on how to shave, including how to put the gel on and how to use the razor. HELLO! I reminded him I've been shaving my legs for probably longer than he even had facial hair!
You can still see his black hair in the areas that had not completely fallen out. Note his scar on his left side (right side of the picture) in the area I hadn't shaved yet. It looks great, really, as far as scars go. Another melanoma warrior's wife told me when her husband was on this exact same chemo regimen, he lost his hair at 3 weeks, and his eyelashes/eyebrows etc. at 6 weeks. So far it is on track. We can only pray that the chemo is killing melanoma, besides the hair follicles!
It took Tye a minute to decide what he thought. He's never seen Daddy without the facial hair. You can see he loved up to Daddy, just like always! The girls and I have only seen him once when he shaved it off the summer after we met. 
Brian is all smiles. I wasn't sure how this would go, because in the past few weeks, he's seemed ok with it sometimes, and other times bothered by it. I sobbed as I shaved his moustache and goatee. I thought back to our wedding, and how I had no idea that this would be part of what I would do to uphold my vows. I guess I'm glad it was me doing the shaving. I look forward to the moment he hollers at me to come see his new hair growing back in. Note the dustbuster in the background!
It isn't the hair really, but the illness that is visibly taking its toll on Brian. Sometimes it feels like the beast is just chipping away at him, one thing after another.
The new pain meds are making him somewhat sleepier, but he's still awake a lot, and feeling pretty good. Most importantly, he's eating well, which I think is obviously adding to his overall well-being.
He has his 2nd treatment on Monday. I am anxious to see what his lab work looks like, as there doesn't seem to be anything noticeable. Dr. Anderson said it might take a few treatments to really see any issues because he was thankfully so healthy to start with (aside from the melanoma, of course).
His chemo takes about 5 hours for infusion, so I have decided to do something from my list of things to do in my life. I have an appointment to donate platelets at the blood collection center in Columbia. I have only given blood a few times, although needles and such don't bother me. I have thought often that I needed to get in a better routine and give regularly. Now with getting to know Amy, and her battle with leukemia, I've really had it on my mind. She has been pleading with people to donate platelets. It seems like such a trivial thing to me (although I hear the needles are rather large for platelet collection), yet life-saving for someone like Amy, who stays alive from platelet donations. Platelet donation is a more complicated process than whole blood donation, so it will take about 2 hours. They told me that not everyone can give platelets, so I don't even for sure know if I'll be able to. I am anxious.
We continue to pray for the speedy sale of our home. It has barely even been shown this summer, although that appears to be the case with most houses in town. Things are slow, which is hard when we are trying to live in our home and also sell it. We will all be glad to relax a little, but it has been really nice to have the house spotless all the time! It was shown 3 times this week, one of which was a revisit; hopefully this means there is interest, and things will be changing in the coming weeks. We continue to let God take care of this one, to find the right family for our home, and find the right time for us to move.
We ask for special prayers for Brian's melanoma to shrink, and for relief from the nerve pain in his right leg. We also pray for Amy, Kathy, Bryce, Sheila and Mike.
Many blessings to you all for a cooler week!
Jenni
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