We enjoyed an amazing Christmas season, with lots of handbell duet performances. We also a chance to catch up with some of our family members from England. Sadly, the Michigan December was (dare we say it?) a little disappointing for our guests. They’d been expecting snow storms and a lake covered with ice. Instead, they were treated to temperatures only slightly colder than their home town in Cambridgeshire, and very little snow. Still, we all had a lovely Christmas together, and our house felt very quiet after they’d gone!

Something we didn’t talk about openly before Christmas was Larry’s diagnosis of prostate cancer, which came just before the start of the season. It was a medium-aggressive cancer, diagnosed by a PSA test followed by an MRI and a biopsy. It was definitely not the type of cancer that could be left alone or handled with “active surveillance”. Thankfully though, it was slow-growing enough that we could afford to take a few weeks to make a decision about treatment. We talked to medical professionals and read through lots of information. Finally we decided on a robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy at Holland Hospital, not far from where we live.

As it turned out, we were thankful for all the Christmas performances that gave us something else to focus on during December. There’s a lot to consider after a cancer diagnosis. We didn’t have time for too much sadness or downheartedness, because we had performances to give! We stayed focused, and were glad to have good doctors nearby to help us make the best decisions we could.

Recovering from surgery

We cleared our performance schedule for a while after Christmas, and Larry went into hospital for his surgery on January 10th. It was a tense day, but we knew he was in good hands. The surgery went well, and the all-important nerves were left intact, giving better prospects for full recovery afterwards. Larry was stable enough to be discharged from hospital the following day, and returned home with a catheter to deal with for a while.

Recovering from surgery is always an adventure. Larry has six incisions and is looking a bit bashed and bruised. Apart from that, his recovery has been going well. He’s now able to walk around and do many of his usual activities, but he’s not allowed to drive for a couple of weeks, and needs more naps than usual. We’ve been staying indoors, because it’s just easier with the catheter, and Larry has even managed to write some new handbell music!

Sadly, it’s too early for Larry to be able to play handbells. We’ve had to put all thoughts of rehearsing aside for a while until he’s stronger. With incisions, bruising, and that catheter, it’s better to wait a while than risk doing more damage!

Hopeful news

We had some happy news a few days ago. The lab results came back, and the lymph nodes showed no sign of cancer. This means that the cancer appears not to have spread outside the prostate gland. This is a huge relief to us, as it means Larry won’t need follow-up chemotherapy or any other treatment. There will be regular testing in the future, of course. However, for the time being he can focus on his recovery, and on regaining his strength. Then we can get back to rehearsing handbell duets!

Taking a break from performances for a while

The awkward thing about prostate cancer, and recovery, is that every case is different. It’s hard to predict how long Larry’s going to take to regain enough strength to start preparing for handbell performances again. For that reason, we’re taking a break for the first part of the year. Our next scheduled handbell performance will be at the Bay Area Spring Ring in Cupertino, California, the first weekend in May.

Cautious plans for the future

If Larry recovers well in the coming weeks, it’s possible that we’ll be able to open our calendar up for bookings in April – but we’d rather err on the side of caution and see how he progresses before we make too many plans, since we need to allow some time for rehearsing before we venture out to public performances again! If you’re interested in booking us for a handbell performance in the summer or later in the year, please contact us, and let us know what you have in mind.

In the meantime, thank you so much to everyone who has sent us good wishes for Larry’s recovery. It means a lot, and has helped to keep him in good spirits in the early days at home after surgery.