The C Word

 Yesterday I went to Moffitt for a CT scan to check on my post-surgery progress.  Dr Denbo looked at the scan and said that everything looked perfect.  The liver has regrown as expected. He also stated that I can go on to a 4-month cycle of scans, so the next one is not until March.   I will continue to have blood checks done every 3 months to monitor if there are any Cancer DNA cells in my blood stream.  Next blood draw for that will be December 14th.  I have had 2 so far (1 in May when I started Chemo and another in late August) and BOTH came back with 0 cells that contained cancer.   For those of you that have seen pictures of me, you may have noticed that I have a bump on my Stomach (and NO I am not talking about the 40lb weight gain!!!).  This is NOT A TUMOR (in my worst Arnold Schwarzenegger voice), it is a surgical hernia.  Dr Denbo said this can be repaired surgically, but he would like to wait at least another 6 months unti...

Today marks 100 days since my surgery.  I am amazed at how well I feel.  I am so blessed with the people around me.  Everyone has been so encouraging to me.  Right now, I feel that I am able to do everything that I could the day BEFORE surgery.  I do not have the full energy I did before, but I am shocked at how much “normal” has returned to my life.  I am thankful for all the people that have checked on me, many friends have sent a random “how are things going?” text.  I am so happy to tell them that things are going GREAT.  I am STILL overwhelmed by my Bradford friends.  The support, caring, and outpouring of love has been such a driving force in my positive attitude.   I am blessed to have a wonderful wife, who is always making sure that I am doing okay.  Somehow the surgery feels like 2 weeks ago AND a million years ago at the same time. 

  I am now into the 2 nd round of chemo pills.  I have developed a small side effect.  The palms of my hands and the bottoms of my feet are now very sensitive to contact.  This is a know side effect.  I have taken the precautions of a)        Wearing 2 gloves when I golf.   1 on each hand b)       Always wearing socks or slippers while in the house c)        Wearing a glove when I am driving the car d)       Using moisturizing cream 2 – 3 times a day. This is way more an annoyance than anything that is causing pain.   But what I really wanted to update everyone on, was the pre-chemo blood screening results.   Before I started Chemo, they came out and did a blood draw to detect if there is any circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the plasma of patients previously diagnosed with cancer. The test results came back NEGATIVE. ...

 Yesterday marked 1 full week of Chemo.  I am ecstatic to report that I have not had any real side effects.   I appreciate all the Facebook comments, texts, and in-person words of encouragement.   As of right now, I would say that I have 95% of my pre-surgery energy level back.  I have played golf 4 days in a row, and have not had any sense of being tired. I have jumped right back in to playing golf 4 – 5 times a week.  I need to do the things I can, while I have the energy.  I do not know if any chemo side effects will come along as I get deeper into my treatment. I now realize that God is not done with his plan for me yet.  So, I take each day as a blessing and try to live it to its fullest. To keep everyone updated, I have started a google sheet,  Daily Tracking where I am tracking when I take my meds and will note if I have any side effects.

 I will be tracking everyday on how my experience with Chemo is going.   I do not want to post here every day.  I will try to do a Sunday night update with a summary of the week.  I have a google spread sheet I am using.    Daily update No idea if that link will work, but I will be updating it as often as I remember.  So far nothing bad after 8 hours.

 We met with Dr Hussein (my local oncologist) and he put in the order for me to start Chemo.  I do not have a date yet, since they will be sending the pills to me via FedEx.  As soon as I get the pills, he would like me to start on a Monday.  The regimen will be 2 weeks of taking the pills, then 1 week off, for a total of 6 months. Due to my “size” I will be taking 5 pills in the morning and 5 pills in the evening.   He prescribed me some medicine for nausea.  He did not think I should be impacted, but better to have it, just in case.  He also mentioned that I may develop a rash on the palms of my hands and the bottoms of my feet.  He suggested I use Udder cream.  Apparently, this is cream they use on cow udders to prevent soreness from milking.  MOO!!!! Part of the plan for seeing if the chemo is working is to do frequent blood draws to test the blood for tumor markers.   The company provides a service where they come out to...

 Just got off the zoom call with Dr Kim from Moffitt. He indicated that NONE of the lymph nodes showed any cancer.  He called this a STAGE 1 cancer, with a good shot of CURING!!!!!!!!!!!!. He said that I should start chemo after meeting with Dr Hussein on May 8 th .   I should be doing the pill capecitabine (Xeloda).   Which is the one that Hussein had mentioned previously. He is going to do some DNA testing on the tumor and along with that we have agreed that I would be doing some blood work every 3 months, that will look for potential indicators that would show a potential for the cancer to return.   If the blood work shows positive indicators after the first 3 months, it would indicate that the type of chemo I am on is not working, and at that point we would try something else.   Hopefully, it will be negative, and we will not have to worry. All in all, I would say this was the optimal results we wanted to hear.   A)     ...

ONE MONTH!!!!  I cannot believe it has been an entire month since I had surgery.  I apologize for not updating anything in the last 2 weeks, but that is because there has not been any real news to report.  My pathology is still not in.  I do have a note in my portal, that looks like it might almost be ready.  I have a zoom call with Dr Richard Kim from Moffit on Monday the 24 th .  My guess is that he will have the results and go over them with me.  I think that Dr Kim will be the one that sets the chemo schedule, so I think by Tuesday, I should know what the next step in recovery is going to be.    I have been sleeping much better.  Now that I am staying up to midnight, I am able to get 5 straight hours of sleep, then I force myself to go back to sleep and get about 2 more.  This has completely helped with my daily energy levels.  I am starting to feel much, much better.  I am so grateful for the ...

 Today we met with the surgeon.  Unfortunately, the pathology is not back yet, so a lot of Cancer specific questions, still remain unanswered.  He was very happy with the healing progress I have made so far.  He would like me to heal for another 3 or 4 weeks (at least) until starting Chemo.  The Chemo I would most likely be on is Capecitabine.   The are doing a bunch of genetic and blood testing on the tumor that was removed and this should give them an indicator of what to watch for if the cancer were to start coming back.   He did say that in these types of tumors, there is probably greater than a 50% chance that some form of cancer may come back.  He is setting up a zoom meeting with an oncologist at Moffit (Richard Kim), but he has said that Moffit will work with Hussein (my local oncologist) to administer the treatment.  Usually, the patient would need to go and be seen again by the surgeon before starting Chemo, but Denbo (the...

 Monday was the first day that I started to feel like myself again.  The leakage has STOPPED, so this has taken the burden of fear of leaking out away from me.  At 1 PM Deb and I went for a walk over to Tim and Chris’ house to see our girlfriends (their dogs, Daphne and Daisy).  Both girls were excited to see us.   We spent over an hour there chatting and petting the dogs.   When we left there, we went to Publix, I walked a few aisles, with a shopping cart to lean on.   When we came home, I was more active around the house.  When Shaun and Kim Scott brought over our dinner, they were surprised to see me answer the door.  But, not only did I answer the door, I was able to walk around and show them the pool area.  Later in the evening Charlotte and Matt came by, we spend 2 hours chatting.   Today I am going to clean of the adjustable desk in my room, so that I have a place to do puzzles or any other craft project I...

Saturday night, while I was not sleeping much, the leakage was occurring from the top of the incision, but nothing was coming out from around my belly button.  That was a first.  So Sunday all day, I decided that I would leave all covering off and just have a towel covering me all day.   Well thankfully there was no leakage.  I thought that was cool, but an anomaly.  So Sunday night, I decided to put the larger pad over the top of the incision and just that smaller one over my belly button.   When I woke up this morning, I realized that I had not soaked through either bandage.  Finally, at 11 AM I decided to remove all the bandages.  When I inspected both bandages, they were BONE dry.  I am not sure if this mean the leakage is OVER, but it has definitely halted.  I will probably still cover up tonight. HOPEFULLY, this means the leakage has stopped.  That would make me feel so relieved.

  I haven’t blogged in a couple days. Last night, which would be Saturday night, I did not sleep much. For some reason I just tossed and turned. I went to bed at 9:30. Slept very soundly until 12:30. Then just could never really get in to comfortable sleep and finally got out of bed around 6:30, 7 o’clock. I did not leak much at all overnight. Where I did leak from was the top of the incision, and not the belly button. All day today I went without gauze over my belly button and only a big Band-Aid over the top incision. I did not have any leakage during the day. Today Deb went and got Five Guys for lunch. I was completely craving a hamburger and those fries, so it really hit the spot. I think tonight I am going to take either a Tylenol p.m. or a Benadryl, something to knock me out.

 Today marks 1 week that I have been home.  Since Monday I have been dealing with the fact that my incision leaks.  This is not a problem, but it is really annoying.   Last night a friend of ours, who used to be a nurse (Renee Soulsman) came over and gave Deb and I some things to try.   The main one was focused on getting me better sleeps.  She suggested that on my bed, I should lay down a garbage bag, covered by a beach towel, and on top of that my absorbent towel.  As a dressing to my stomach, she suggested a larger, thicker, more absorbent pad.  Deb went to the store and found these.  So last night, I built my little sandwich of pads, bags, and towels, then went to sleep.   Well, it worked.   By having all those layers, I could relax and sleep and not worry that I was going to leak and destroy the bedding.  I was able to solidly fall asleep and slept 2 ½ hours, until I had to get up and pee.   B...

  Busy day today. I developed a leak from my suture site. It is happening right around my belly button.     It was producing a lot of fluid. I called down to Moffitt, and they said I should come down. Deb drove me down here and now I have a bag attached to me that is collecting the fluid. Good news is we were 10 minutes away from Portillo’s, so that is where we are for lunch

 Decided to try seeing the actual time I was doing stuff Slept 8pm-10pm  Up 10-midnight  Slept 12-3  Up 3-5 Toss/turn 5-7:30 Chair 730-9 (breakfast) Walk 9-915 Nap(ish) guest bedroom 915-1030 Doug & Denise 11-1 (8 oz Tuna, wheat toast, crackers, dip, chocolate chip cookie) Rest 1-3. talk to Larry 2-230 Masked Singer Linda and Sheri 3-42 Walk 420-445 Masked Singer 445-515 Pizza 515-530 Rest/snooze 530-7 Walk 7-715  TV 715-815 Pie 815-830 Pain pill 830

  I had a full first day home. Got up and ate some breakfast. Moved around the house a little bit. Chuck came by and kept me entertained for about an hour. Did a walk around the neighborhood for about 10 minutes.     Took a nap in the guest bedroom. Had some yummy chicken that was brought over by Karen Roy. She also brought me some silly putty, slinky, and a book on animals. It is totally a gift package that my sisters would’ve got me.     I did another walk early in the evening and Tim and Chris, Jeff and Cheryl, Steve and Becky and their friends came out to encourage me. It is so amazing the support I am receiving from my neighborhood. Tonight Gina and David came over and we talked for a while, and played spades.

  I came home today. The CT scan showed nothing abnormal in the liver. The ultrasound showed nothing like blood clots in the legs. I am only on 500 mg of Tylenol for pain medicine. I have to give myself a daily shot of a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots. I took an hour long nap when we first got home, then I ate some dinner, then I took another short nap. Deb went out and there was a driveway party, so she came back and got me, and paraded me around in the golf cart like the pope. 30 or more people came up to me to say how amazing I looked and to wish me a speedy recovery.     Right now I am in the recliner, with a cat sleeping on me and I’m gonna take a nap. I am just so overwhelmed with happiness to be home, and to be starting phase 2 of the recovery.

  The last 14 hours has been a change. I am extremely exhausted. Can’t seem to stay awake for more than a half hour at a time. Last night/this morning I was running a fever. So they changed my IV and did some new bloodwork. They are checking to make sure I don’t have an infection. They did a CT scan, they saw fluid around the liver, which is to be expected. But they were going to wait for radiology to read it and confirm the findings. I just ate breakfast, scrambled eggs and sausage and 2 skim milk. Hopefully I still should be able to come home today. This is kind of what I was expecting from surgery. I just feel like I got hit by a truck.

  They took the catheter out at 12:15. I ate lunch at 12:45. I was able to eat one and a half grilled cheese and about half of my order of french fries. I still have the main drain in from the surgery scar, it is looking like I will be going home with that, because it is still producing a lot of liquid.     The nurse said that we won’t know for sure if I’m going home tomorrow until I pass some checks tomorrow. Hopefully I might be able to get out of here by noon, but I really won’t know until the morning. Deb is here now, we went for a walk, now I’m gonna take a nap.

  I did four walks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Had lots of visitors to see me. That really lifted my spirits.  The doctor just came in this morning and said that they were going to take out the epidural, give me a diarrhetic, lessen my fluids, give me some oral pain medication. They are still shooting for me to go home on Friday. She did say that she wants to start me on solid foods. She also emphasize that I need to keep doing my breathing treatments, so I’ve set an alarm for every hour to do them. I think I’m going to get up and do a walk now. I am So excited to think that I may be headed home some time tomorrow.

  I was able to sleep a lot last night. I fell asleep at 8 o’clock, even though they kept coming in throughout the night I was able to quickly fall back asleep. I got out of bed at 6:30 this morning and have been sitting in the chair. They gave me a stool softener and a suppository, they would like me to have a bowel movement. So far that hasn’t happened. They switched me from clear liquids to pudding.. I am still in no pain, that is truly amazing. They said they will probably take the epidural out sometime tomorrow. Hopefully I should be able to go home Friday or Saturday. I don’t know any other orders that I have to do when I get home. they have not told me if I will be going home with pain meds or with a drain. Thank you to everybody who commented on Facebook, and all those who took pink Monday pictures. It really brightened my spirits.

 Sorry, if this seems rambling, I just wanted to let everybody know that I am doing awesome I can’t thank all of you enough for all of the love and support. Seeing all the pink shirts yesterday was amazing the fact that there were 60-70 of you out there to see me off on Sunday left me with nothing but positive thoughts coming into surgery. Surgery took longer than expected because I have a tough liver, so I think that stressed my wife and my sisters out. But the doctor did say that he got everything. I was able to sleep on and off last night, but they were coming in every hour to do some thing, so it was just a series of little naps. This morning the surgeon came by told me that he was able to get the entire mass out with good margins, that means that they were good cells around the mass that he was able to take to make sure that he didn’t miss anything that was creeping out He did see cirrhosis on the liver that was a surprise to him, but he thinks it’s relatively early and does n...

Just got back from my cruise on Carnival Celebration.   The ship was amazing.  There were so many places to hang out and there was always something going on.  There were tons of places to eat.  There were multiple trivia sessions every day.  They had 4 funny comedians on during the week.  The shows were liked/loved by almost everyone.  (I was the ALMOST that did NOT like some of the shows).  Our 3 ports were Amber Cove, San Juan, and St Thomas.     In Amber Cove, all I did was get off the ship to have my picture taken by the Amber Cove sign.   There really is not much to do there.    I did not even get off the ship in San Juan.   We used it as a day to explore the ship when no-one else was around.    In St Thomas, we took a ferry over to St John.   We went to Trunk Bay, which was amazingly beautiful.   There was a lot more wind than normal there, so the snorkeling was not as good as it ...

  Colonoscopy complete.    Last hurdle jumped over.   They only found 1 polyp today, so no complications.   I was slightly fearful that they would find something and that would lead to a lot of other tests.   Thankfully, she found nothing alarming.    I am all set for my surgery now. Alan comes this week and I will be playing a LOT of golf (27 holes a day).   Since I figure it may not be until June or July that I get to play again. Both of my sisters are coming out for the surgery.   I need to see both of the before and especially   AFTER the   surgery. Full steam ahead for my March 12 th – 19 th cruise.   That will be a great week of fun. Then March 20th.  Step 1 in the new fight.

Here is what the PET scan results showed. Abdomen/pelvis: A mass in the posterior right hepatic lobe (image 134) has SUV maximum 16.2. There is a small focus of heterogeneous uptake in the lateral left hepatic lobe (image 141) SUV maximum 5.1 compared to "normal" liver SUV maximum 4.8. There is diffuse uptake in the gastric antrum and duodenal sweep (image 151) SUV maximum 7.6. There is no focal abnormal prostate gland uptake. Avid There is a small focus in the left posterior prostate gland (image 247) SUV maximum 4.1 and a focus in the right posterior prostate gland SUV maximum 4.7. Impression: 1. There is a hypermetabolic posterior right hepatic lobe mass and indeterminate focal uptake lateral left hepatic lobe. 2. There are small avid posterior prostate gland foci x2. Follow-up and/or further evaluation are recommended. 3. Diffuse gastric antrum and duodenal sweep uptake may be physiologic or related to inflammation. Clinical correlation is recommende...

Good news today.  The biopsies from the stomach EGD came back as non-cancerous .   The G-I doctor prescribed 40mg Prilosec.   Not exactly sure why, but I will take it.    Thursday, I go for a 2 nd PET scan, and many people were asking what is different about this one.   So, I did some research and this is what I found.  While I am at Moffitt, I will be doing my pre-surgery blood work.   In addition, I will be doing my pre-screening with the anesthesiologist.   Since I have never had surgery before, they wanted to do it in person.   Thankfully they were able to get this done while I am already down there.

I had the EGD procedure done.  Luckily there is no prep work for this, other than not eating for 8 hours before.  I ate dinner last night, and did not have anything today before the 3:30 pm procedure.   The process was easy.  They had me turn onto my left side, they put a plastic mouth guard in and then gave me the night-night drugs.   I was out instantly.   They placed a tube into my esophagus and looked around.  They did find 1 spot of a 10-12 mm polypid tissue near pylorus. (Somewhere near where stomach and esophagus meet).  She said that it did not look cancerous, but she took a TON of biopsies of it.  The results of those should be within 2 weeks.   This is good news that there is nothing in this area.  So these tests are eliminating the places that cancer could have come from.   I have my colonoscopy set for March 6 th .

There are 2 colon tests they are requesting, to rule out this being colon cancer.  7 years ago TODAY, my mother passed away from Colon Cancer.  So there is a family history. The EGD* is scheduled for 3:30pm tomorrow, Wednesday Feb 15th. The colonoscopy is scheduled for 7:45am March 6 th .     EGD- Upper endoscopy, (esophagogastroduodenoscopy), is  used to examine the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and upper part of the small intestine (duodenum) I also received confirmation of March 20 th being the liver surgery date.   I need to be at Moffit at 5:15 am that day.   I think the actual surgery will probably start around 7 am. They have said this is a 7 hour surgery.   I am very happy that tests are getting scheduled, but it is also realy make things sink in, that SOON I will be having major surgery........

 We met with the surgeon today.  So much information, so I think I am going to just list out what we found out. 1)       The PET scan I just did, was with the wrong contrast agent.   Meaning we have to do another with a different contrast.   The one I did would have been correct if we were testing for Stomach or Pancreas cancer.   The correct contrast detects the bile duct cancer cells.   I have the new PET scheduled for Feb 23 rd at Moffitt. 2)       He would like to rule out this coming from the colon, so, I have to schedule a colonoscopy with an EGD.   This means that they look at my colon from BOTH ends.   This would be done during the same procedure.    I still need to schedule this. 3)       From the MRCP/MRI, it still looks like this is Bile Duct Cancer.    He did mention that this is a rare cancer, specifically where it is located.   ...

 Busy last week.   My friend Larry flew out here late Thursday night.  We spent Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday working on fixing my golf swing.  The running theme of the weekend was that I was a “stubborn as a barn full of old mules”.   I can never leave well enough alone.  I always want more.   So, I was trying to take on too many things.  By Sunday afternoon, Larry had finally drilled into my head that I need to set a new baseline swing and make MINOR adjustments from there.   I had a great last session where I hit 20 or so decent shots.  This is what I am going to work with for now.  Thanks to Larry for not slapping me, or throwing things at me.  It was a GREAT distraction from what I had going on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Monday was MRCP/MRI at 3 PM at Moffitt in Tampa.   This was done in an MRI machine, but I felt the test was a lot longer.   Thankfully I am not claustrophobic, since ...

Busy day at the Dreyer house.  We had tile done in our lanai, and they came and scraped the sod for the start of our pool and patio.   Lots of neighbors came out to watch and ask questions.   We met with Pete, who is the project manager, and we got a better timeline as to what would be happening.   Nothing new until Monday next week, but that will be when they put in the forms for the shape of the pool.  Excitimg Today was also a busy day for me.  This morning I went to do blood work for DNA/Genetic information.  This may help with future treatment plans.  Today’s medical community has made a lot of advancements in specialized treatment based on the individual.   While I was at my appointment, I received a call from Kelly at Moffitt.  She let me know that she had presented my case to the review board and they agreed with me meeting with the surgeon next Friday.   She also said that my initial MRIs were loo...

The news of yesterday was good that it does not seem to be Stage 4 cancer, but I realize that it is STILL cancer.   I am excited at the thought of having the mass removed from my liver, but I realize that the surgery to do that is not an easy one.   Unfortunately, that got me thinking about some things…. When my Dad passed away in 2010, I became the family photo organizer.   Today I started to go through all the physical photographs that I had in 6 or 8 plastic bins.   Luckily before my Dad passed, he had done some sorting by kid.   1 group for me, 1 for sister Deb, and 1 for Traycie.   Fortunately, I found a small tub that had the group that was pictures of me.   As I searched through the other bins, I found lots of other pictures that Debbie and I have taken.   I found lots that were group pictures as well.   I did find a LOT of childhood photos that I am not sure will be seen by anyone else. At some point last year, I started a project...

Let me start today’s post with a NOTE that what I am writing below is not the final diagnosis, it is only the thoughts of the Doctor we met with today.  And then filtered through Deb and I.   All of this could change as more tests are run. After meeting with the Doctor today, she is leaning toward thinking it is bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) which is a rare cancer. I have an MRCP/MRI 3:00 PM on Feb 6th a t Moffitt.   This scan should show a clearer picture of the mass and also help to eliminate the possibility of it being Stage 4 from pancreas or stomach.   Every Monday at Moffitt they have a tumor review board were representatives from all specialties meet and have cases presented to them to concur on treatment.   Dr Terranova will be presenting my case on Monday and she is recommending that I see a surgeon to have the surgeon determine if the mass can be removed. I have set up an appointment to meet with a surgeon on Feb 10 th at Moffit...

  Chuck Brackney caught me in an awkward moment of NOT THINKING last night when he called me and asked if I wanted to go at 7:45 to Lake Okahumpka to do a Kayak orientation .  I said “sure”.  For my entire adult life I have called Kayaks, “Water Coffins”.  But this morning at 7:20, he picked me up and off in golf cart we went.  I am SO GLAD I did not chicken out.  It was so peaceful being on the lake.  It was pretty darn easy to paddle and direct the kayak.   I can only explain it as exhilaratingly peaceful.   Something I NEVER thought I would do, and now I cannot wait to do it again.     Tomorrow morning at 7:30 I will be at Moffitt.   I will post when we get home about what they say.   We are thinking that we are still in discovery mode, so more tests to be run, and not much in treatment options to be discussed, but we will see.    I am hoping they have had a chance to look at the CT scan and...

 Got the results of my CT Scan back.  (They are below).  The scan showed NOTHING in the pancreas or the stomach.  I spoke to my local oncologist and he said there may be no reason to do the MRCP/MRI, since it appears there is nothing there.  He suggested I do another Colonoscopy, which I will bring up to Moffit.  I feel that this is good news, (Maybe it is not stage 4, but just an independent mass that is cancerous).  At least we have more test results for Moffitt to look at to plan an attack.  I feel that there will be LOTS more tests in my future.  They may just do a PET scan to see if they can find cancer ANYWHERE else in my body.   FINDINGS: Airways and Lung Parenchyma: There are ground glass opacities within the right middle lobe and lower lobes, probably due to mild atelectasis or pneumonitis. There are no suspicious lung nodules. There is no consolidation or mass. Pleura: Unremarkable. No effusions. Mediastinum & H...

  Today I had my CT scan.   This was a much simpler test than I expected.    It was done with contrast dye.   This is similar to an MRI, but you go into the machine feet first and you are not in there very long.   I feel like they took 2 before pictures and then they injected the dye and took 2 after pictures.   The entire time I was on the table for the machine was less than 15 minutes.    The images are being sent to my local oncologist and to Moffitt in Tampa.    My REAL hope is that this scan shows NOTHING in my stomach or pancreas.   I hope to get the results some time on Wednesday. As for scheduling the MRCP/MRI, that is not going well.   Apparently, it is being held up my insurance.   I am going to call Blue Cross tomorrow and ask them what the holdup is. Enough talk about that, since it is just a small step in my journey to wellness.    Tonight, we took our friends Don and Carol out to dinner. ...

 Just got back from our cruise.  It was on Norwegians newest ship, Prima.  It was different than any other Norwegian ship we had ever been on.  It had a sleek, high-end hotel feel to it.  There were lots of cool things, but I feel there were more misses than hits.  1)       The thermal area had a lot of sauna and spa areas that were new, but the pool (which is our favorite part of other NCL thermal areas) just was not enticing.   There was not hot tub, and there were no beds to lay in that had the bubble jets.   The entire area felt a bit like a maze. 2)       There did not seem to be as much to do on the ship.   Maybe it was because the daily planner listed the open times for each venue as a different line item. (It should have just had a section for Go Cart, Stadium, Mini-golf…., then listed each daily open time).   With each one taking up a slot on the planner, it made it too hard ...