The End of 2010–Beginning of 2011

A spring day to end the old year, 56 degrees.  Kids are out playing in short sleeved shirts, tops are down on convertibles.  We know how to appreciate good weather when we get it.

Went to the antique barn/shop today and visited with my friends.  Everyone seems ready for a new year.

I got over my snit about the dogs and the rescue people.  People are strange, you can’t always avoid strange people.  I have to remember one of my favorite sayings – “get over it”.

Health wise I still have a rash on my head and now have sores on my tongue. 

We had a very small earth quake yesterday morning about 7:55 a.m.  I felt it but thought it was just me doing my usual wobble walk in the morning.  There wasn’t any damage, just a little tremble.

I took a walk around the back yard, the snow is gone and there is green grass here and there.  Spring is just waiting to spring – but not quite yet.

later….

 

Thursday–Melting Day

The snow is melting!  Next we are to get rain.  This is Ohio after all.

Went shopping today, the post office, the drugstore, and groceries. 

Wore out carrying packages into the house but then didn’t nap. 

I actually happened to buy a dog food that Bandit eats without broth on it.  It is for older dogs – maybe he can count.

RANT WARNING 

Bandit is a rescued dog.  In this dog rescue thing I am to ask for heart worm and flea protection for the dog.  I can also buy it and turn in the bill. 

I was given a name of the person who handles this.  I emailed her and told her what I needed.

I received an email back telling me to see another woman (first name only) about that.  There are at least two women in the group with that first name.

Now this is a “group” on yahoo so if you email the group everyone gets the message. 

So I emailed the group with my question about getting the meds for Bandit.

The first person I had asked emailed the group saying – “I already answered her question!”

That is yelling! 

So I privately emailed her again telling her the problem of there being two people with that first name and told her I didn’t need the hassle.

Maybe I’m just in the mood to be angry but I don’t appreciate being yelled at thru the email.

I have only met one of these women and she was a very nice lady.  I hope someday to meet more of them, maybe even the one who is rude.

Guess I had forgotten how some people can be as my friends are so wonderful.

Thank goodness for my carefully chosen friends.

later….

 

Day after chemo

Okay, I spoke too soon.  I got heartburn and burps and hiccups in the evening Monday and took a pill for nausea.  Slept very well.   Still a bit groggy Tuesday morning.  Stomach still not happy. 

Maybe it’s the snacks I eat like chocolate pretzels.   Why eat chocolate pretzels?  Why do people climb mountains?  Because they are there.

Another nausea pill today.  Trying to behave better about eating.  Took a nap this afternoon.

Since some of my medical team is reading this I am trying to keep it real. 

A PET scan had been set up a week too early so I got that straightened out.  Now it is the 11th of January.  That will tell the tale of how all this chemo is working.  Won’t have results for a while so patience is in the future – and the present.

It got above freezing for a bit today so the snow is sinking, not down to mud yet but it will be soon.

And, yes, that little white dog is very tasty but he will have to wait until the stomach thing settles before he gets finished off.

later….

 

Chemo Day and Another Dog?

Today was chemo day.  I spent most of the time there chatting with the other patients. 

One woman’s husband had worked at the same place I had.  When he called she handed me the phone.  We chatted about old times and agreed to connect on facebook.

She was being treated for some sort of myoloma.  She explained how she had been able to use her own bone marrow for a transplant.  That was amazing to me.  They took it out and then were able to separate the bad cells from the good ones.

My blood tests were all high.  That shot they gave me really hepped up my bone marrow. 

Lory took me and brought me home.  She did some shopping while I got drugs.

When I got home I made a few phone calls and ate some of a small pork roast I had put in the crock pot this morning.  Very tasty and tender.  My sense of taste isn’t as good as it once was but I eat anyway. 

Had some burps on the way home but ignored them.

A friend of mine brought me a cake for Christmas.  It was a very cute little dog with footprints around the plate.

I listened carefully and am sure I heard him say “bite me” so I did, in the rear.

So the “another dog” will not be around long as I have a sweet tooth.  This may be the best kind of dog to have.

I know I will sleep well tonight as I only dozed last night, 1:30 to 4:00 a.m.

Tomorrow I plan to do some shopping – that dang food thing again for both me and the beasts I live with. 

later….

 

Every Day Day

Boring post alert.

Okay, I don’t post every day because I assume you don’t want to hear about the boring routine of my everyday life. 

I get up, let dogs out of their cages, let dogs out of the house.  Go to the bathroom, put on more clothes, let dogs back into the house.   Turn on Fox News, Feed dogs, eat something, usually yogurt. 

I take a shower & put eye drops in my eyes and chew my vitamins, I’ve switched to chewable vitamins as regular ones get stuck in my throat.

I check for email and check www.woot.com.  That is a site that sells one thing each day.  I got a TV on there once.  You never know when they will have a deal I can’t refuse.  Some of their chatter is entertaining, also.

I watch Dr. Phil if I am staying home, or run errands, like the post office or the grocery store.

I eat about every 2 hours and drink V-fusion all day long.  I’m supposed to be eating nutritious foods.

The dogs go out again at noon time or maybe before and they expect a treat when they come in.

After lunch I take a nap, Teddy joins me on the couch.  Once in a while Bandit does, too, but only when he is already there and I fit in around him. 

I watch Animal Planet or USA or TNT on TV.  I play games on www.pogo.com.

I do a load of laundry or wash dishes.  Some days a cook a lot but most days I reheat food already prepared.  Feed the dogs again in the evening.

Today is a steroid day before chemo day.  So I take more pills than usual. 

I call people to be sure I have a ride to and from the doctor’s office on Monday. 

Snow has been drifting down all day long but not adding up to anything. 

I once talked to a couple of girls in Texas who had never seen snow.  Their friend had seen it once and said the strange thing about snow is that it is quiet.  All other kinds of weather make some sort of sound.

Actually as I read over this post it sounds like I am pretty busy.

later…. 

 

Merry Christmas & New Bathtub

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.  Happy Birthday to the baby Jesus.

No picture of the tub on the front porch, sorry.  It was carried straight into the house.  It is impossible to get a good picture of it in the bathroom, can’t get far enough away in that small room.

So, take my word for it, I have a new bathtub.  I used it Thursday morning and it worked fine. 

Of course, getting a new bathtub involved removing all the little extras from the bathroom, like the shower curtain and the hamper.  Also putting them back afterward.

I have a rash of little red itchy bumps on my scalp.  For now I am just wearing a silk scarf in case I’m allergic to something I’ve been putting on my head.  Synthetic fabrics have made me itchy in the past so I am sticking to natural fibers for a while.

The weather predictors are changing their minds every few hours about what will happen the next few days.  Just a little snow can cause lots of problems around here. 

People should learn to test the streets in a safe spot, step on the brakes and see if they can keep control of their vehicle. 

Hope everyone has a safe and peaceful holiday season.

later….

 

Monday and Tuesday

Monday evening - Promptly at 12:00 midnight Sunday night, my La Crosse Technology sonic clock changed from p.m. to a.m. so the verdict is in – 12:00 midnight is 12:00 a.m.

Yes, I was up at midnight Sunday night.  I drowsed for 4 or so hours that night. 

Susan took me to my chemo appointment.  She stayed to hear what the doctor had to say.  There was not a lot of encouraging news.  There will be a scan in January to see how the chemo is working after taking 2 three week rounds of it. 

There are several options – it could have stopped the tumors from growing, it could have reduced the tumors size, it could have eliminated the tumors.  Or it could have done nothing to stop the spread of the tumors in the liver. 

We just won’t know until the scan is done.

I got a prescription for a wig.  I will call and ask if my insurance will cover most of the cost.  Maybe a professional one won’t be so scratchy and uncomfortable on my head.

I received Zometa and Taxol today.  I slept through most of the chemo.  I get all slack jawed and zombie looking when I sleep.  Sorry for the observers of that.

Tuesday – I took tylenol p.m. at bedtime and slept until 3:00 a.m. then woke up wide awake.  Got up and read for a while, then fell back asleep until 9:00 a.m.  I think I’m getting enough sleep.

Just called the shop that provides things for us women cancer patients and asked about wigs. 

The lady tells me that Medicare won’t pay anything for wigs.  Must be that since bald men are accepted so bald women are okay, too.   She will call my supplement insurance to see if they will pay anything.  She will call me back.

I have gotten dressed early because my new bathtub is supposed to be delivered today.  They may just leave it on the front porch until they come to install it. 

This is a hill billy sort of town so that will be cool to have a bathtub on the front porch, even for just a day.  I may have to get a picture of that.

I feel pretty drugged this morning – DUH.  Doing some laundry and the usual Tuesday stuff.

Stay tuned….

Later….