Chemo #6, check

So, another chemo day today, which I thought would go fast 'cause I actually got there 10 minutes early, but no dice ... It was a LOOOOOONG day, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (from the time I left the house 'til I got home), basically because they were "backed up" at the lab, so I had to wait awhile, and then it took awhile for my chemo to "arrive" at the "pod" (the room where I get the chemo), so I had to wait more than hour there (sigh).

But my labs were good, and I got to see Dr. W-G, who says I'm doing really well. We talked about having just two more chemo days left, so I asked her: "Will that be enough?" At this point, she doesn't know for sure. (But she DID say she thinks I'll be fine.) That's the "standard treatment," but if I'm doing well and want to do two more months, she can arrange that, she said.

So I'm going to "think on it" awhile, and wait until I'm further along to make any decisions (so I can monitor blood tests, talk to docs, etc.). I really don't want to do more chemo, I just want to make sure I have the "best outcome." So we'll see ...

I also got a new prescription for "Mary's Magic Mouthwash," which I'm sure is like the other mouthwash I had in the fall for my mouth sores. But this time I've just got some "thrush" starting on my tongue, so they want me to swish with this stuff four times a day to keep any mouth issues under control.

My daughter, Hannah, came up to sit with me awhile today. She brought me lunch, a beautiful pink calia lily (see photo at right), and a card that I couldn't read at the hospital, in front of everybody. She had written all these wonderful, tear-jerking things inside the card, and I started to read it but felt my eyes watering, so I had to put it down before I became a weeping mess. I told her I'd read it at home, and she understood. So I read it on my way home, in the car (only at stoplights) and it is beautiful. (And I've read it over and over at home, and still, it gets me all emotional.) What did I ever do to deserve this kid?

Anyway, I feel fine, no tingly fingers today, so I'll bid you all adieu ... Ooh, speaking of other languages (and countries, like Germany, my homeland), I finished my book today, Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum. Awesome book -- about a woman who does what she has to do to save herself and her daughter during the Holocaust -- and I'd recommend it if you're looking for something to read.

Thanks for checking on me!

Until next time ...
P

Side effects

So I noticed I haven't written in a week, and thought maybe I should write something. So, how about an update on how I'm faring with the chemo?

Generally, I'm doing very well, working full time and not feeling too tired. But there are a few little, shall I say, "annoyances," that I can't wait to get rid of. And that won't be until after my last chemo on May 28 (a national holiday on Running Creek Drive in Ballwin, Mo.).

So, here's a list of the chemo side effects that are a tad bothersome:

• sensitivity to cold. It's now mostly in my fingers, but even today -- a week after treatment -- if I touch something cold or even put my hand in the freezer, yikes! The tingly, pins-and-needles feeling is exceptionally annoying and so I feel compelled to warm up the hands as soon as I can by wrapping them around a hot coffee or even laying them on my car's dashboard that's been baking in the sun on the parking lot. Surprisingly, I can handle ice cubes in my drinks just three days after treatment, but this cold-fingers thing seems to last forever.
• nausea. But I STILL haven't used the high-powered anti-nausea pills that are in my purse, "just in case." My nausea -- usually on the first four days after a treatment -- is very mild. Sometimes I take a compazine, sometimes I don't. I'm grateful it's not worse.
• sore mouth. Don't panic -- I don't have the horrid, nickel-sized mouth sores that I had in the fall when I was doing the chemo 24/7 for five weeks. But my tongue, especially, is a little sore most of the time. I've got a mouth rinse (that I didn't have in the fall) called "Prevention" that's specially made for cancer patients. It helps, as do salt-water rinses. So it's not so bad.
• "tired eyes." I wear soft contact lenses, and sometimes my eyes get watery or dry, and just plain "tired" feeling. It helps to close them for a minute or two.
• bloody nose. It doesn't actually bleed, but when I blow it, there's usually a little blood on the tissue (TMI? Sorry!). And right now I've got a sinus thing going on, so I'm blowing pretty often.
• thin hair. I've been assured by Dr. W-G that my hair will NOT fall out in a major way. The chemo mixture I'm getting -- or maybe my menopausal age (ooh, I hate typing that!) -- are making it thin a bit, but I shouldn't go bald. But at any given time, there's always at least one or more long strands on my clothing, so I'm trying not to brush it too much or be too rough when I wash it.

Anyway, virtually ALL of the above side effects are supposed to go away after I stop the chemo, so hurray for that! And, as I said earlier, this really isn't so bad.

I've got a piece of child's artwork (see above) that says "God is with us," and shows lots of everyday people with God "in them." It's from a children's art contest/show, and is on display at work, along with lots of other pieces. I really liked it, so I got permission to copy it.

But here's the thing: I feel like God IS with me, especially now that I'm going through cancer treatment. So, really, nothing can be that bad, can it?

Thanks for checking on me.

Until next time ...

P

Chemo #5, check

Another chemo day, and I wasn't supposed to see Dr. W-G, but I brought her a souvenir from Florida (a little bag/magnet with some sand and tiny seashells that says "Andrea's Beachfront Property"), so of course she came out to the treatment room to say thanks!

I had to wait awhile for my lab results because the medical staff wanted to make sure my liver enzymes weren't too high. Two weeks ago they were pretty high, but today, after four days in Florida (and a daily glass of wine, sanctioned by Dr. W-G), the liver enzymes were HALF what they were two weeks ago! So I was good to go with the drugs.

Hannah was with me, and my Psycho Sis called from Florida, and I was able to watch some "Scrubs" episodes that made me LOL, so treatment went pretty fast. "Fanny" is back, and again, I'm feeling fine. Walked two miles with my saintly sister after I got home. And my injured eye is totally healed -- no red at all!

Three chemo treatments to go!

Thanks for checking on me.

Until next time ...
P

How to post a comment

OK, blog-followers, since several of you have told me, "I'd like to post a comment but I don't know how," I'm providing directions right here and now.

It's really easy, but even I had to experiment with it first, since there are so many choices and I'm not all that knowledgeable about "techie" stuff, so I totally understand.

Anyway, please don't feel like you HAVE to post a comment (but I do enjoy reading them). So, if you want to, here's how:

• Click on "0 Comments" (or "1 Comments," etc.) under the blog entry you want to comment on.
• Type your clever, witty comment in the comment box.
• Under "Choose an identity," click on "Name/URL."
• You can just type in your first name, and can leave the URL box blank (it's optional).
• Then click "Publish your comment" and -- voila! -- it will appear under the "Comments" for that day's blog.

Then I will read it and smile ...

Well, tomorrow is chemo day, so I think I'm going to grab my latest book (Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum) and hit the sack. By the way, A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, was awesome, albeit painful to read (I think it's the only book I've ever read where I yelled out "No!" while reading, and I did it more than once), but what a story! I highly recommend it.

Until next time ...

P

You get by ...

Yes, it's true ... You DO get by with a little help from your friends. My hosts in Florida, Linda and Bob, really made my four days there special.

Linda had told me they were going to treat me "like a queen." So when I got off the plane, there she was, holding a sign that said "Queen Paula."

Then, when we got to their place in Venice, my room had a flamingo balloon and another sign: "Queen Paula's Pad."

Although Linda had sketched out a few plans ahead of time (like the drum circle on the beach), they constantly asked what I wanted to do, and made a real effort to make me happy (heck, they even let me eat most of the gooey butter cake I had brought as a gift!).

They kept the jokes coming and the wine flowing, and truly, there never was a dull moment. Scary ones, yes -- like the daily braunschweiger ritual, ha! (of course, I'm kidding!).

Some highlights:

• walking in the surf along the shore at Siesta Key, the world-famous beach with sugar-white sand, picking up seashells and just enjoying the day.


• eating Bob's grilled grouper -- it was absolutely delicious!


• sitting on the lanai in the evening, sipping wine and talking (and laughing) about everything!


• eating at waterside restaurants, with sunshine and ocean breezes.


• watching Linda try on my compression hose (I wear one on my left leg most of the time because of the lymph-node surgery) and then using it as a slingshot (it works pretty good)!
  


• Laughing 'til we cried at Linda's entries to my blog.

So thanks, Linda and Bob, for your friendship (is my collage still up?) and kindness. I love you guys, and, like Arnold, "I WILL be back!"

Until next time ...

P

Dyl and I

Hey, blog-followers, I never really followed up on the Mother-Son Brunch that was (gulp!) more than a week ago!

But we made it on time, Dylan and I, and even though most of his friends were wearing open-collar shirts, my son surprised me by wearing a (gulp again!) TIE!

The photo at right isn't from the brunch (it's actually better than the brunch photo, in which I look sort of like a chipmunk), but this one was taken Sunday at the Schlueter family Easter gathering at my parents' house (notice my tan).

But my, how that boy towers above his mother -- I guess you could say I look like a midget in this one. Oh well, what I lack in good looks, my son makes up for in total handsomeness (am I biased or what?).

But back to the brunch. It was lots of fun, with lots of good food. Dylan and his friends got their money's worth by going back for seconds (I controlled myself and just had one plateful -- surprising, I know). A photographer was on hand to take mother/chipmunk-son portraits at no extra charge (the difference between my son's public high school and his sister's private one, which charged extra for everything!). And each mother received a rose to take home.

I was planning to "escape" around noon, when the speaker was scheduled to start, since I had to be home by 12:30 to meet the nurse who would unhook "Fanny." But doggone it if he didn't start early, while we were still finishing eating, so Dyl and I had to walk out in front of everyone, a little embarrassing since most of them didn't know I had to leave for medical reasons. Oh well, you can't worry about what people might think.

But a good day, all in all, and extra special because I got to spend one-on-one time with my adorable son.

Until next time ...
P

Soakin' up the sun

Yes, I am in Florida! Yes, the sun is shining! Yes, I am beating a drum in the drum circle ... on Nokomis Beach ... just before sunset! Boom, badda boom, badda boom, badda boom ... I'm letting out my inner bohemian, relieving stress (what stress?), and getting a little arm exercise -- all at ONCE!

It's a little cooler than would be perfect, but nothing's perfect anyway, right? (Besides my host, Linda's, Venice villa.) I think the high today was 60-ish, but that's WAY better than the 40-ish highs back home.

And, there are plenty of palm trees, ocean waves (and breezes), sunshine, clam chowders, shrimp and crab legs, sandy beaches, and red wines, so no worries!

This morning we went shopping at the Punta Gorda Fisherman's Village (I'm wearing my new long-sleeve T-shirt that changes color in the sun), had lunch on the top deck of a waterside restaurant, ahhh, and napped in the sun on the lanai (the screened-in room with a lake view) before taking off for the drum circle. In the photo at right are a couple of drum-circle regulars -- a belly-dancer and a, um, I'm not exactly sure, but he had a lot of spirit!

Right now I'm having a HUGE piece of gooey butter cake, which I brought down to my Psycho Sis as a present, but now, damn!, I'm eating the whole thing! (Maybe that's why I brought it!)

So, yeah, while I was away from the computer to fetch a piece of gooey butter cake and freshen up my wine, my evil Psycho Sis took the liberty of adding some details to the blog -- gee, can you guess which lines SHE wrote??? Anyway, they made me laugh, so I'm leaving them in ...

Well, it's been a great two days so far (two to go!), and it's getting late, so I'm calling it a night. Wait, did Linda say there was chocolate icecream in the fridge? Hello, gooey butter cake a la mode!

Until next time ...
SG (Sun Goddess)

Chemo #4, check

So, I may be halfway through my post-op treatment, as of today! (Unless Dr. W-G decides to prolong it a bit, but I'm sure she'll have good reasons if she does. I trust her implicitly.)

Everything went well today, except at the end of the chemo session, when I was walking out to my car in the rain and cold, and my fingers were tingling like crazy and feeling very weird. My saintly sister happened to be with me -- she had brought me lunch and stayed with me during treatment -- so we decided it might be best to go back in and check with the nurses, rather than go home and worry.

Remember the "sensitivity to cold" I experienced after my first visit, when I (stupidly) bought a milk shake on the way home and got "mouth freeze"? Well, that's what happened to my hands -- "finger freeze." So the nurses got a heated blanket and I put my hands into the middle of 'em, and within minutes I could feel the tingling sensation going away. They advised me to bring gloves next time, if the weather's chilly, so I will! Sheesh, the things you learn as you go through this ...

And even now, hours later, if I put my hand into the refrigerator or freezer, the fingers start to tingle again! Very weird.

But the lab work checked out OK, according to Dr. W-G, and she said I'm doing so well that she doesn't even need to see me next time! So I'll get my lab work and chemo in two weeks, as planned, but I won't see her again for a month! But I'm planning to e-mail to her a photo of her "favorite patient" (my words, not hers, ha!) taking it easy on the beach next week, so we WILL be staying in touch (she's probably sorry I ever got her e-mail address!) ...

Anyway, things are good, I'm feeling fine (as long as I don't get those hands cold), and the "red eye" is less red today.

Thanks for checking on me!

Until next time ...
P