Today is Wednesday. I have learned that talking into my phone to do these posts is a heck of a lot easier than typing with one hand. It’s hard for me to remember what I’ve said, though. I haven’t done anything or gone anywhere since my last post. Not feeling very perky yet. My brain is still fried and I can’t seem to keep track of the days. David does everything for me. I spotted an albino Dalmatian the other day. It was the least I could do for him.
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Well, crap. Today is Monday and I saw my oncologist this morning and had blood work. After that I went to physical therapy. I flunked my blood work. They looked at 24 things and I only passed 11 of them. I flunked 13. Thank goodness I’ve already had my last infusion of the red devil, because they wouldn’t have let me have another one. I will start my new drug a week from tomorrow end it will take four hours. That seems like an awfully long time, but it is what it is. I have infections under both of my arms and they are treating that. I officially have neutropenia, which means I am not allowed to have fresh fruit or vegetables until I can get my counts up. I was told there’s too big of a chance to get an infection from bacteria on them. I came within 3/10 of a point of having to have a transfusion today. that was a close call. I was released from physical therapy, at least. I will do my home exercises from this point on and wear my arm sleeve and glove. My white blood cell an...
3/25/21 Thursday. Jessica typing, Patty mostly conscious next to her. Once upon a time (when she heard about the cancer), a good friend gave Mom this great "Save the Hooters" shirt and she's been wearing it constantly . I think she deliberately spreads out her laundry so she can wash it every couple of days. Here she is on the day of surgery: So on Saturday, we were hanging out by the firepit in the back yard, having an appetizer and chatting. Dad wanted to take a picture of Mom, but then, "what is that dark spot on your shirt, honey?" Mom looks down and she is ON FIRE . I mean, she's always on fire, but for real this time. A large ember had landed on her shirt, burned through it, burned through her bra, burned through the padding underneath, and finally gone out just before burning her. She was in tears. She called her friend the next day and found out it had been custom made by her daughter for her. Oh lordy. "What did you spill on it?" came th...
3/23/21 Tuesday. Jessica typing; Patty dictating. We got up early this morning to get ready for chemo today. Jessica took me and picked me up, and since I got my bloodwork done yesterday, it only took about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Better yet, it was my last session with the Red Devil, and it will be the last time I have the blinking machine on the back of my arm, so I won't ever act like a cat in the middle of the night, chasing a laser light anymore. Unless I forget and do the same thing tonight. Right after chemo I went to pee and forgot that the Red Devil turns my pee red the first day. I had a moment of panic and then realized, whew, thank goodness I was merely poisoned. When we got home, Jessica made me eat lunch and now we're sitting outside in the sunshine, attempting to get the stark whiteness of my head to blend with the color of my face. I get to sit in the sun for two more weeks before the new chemo confines me to the indoors. It will make me very light sensitive; I ...
3/22/21 Today is Monday. This is Jessica typing; Patty dictating, since she's one-armed and will be for a while. You can imagine her glee. Anyway... Thursday and Friday were good days. I went to a birthday party on Thursday evening and Friday was our 39th wedding anniversary. We went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and 6 of our good friends joined us to celebrate. Jessica came in on Friday in time to have me do her hair and join us for dinner, as well. Both evenings were tremendous fun, but I was worn out when the evening was over. We took it easy Saturday and Sunday and rested. I tire quickly these days. Jessica took me to the oncologist this morning and my bloodwork was good enough to go ahead with my final infusion of the red devil tomorrow morning. In another two weeks, I will start chemo every week, but it will be an easier chemo drug called Taxol. I do the every week regimen for 12 weeks. After the oncologist, she took me to physical therapy....
3/16/21 Today was better. I was up bright and early (9:30 a.m.), sat around until 12:15 p.m., until it was my naptime, then slept until almost 3 p.m. Well, I didn't just sit around this morning. I read the paper and even made myself some scrambled eggs and toast for lunch. After my nap, I felt better. I paid some bills and loaded some dishes into the dishwasher. woo-hoo! I got the mail and brought in the empty garbage can, then sat down to rest. David was helping a friend most of the day today, so I was on my own. He'll actually leave the house if I text him every 20 minutes or so just to say 'I'm fine.' I called a neighbor and she walked a little with me outside. I walked a little ways down the street and then back and forth in the driveway till it felt like my hips were going to crumble. It felt awfully good to be outside, tho. It was 81 degrees here today and I was hot in my jeans and t-shirt....
3/15/21 She lives. This has been a rough week, but I finally feel able to write on this blog. My left arm is still wrapped from fingertip to armpit, so nothing is easy these days. I keep it on for 3 days or so, shower, then David wraps me up again. It's keeping the fluid on the move, so it's worth it. This morning was slow and I was worried I wasn't going to bounce back this time, but this afternoon is picking up a bit, so tomorrow should be a good day. I get out of bed mid-morning, usually take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, and then am back in bed by 10 p.m. every day. Fatigue is relentless, but I don't hurt when I'm sleeping, so it's not so bad. I do have some good news to share.... I no longer need to pluck my eyebrows. They're not growing any more and some are falling out now. The no-plucking was the good news. The falling out - well, not so good news. Also, my fingernails don't hurt. Just don't ask ab...
3/10/21 Once again, ‘mummy arm’ is typing with one hand, so ignore my mistakes, please. I’m typing in Word and going to try and copy this into the blog, because I need to save it and it may be longer than usual. I felt pretty good earlier this morning, but I’m going downhill a bit now and it’s nearly noon. Around 4 p.m., this little machine on the back of my arm will inject me for 45 minutes and I’ll feel crappy. It’s supposed to help increase my white blood count, so it’s really my friend. Yesterday, David asked me what I wanted for dinner and for the first time since this ordeal began, I knew what I wanted. A small bowl of raisins, 2 slices of smoked Gouda, and egg drop soup. He looked at me kind of funny, went into the kitchen, and made me exactly that. It was yummy. Have I mentioned previously that he’s a ‘keeper’? ...
3/9/21 I’ve got to use bigger print today so I can read it on my phone. There’s no way I can get to the computer today so I’m just talking into it. Hopefully I can find all my mistakes before I post this accidentally. Today was chemo day. David took me and dropped me off this morning and I called him when I was done. 3 1/2 hours today. Long day again. The mummy returns. Only my finger tips of my left hand are showing out of this contraption. How do you wash your hand with one hand? How do you open a jar with one hand? I sure do need David around. Chemo hit me hard today. Usually the first day I’m pretty good. Not today. I came home and David made me lunch and I couldn’t hardly finish I was falling asleep. I have been sleeping all afternoon. I woke up and called for David to help me to the bathroom and get me something to drink and now I’m back in bed. I am peeing read from the red devil, but mostly I’m just tired. Thank you to everyone for the good wishes today.
3/8/21 For Heaven's sake, I can't type any more. Have to use one hand. This is gonna take forever. Arrrgghhhhh! I got some more sun today, but the white bowl on my head appears to be there to stay. Drat. David took me to physical therapy this afternoon to learn how to help drain my torso and left arm of fluid because I have no lymph nodes over there and it's swelling. It was a lot to take in and I'm not sure the two of us can remember everything we learned today. He was taught how to wrap my left arm, too. OMG. It looks like I have a cast on. My fingers are triple wrapped separately and then my arm is wrapped triple all the way to my armpit. I can barely move my arm and my fingers are pretty much stuck straight out. It's all compression wrapped to move the fluid out of my arm. The lovely compression sleeve I've been wearing isn't good enough. And, get this..... I'm supposed to keep this wrap on fo...
3/7/21 It's Sunday afternoon now. I didn't write yesterday cause it was a no-news day. Today is really the same, but the posting obligation is real. I did get a little sun on my scalp yesterday and am fixin' to go out very soon and try and do the same today. I don't really see a difference today in the white bowl on top of my head, so additional rays may be necessary. I'm pretty tired. Need an afternoon nap every day now. However, I'm halfway through the Red Devil treatments. This is Hump Day. Only one more month to go with this stuff, then I begin weekly easier chemo. Physical Therapy is tomorrow afternoon and David will go with me to learn stuff. That's all on the calendar for tomorrow, so I'll be able to get my nap in prior to that appointment. Question: Have you ever listened to someone for a minute and thought "their cornbread isn't done in the middle"? Oh, yeah.
3/5/21 It's Friday! And I have good news!! Just got home from the doctor and was told my counts are "perfect"!!! I studied hard last night and it really paid off today! Passed all my tests with flying colors. So, I will continue with chemo on Tuesday morning. Two more sessions with the Red Devil and then I will begin chemo with a new drug called Doxil. It's usually taken every 2-4 weeks, but I will take it weekly. They will watch my liver closely with this one. Lots of potential side effects, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll get them. And, drum roll please...... I don't have to wear my straightjacket bra at night any more. If the swelling gets worse, I'll have to put it on, but - finally the sisters will be free at night! It's been 58 straight days! Ladies, you just go ahead and try to do that. I double-dog dare you. I'll wear it during the day just because I want my appearance to take...
3/4/21 It's Thursday night and I'm not sure what to write tonight. Nothing special is going on and I feel I don't have much to share, then I realized some people log on every night to see if I've written and check on me, so this is for you. You know who you are. I'm going to the oncologist in the morning. David will take me and he gets to come inside. This will be the very first appointment he's ever been allowed in. It'll be awesome! I'll have labs first and if my numbers are good, she'll put me on the chemo calendar again. I hope I pass. I'll study hard tonight. I don't want chemo, but I don't want an unanticipated hiatus from my schedule. I just want to finish this Red Devil and get it over with. I tried on my new wig tonight for David. I can only wear it a few minutes before my scalp revolts. It's still too sensitive to wear. I reckon my hair follicles (or what's left of them) just decid...
3/3/21 Today is Wednesday. I didn’t write yesterday because I was in bed by 8:30 pm. I had a busy day and was plum tuckered out. It was also the 6th anniversary of my mother’s death. I thought of her all day. Maybe she was the cardinal at my window..... My good friend, Laura, took me shopping yesterday morning and then we went to lunch afterwards. It was a delightful day. I bought a wig. It was kind of hard shopping for it, but everyone was so kind and helpful. I can’t wear it yet because my head is too sensitive, but I’ve got one when I’m ready. I got pretty tired as the day progressed, so I took it slow. I’ve got mouth sores now and don’t feel like eating much. I learned that RSVPing to a wedding invitation “Maybe next time”, isn’t a good idea. My bad.
3/1/21 It's Monday! Actually, I don't know the difference between the days of the week. I'm retired. That means there's 6 Saturdays and then there's Sunday. Right now there's a bright red Cardinal sitting on my solar light right outside my window. He's checking me out thoroughly and just chirping away. I wonder who it is...... I felt pretty good today. Not exceptional, but I'm definitely improving each day. David took me to physical therapy and he's supposed to go with me next time for 'training'. They're going to teach him how to massage my remaining lymph nodes, etc., so I can get them working a little harder. And, I will start wrapping my arm starting next week in addition to the sleeve I wear all day. I hope this swelling goes down before summer hits. I cannot imagine wearing all this stuff in the summertime. My beanies are proving to be too hot for me even now. I've switched back ...