Patty's epic adventure

  6/30/21 - Wednesday.  Last day of June.  Tomorrow begins a new month and a new chapter for me.  I had my final chemo treatment today.  David took me and we were gone 4 hours this time.  I thanked the nurses that took care of me in the chemo room the past 21 weeks and said goodbye. I go to MD Anderson in Houston for a follow-up with my surgeon on 7/11 and have a mammogram on 7/15.  I was lucky enough to receive a call yesterday afternoon from the Ballard House in Katy (west Houston) because they had a cancellation for those dates, so David and I will be staying there.  It's close to the west campus of MD Anderson, so I won't have to drive so far.  We've toured the place, but never got to stay there.  They stay pretty full all the time.  The doctor at MD Anderson has to send in a referral for me and I sent in a 6-page admission form, to boot.  Only cancer patients are allowed in (with a caretaker).  I'm not allowed to stay...

 6/28 Monday Jess here; Mom doesn't feel well enough to type. Her last round of chemo is on Wednesday! Hopefully. Her white count is down again, so we'll have to wait and see whether they let her. It will have been 21 weeks of feeling worse and worse, and she's physically and mentally tired of it. Her lymphedema is worse, swelling all across her back. Needs a body pressure suit that she's jumping through hoops to get. She's been leaving messages and nobody will get back to her. Some of the family is getting together this weekend to celebrate the end of chemo and the 4th of July. My cousins are coming in, and of course Courtney, Ryan, and Warren, along with Clayton and I, so it's going to be a full house. We'll have a nice dinner on the 3rd, then a pool party and fireworks on the 4th. She wanted me to thank you all for the cards and messages that keep coming in. She forgets to thank people sometimes, but it's just a combination of chemo brain and being so...

  6/23/21 It's Wednesday.  Chemo Day.  This was number 19 of 20!!  It took a long time today.  I was gone 4-1/2 hours for this one.  Too long.  Gads.  It was hard to draw blood out of my port this morning and I had to do the Hokey-Pokey, but this time with a twist.  I turned my head to the left, coughed, then had to hum a song.  I kept humming until she got the blood she needed.  Out of the blue, I picked the theme song from Gilligan's Island.  Bad choice.  It got stuck in my head.  For. A. Long. Time.  That's the first time they asked me to hum.  Easier than keep coughing, that's for sure.  See how much you can learn on this blog?  The educational value is exceptional, isn't it?  And it's free .  FREE is one of my favorite 4-letter words that begins with F. I fell asleep on the couch when I got home, but felt better when I woke up.  David took me to dinner in Tyler tonight.  Ba...

  6/22/21 Today is Tuesday and I haven't written for a few days.  Last week was crappy and the weekend was poopy, too.  I figured there was a good chance that they'd put me back in the hospital.  Monday was a bit better and today I'm feeling almost normal again.  Too bad it's going to be short-lived because I have chemo tomorrow morning at 9:20 a.m.  Sigh.   Only 2 more treatments, people!!! If I were feeling sexy, I could bat my eyelash at someone.  Get that?  My eyelash.... singular.... Who knows how long that one will hold on.  Want to place any bets?  My eyebrows are no better off.  I think I have 3 hairs on one side and 5 on the other, but I've forgotten, to tell you the truth.  You'd think I could count that high and remember it, right?  Uh, no. I got in the pool yesterday evening with David.  I got on my new huge noodle I got for Mother's Day and kicked around the pool in the shade.  My back didn...

  6/19/21 It's Saturday.  End of the day.  I'm officially no longer a 'babe'.  I have 1 eyelash on my left eye and 2 on my right.  Eyebrows are practically gone altogether now.  I slept last night, but woke up feeling pretty puny.  Didn't actually get out of the bed until 10:30 a.m.  Was awake, but not feeling like rising.  Was a slug on the couch the entire day.  No energy, shaky hands, shaky body.  Difficult to stand long and walking is slow and meticulous.  Getting harder to read, even with my glasses.  Vision is blurred a great deal of the time.  Not much of an appetite today - rather forcing myself to eat because I need the fuel.  Tomorrow will be a new day.  Gotta be.  My infection worsened overnight.  I'm swollen again and hurting.  I take the antibiotics twice a day and I thought they were working ok, but this has taken a downward turn now.  Tomorrow is Father's Day and I can do n...

  6/18/21 It's Friday.  Today has been a bit rough.  I couldn't sleep last night, so it was very long.  I tried, but it just didn't happen.  I had a meeting to attend this morning, so mustered up the last of my strength and muddled through that pretty well.  This afternoon, my Grandson was visiting, but David played with him all afternoon in the pool and I just watched.  Now I feel like I've been poisoned.  Wait a minute.  I was.  Oh, yeah. I've recorded 5 episodes so far with the heart monitor I put on on Wednesday.  It's really going boopity-boop.   I've got to hang on so that I have enough gusto left over to finish 2 more chemo treatments.  Hopefully, then, I can rest a bit before radiation begins.  I wanted to go somewhere, do something, with my 2 weeks off, but doctor appointments have already practically filled the time.  I've got to go back down to MD Anderson to see the surgeon for a follow-up and ha...

  6/17/21 Thursday.  Chemo day was long yesterday.  Took 4-1/2 hours before we got back home again.  And, of course, I'm having another reaction to the meds.  Just took a couple of Benadryl, so they should kick in soon.  Glad I had David be my driver yesterday - just wasn't quite up to that task. I have some good news today - sorta.  Today I'm 'Even Steven'.  I have exactly the same amount of eyelashes on each eye!  7.  Yes, that's right.  I'm totally a babe now.  All evened out!  I have 13 hairs on one eyebrow and 17 on the other, so that sorta offsets my latest eyelash accomplishment, but never fear!  More will fall out soon and maybe I'll even up on those, too.  Or, just have naked eyes altogether.  Who knows? I'm wearing a heart monitor again.  Got it on yesterday, but don't think I'll have to wear it very long.  2 weeks at the longest, 2 days at the shortest time.  As soon as I have enoug...

  6/16/21 Wednesday.  Chemo day now.  1:40 p.m., to be exact.  I'm going to update this blog now, because I will be sick after chemo.  I got some good sleep last night, which was badly needed.  I woke up 3-4 times, but could go right back to sleep.  Got at least 9 hours of sleep!  My infection has not improved since yesterday and the swelling has not gone down at all.  That's a bit disappointing, to say the least.  My arm pressure sleeve/machine thingy is keeping the fluid out of my arm, but my torso is a staging site and it's not moving on like it should.   David will drive me to chemo today cause I'm not up to that task yet.  He'll just drop me off and I'll call when I'm nearly finished and he can head back that way to pick me up. There are so many things that I want to do, that need done, but I'm supposed to be resting.  It's severely testing my patience not to get any chores done.  I did open the mail today a...

  6/25/21 It’s Tuesday, mid day, and I just got home from the hospital. Plans changed four different times this morning. Hard to get all the doctors on the same page. I did not have chemo at the hospital after all. I will have it tomorrow at the cancer center, where I always go. I am going to be on oral antibiotics for the next three months, then I will be reassessed. I’m going to be taking one thousand milligrams of Keflex a day. My infection is not gone, but it is better than it was four days ago, that’s for sure. my port sure came in handy and it made it a lot more tolerable in the hospital. they woke me up too many times last night for procedures for me to get any real sleep. So, I reckon I’m gonna take a nap today.

 Addendum: Have you ever had an MRI? You’re in a tiny tube and they put earplugs in your ears and then they put a headset on top of that, because it’s so very loud in there. Things are clanging and banging and humming a lot. They ask you if you would like some music piped in to help cover up the banging. Do you want country western? Easy listening? Rock ‘n’ roll? They have it all. last night I opted to turn down their offer and just listen to the banging. Then I promptly fell asleep in the tube. That’s how tired I was. I woke up with a start and jerked my hand. I’m supposed to be laying perfectly still, so that was not a good thing. The test lasts  about a half of an hour and they pulled me out about the halfway mark to inject the dye into my port. The technician thought it would be best to put weights on my arms so that I could not lift them when I woke up. that turned out to be a very good idea, because I fell asleep three different times. And every time I woke up, I would b...

  6/14/21 This is Monday. I’m pretty sure. I’m getting so mixed up in here. Lots of doctors came to see me this morning. We have a change of plans now. I’m definitely not getting out today, but I’m not sure about later on in the day tomorrow yet. I am having chemo tomorrow, here in the hospital. I guess they’ll watch me and see how I tolerate it. When I am discharged, I will be put on antibiotics. I will take them twice a day, every day, for the next three months. They will reevaluate me at that time. They have stopped giving me the Vanco myosin, because I’m having a reaction to it now, also. They’re going to put something else in my IV next time.  My infection appears to be clearing up a little bit, but it’s not nearly gone. My CAT scan of my chest showed nothing spectacular. I had an MRI at 11:30 PM last night, so just got the results of that. Again, nothing spectacular. I walked a little around the hallway today and it felt good to get out of this room, even for a little wh...

 6/13/21  Today is Sunday and I was hoping to be released tomorrow, but it appears that will not happen. We just can’t seem to get a handle on this infection and now I’m coughing. I had a CAT scan of my chest earlier today and I’m scheduled for an MRI of my shoulder this evening. I can’t remember what I wrote yesterday, so please excuse any duplicates. The  oncology nurse was allowed to use my port, so that has been extremely helpful this whole time. I don’t have to get stuck much anymore. I’m getting shots in my stomach to prevent blood clots and I got a different kind of shot in my stomach to help boost my blood.  I am very, very tired, and fall asleep at the weirdest times. last night was horrible. I had a reaction from the pain medicine and itched for  hours. They kept pumping Benadryl in me to try and alleviate some of the itching. They increased my Benadryl dose today and it has helped. Five different doctors came to see me today and it looks like they’re ...

 June 12, 2021 Well, poop. They put me in the hospital. It looks like I will be here for the next two nights. I’m getting antibiotics via my IV. they could not access my port, so it’s in a supremely uncomfortable place in the crook of my elbow. I am talking into my cell phone, so please excuse all the errors. I spent nearly 4 hours in the ER before I got my own room.

  6/11/21 Today is Friday.  At least I can remember that.  Geez.  My brain is fried.  This week I desired to be the windshield, but instead, I was the bug.  No good news to share, I'm afraid.  I had an unscheduled visit with my oncologist and another doctor at her office at the same time today.  I'm just that special.  I have another infection and they're a bit concerned about this one, more so than the previous ones.  I have cellulitis and am watching it closely.  Since it's Friday, I will watch closely and call my doctor if it seems to be getting worse, or I just have a new symptom.  She's on call this weekend and will take care of me.  Any change, and I will be admitted to the hospital.  Sepsis could be in the shadows and that would not be good.  From that appointment, I went to the cardiologist.  Also, no good news.  I'm getting another heart monitor next week and will wear that for awhile.  Af...

  6/9/21 - Wednesday I am feeling a bit better today, but not good enough to drive, so David took me to my MRI today.  They initially told me it was without contrast, and that was what was on the document they mailed me, but they stuck the needle in my arm and did it with contrast after all.  She said the doctor called and changed the order.  I studied hard for that test, so I should get a passing grade.  We'll see.  I called the cardiologist again today and left another message.  They finally called me back this afternoon.  Geez.  I have an appointment Friday afternoon at 2:00, so I have plenty of time to study for that, too. I woke up with my face on fire again.  My neck and chest were red, also.  I took 2 Benadryl and it took 2 hours for the redness to start receding, but it went away.  I guess I'd better just expect it after every treatment from now on.  The good news is:  I only have 3 more!  June 29th will ...

June 8, 2021 I just realized I haven't written for over a week.  It was a wonderful week.  I visited with my little brother, Kurt, and the days flew by.  He flew in last Thursday and stayed till yesterday afternoon.  We took him to the Tyler airport and he flew out on American.  The schedule said his flight was going to be 20 minutes late, but he ended up sitting on the tarmac and the flight was an hour late.  He was afraid he'd miss his connection at DFW, but little did he know - that was going to be the least of his worries.  After numerous flight and gate changes, they had him leaving Dallas 5 hours later.  When 11 p.m. rolled around, they simply cancelled his flight altogether.  Hotels were full, no flights, so he spent the night in the airport.  He got another flight out this morning, but the attendant said they'd made a mistake and it was for tomorrow morning instead.  Oh, Heavens.  He got that fixed, finally got on a fli...

  Later - I drove myself to chemo today and got a spot close to the building this time.  Thank goodness.  A rainstorm was looming and I didn't want to get caught in it. My labs were good enough for treatment and I was in and out of the center in 3 hours.  When they gave me the Benadryl, I got cold and got a heated blanket delivered.  That was a slice of Heaven and I fell fast asleep.  First time sleeping at chemo.  I get the Benadryl dripped into my port along with steroids and anti-nausea meds, first.  Then comes the heavy stuff.   I stopped at the tax office and picked up our returns on the way home.  Those were disheartening, to say the least.  But, I'm done with that chore and it feels good. It's about the only thing that feels good this evening.  I'm pretty puny, and have been ever since I got home.  Definitely not up to par.  Perhaps tomorrow will be better.  Not sure if I'm going to be able to go to b...

  6/1/21  Today is Tuesday, June 1st.  It's been 8 months since I found the tumor in my lymph node and I still have another 3 months of treatment - at least.  I am so tired of this crap.  I want to be finished.  Now.   I had a lovely weekend with all my girls home.  Big birthday party for my now 5 year old grandson on Saturday.  All I did was make the punch.  Everyone else worked.  I supervised.  We didn't have rain for 3 whole days.  It was delightful. I'm headed to chemo in 15 minutes.  This is the only day I'm scheduled in the afternoon.  They put me in at 1:00, so I'll be there all afternoon.  I didn't get to see my blood results last week, so I hope they're wonderful today. I'm going to drive myself and stop and pick up our tax return on my way home.  So, this day is really gonna suck. My little brother, Kurt, is flying in from Idaho on Thursday for a visit and I'm truly looking forward to see...