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....