Going down to Jean's for dinner tonight. Taylor and boyfriend, Andrew will be there. First time I'll have a chance to chat with him. I'm looking forward to it.

We got snow the last two nights. Sandy cleared the driveway yesterday with the snow blower. Left it alone today. I don't think we got that much last night. It looks pretty out there, but we are sick of it already.

Last night I felt so sick after supper. I took a nausea pill and went ustairs....it was 8pm! I took a shower first and it felt so good to lie in bed. Sandy came up a little after 9 and I went to sleep. Got up around 10:30 this AM. The medicine worked pretty good...I didn't throw up and the other pills kept the diarrhea down to a dull roar. I only got up about four times in the night.

That's real progress.

The Huskies (both teams) had good games the other night. The guys beat Villanova and even though it was painful to watch at times, I'm glad I did. The women had their hands full in the first half with Oklahoma, but I never doubted that they would triumph in the end. They let OU rattle them for some reason. Something Geno can work on with them.

It is looking more and more as if there could be another match-up with Tennessee looming in the NCAA tournament. I think UT will be up there in the standings, along with Nebraska and Stanford.

The Huskies next challenge will be when they take on Notre Dame at South Bend, the last game of the season. Should be interesting...with that little lephrachaun dancing around, aping for the camera! Actually I like him...met "him" a few years ago at Gampel Pavilion.

Recently I have heard that there are some people who read this blog who are going thru chemo, or have been through chemo. I'm thinking maybe we will want to start our own little "discussion group" or "support group" separate from this blog.

If you are in the above group....going thru or have been through chemo, and you are interested in such a group....email me at: anyeyeball@aol.com I'll set up a mailing list group.

If you are not in the above group and want to join (you know someone who is going thru chemo...or, you think maybe you'll get cancer sometime....just to see what it's like....) email me too!

Now I'm going to take a nap so I can enjoy tonight's experience!

Nappy nap!

Some things I've noticed

My nails are a lot stronger...and growing longer. I take this as a good sign. Just before I was told that the cancer was back I was wondering about it...because my nails were so rotten. On the cruise Sandy had to remove half of one of my thumbnails for me because it was just chipping and splitting so much. I was afraid that it would go to the "quick" and I would lose the whole thing.

Today I felt very energetic when I got up. First time in a long time. I got dressed and went out and filled all the bird feeders and suet holders and then hauled the trash can and recycle bin back from the street to the garage. Then I went and made my breakfast.

And last night I was able to haul the full trash bin and recycle bin up to the street. By myself.

Another thing....my hair is growing back faster than last time. I hope this is not a bad sign, but only a sign of how good Tresemme is. Last time I lost my hair I didn't use Tresemme until my hair was really growing. This time I had it to use right from the get-go. Janet had told me that Tresemme is really good for these kinds of things. I hope it's the shampoo that's doing it and it's not a sign that the chemo isn't working.

Next treatment should be a wicked one. The third one and the sixth one usually are. If it's not, I'm really going to wonder. Unless when I see Dr. McCourt next week she tells me the good news that my CA 125 has gone down. When I got the results of the first test that they did after my surgery, my level had gone up from 63 pre-surgery to 95 post surgery. I expected it would go up, due to the fact that the cancer is fast-growing. I was happy that it hadn't gone over 100.

This time the test will show the results of the first chemo. Last time around it dropped significantly. I expect it to do so again this time.

And I look forward to Round # 3 kicking my ass. I welcome it!

I also am looking forward to being able to work out in the yard and come in, all sweaty and dirty. That's sounding really good to me.

And, as soon as I am able, I'm going to haul those boxes of old work stuff I have upstairs and in the cellar out and get rid of it. That's going to be good too.

I have a plan.

Later! GO HUSKIES! Beat Oklahoma!

Five Guys

That's what I did last night....

Just kidding!

Took a chance with my cell counts and went to Five Guys in E Lyme for lunch today with Sandy, Ryan, Jean and Frank. First time I've been there. I didn't make it the last time the gang went.

I had the little cheeseburger, with mayo and sauteed mushrooms. I also ate about a half a cup of fries. Everything was delish! Loaded with calories, but delish!

We went back to Frank and Jean's and played Cat-opoly (like Monopoly but all about cats) and I won! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! I have played Monopoly since I was around seven...and have never won. I take it back....I quit playing when I was around 45...because I NEVER WON!

Well, today was my day...because I beat Ryan (who is usually the Monopoly mogul), Jean and Sandy. Later we played that rummy game...Phase 10. Didn't have the luck with that one. I got fatigued and had to go lie down and then the running to the bathroom started.....

I spent the rest of the afternoon and actually right up to this point in time (8:30) treking back and forth to the toilet. Even Rocky stopped getting up and joining me, after about the fifth time.

Sometimes I am amazed at how full of shit I am. Is that a grammatically correct sentence? Who gives a shit? HA HA!

Oh, Ryan is doing a lot better. Still recuperating from his concussion. He is still a bit "fuzzy" his Mom has noticed. He doesn't hurt anymore he says, but he still has to limit his texting, computer, no video games, etc. He had Sandy measure him today...and he was so excited that he gained a quarter of an inch in a month. He has one and three quarters of an inch to go to reach six feet! And to think I used to carry him around on my hip. He towers above me already.

Sandy did well in the job interviews. She had two interviews and both women seemed really happy to meet her. The big boss told her just that..."I am SO HAPPY that I got to meet you."
I know one thing, when I was interviewing people, I only made that statement to someone that I was planning to hire.

I guess they have seven applicants for three positions. That's not much. The first woman told Sandy that she saw her best fitting into a job that they haven't posted yet, but will soon. The position would be the liaison with the laboratory.....a place where Sandy worked way back when she first started at the hospital. She is really excited about maybe getting one of these jobs. It would be interesting, she would have an office...which is something she has ALWAYS wanted...she would work with computers, which she really likes....she thinks she would love this job.

She knows several of the nurses that they have already hired in some of the positions. I'm sure that they would recommend her...everyone who works with her has nothing but huge respect for the job she does, her work ethic and her professionalism. I know she is going to get one of these jobs and I think that for the first time in a long time she is going to love her job.

The Olympics is keeping us amused. We watched Apolo Ono win the silver medal last night, as we lay in bed. When we were assured that there would be no challenge to the race and he had indeed won, we turned out the light and went to sleep.

We sleep with the window open every night, unless the temperature is going to get waaaaay down. Well, when I washed the big comforter last year, I forgot to put the tennis balls in the dryer when I put it in to dry. The result was horrible....the down inside the comforter bunched up inside the shell...in lots of wrong places. We have tried to shake it down and have had some sucess, but I am left with basically no cover from the comforter in big spots on my side of the bed.

We have a down blanket under the comforter and we have a mattress warmer on the bed. Most nights the blanket is all I need...the hot flashes keep me pretty warm. But the past few nights, man oh man...it's been a veritable roller coaster ride----first I wake up soaked from the night sweats, get up and go to the bathroom, where I shiver....then I come back to bed and freeze, until I wake with the night sweats again and repeat the process.

I'll be so happy when it's warmer out.

I look at the back deck longingly...dreaming about having my morning cup o' joe out there. Soon.

The Huskies (guys) officially suck. Mike DiMauro has the theory that they have recruited great athletes, but poor bball players. I agree. These guys can leap out of the gym, but they think ally-oops are the number one option on offense; couldn't catch a pass if their lives depended on it; can't shoot foul shots (not enough action); and in general, have a severe lack of fundemental skills.

The women, on the other hand, are often sheer poetry in motion. Tina Charles owns the basketball court now...no one can touch her. Watching her and Maya out there is absolutely enthralling. Some people complain that the games are dull because the team doesn't lose. How can it be dull when you can watch these women play ball? Sure, we can just about bet the farm that they will win....but getting to the win is worth the watching. And there are no ally-oops to be seen.

My agenda for the upcoming week is to watch the Olympics. Good thing I have them to keep me occupied.

Nighty night and GO USA! GO HUSKIES!!!

Winter Olympics

The Olympics start tonight. I'm out of it...I forgot that the Summer Olympics wasn't that long ago...in China, wasn't it?

Anyway, we like the winter Olympics as much as the summer ones. Maybe more, since we are stuck inside anyway. I don't like that a luger has already died at a practice session. The track is too fast they say. I always said that if I were to compete in the Olympics, it would be as a luger.

However, I have never even been on a luge. I have been on sleds in my life though.

I'm sure riding a luge would scare the shit out of me. But the sound of it is very intriguing to me.

Yesterday we went to see Ryan play at NFA. In the early minutes of the game he was going for a lay-up, was fouled (not called) and fell to the floor with two guys on top of him. His head (temple) smacked the floor and I could tell he went unconscious.

I was hollering for them to take him out, but play continued and he got up within seconds and ran down the court, holding his head briefly. I kept hollering for them to stop the game. He got to the top of the key and then his right leg buckled and I thought he would go down again. He righted himself somehow and the coach called a timeout. He walked to the bench and sat down, looking bad.

I told Sandy to go over and identify herself and let them know she's a nurse. Sandy, who will always let anything stop her from doing the right thing in a medical emergency, hesitated, listening to people in the stands who were saying "he's all right." I hollered at her to "GO!"

She went over and came back shortly. A sports trainer was with Ryan and was checking him out. I asked her if Ryan knew who she was....she said she didn't ask him! DUH!

Anyway, they checked Ryan very thoroughly. I saw the trainer doing the eye tests (H-pattern, etc) on him. She talked to him a lot and then let him talk a lot. By half time, they conferred and recommended that he go to the hospital. They said his vision was off.

We already knew that. We took him to L&M. He couldn't remember what he had done the day before. He couldn't remember who won the Super Bowl. I got a plastic bag out in case he felt nauseous. I know that sometimes riding in the car can do that.

He had a CT scan and the doctor is taking this very seriously. He has to be out of commission for a week. He can't watch more than a half hour of tv, no texting, video games, etc. Can't stimulate the brain. They say it's like poking at a bad bruise on your thigh or arm...it keeps aggravating the injury. I never thought of it that way.

So, no more basketball...the season ends in two weeks anyway. He's okay with that, as he wants to be able to play lacrosse, where he got another (milder) concussion last fall. One more and he has to sit for a year. I think that's the rule, three concussions in a year....you have to rest a year. It makes sense.

It reminded me of when I had a concussion. I was in my early 20's and was playing softball in the city league. I was running from second to third when the shortstop ran into me...her head hit my temple. I went down like a shot and passed out. As I was coming to, I heard the third baseman saying "give me the ball, give me the ball." Then she tagged me and said, "you're out, now are you okay?" I came up off the ground with fist clenched ready to beat the shit out of her.

I had a headache for three days. In these days, I would go to the ER. In those days, you sucked it up and went to work.

After we dropped him off at the ER (his mother was there waiting for him) we called Frank and Jean and met them at 99 in Groton. We had a great meal and used our coupons to make it even better! I got the country fried chicken (I love that) and could only eat half of that...so I had the other half for lunch today....YUM!

Sandy went for a job interview today at the hospital. It's for a Nurse Informationist job. There are three positions open. Sounds like she did really good in both interviews and they may not be hiring her for the current positions, but may have her in mind for one they know is opening up soon. I think that may be the best fit for her. She really likes the sound of what this job is all about and so do I. It is the future of nursing and she would be right there on the forefront. It's all about technical stuff, trouble shooting, dealing with computers and other things she likes.

I hope she gets it. She's worried because it's a 40 hour M-F first shift position. She's worried that she won't be there if I need her. I reminded her that she has FMLA she can use if it's really really necessary and that I haven't begun to tap into the friends I can call on if I need a ride, etc.
Of course I had to tell her this about 'leventy billion times because that's how many times she asked me....she's a Libra.

Oh, Taylor passed her state EMT exam. So proud of her...she hasn't even graduated high school and she has already accomplished this. Not bad for someone who isn't even 18!!

Now I enter the part of my treatment when my counts will be down and I can't go out in public. That means we spend Valentine's Day at home, we'll celebrate tomorrow (Sandy has to work Sunday) and we are planning a nice steak dinner. Then we'll watch the Olympics!

U S A! U S A! U S A!!!! Or Canada....I root for them too. Or Sweden...them too.

I languished in bed this AM, reading the paper and drinking my protein shake. Sometime after 11 am I heard a sound, "WHOOOMP!" and it felt like something had fallen (a tree?) or some other thing had happened. The dogs immediately went nuts, barking and racing all over the house, looking for the culprit.

Sandy thought it was up stairs, I thought something happened downstairs. She looked around in the yard and saw nothing out of the ordinary. We forgot about it.

Later on we realize that what we heard was from the explosion of the energy plant that blew up today in Middletown. Unbelieveable that we would feel it all the way over here! Sandy asked Jean if they heard it and they said no....but then again, they are old! HA HA!

I think we are more sensitive here because of the amount of ledge that we sit on.

Those poor people at that power plant....five dead so far and more injured. They are searching the rubble now for more bodies.

And I know someone who works there! Drew Schneider (Erin's Dad) is an engineer there. They live in Portland. Thankfully, he wasn't there today.....but he knows these guys.

I haven't felt well all day. I may have a cold or something. Last night I got a headache from the Zofran...the drug I take for nausea. Every time I take it, the headache gets a little worse. Fortunately, I can handle just about any kind of headache...due to years of practice. I'd rather have a headache than be the least bit nauseous!

Anyway, I couldn't sleep too good last night. So, I slept a bit today. I watched the Huskies dispatch the Louisville Cardinals from the bed, then rolled over and slept some more. Oh, and I listened to my police scanner on my iPhone...my latest addiction.

I listen to the scanner all the time now. Yesterday I heard them do a routine traffic stop on someone I know! She got a warning for headlight violation. I also heard some heavy duty stuff, like a girl in our old neighborhood fighting with her family, taking a knife to them. They got the knife away from her and her brother was sitting on her, holding her down until the police got there. That was a mental health case.

It's very interesting. I can't imagine how the police can do that stuff day after day. Too much excitement!

We're watching the Super Bowl now. Don't know why, really. My team was over long ago. Maybe next year.

The ads can be fun though.

Nighty night!

I got a call last night that my bloodwork came back and I was low in white blood cells. I had to come in an hour earlier to have the blood test done again. UGH! I lay in bed last night and visualized a factory with pipettes dropping down from above, squirting white blood cells into test tubes and then somehow the test tubes squirted the cells into my body. I kept up that factory work for some time, until I fell asleep and every time I awoke last night I started the production line up again. I have no idea what white blood cells really look like, but in the dream they looked kind of like sperm squirting from the ceiling! WHAT??!!!

We got to Providence at 8:30 and I had the blood drawn. Then we went back to the treatment room and waited. The news came back pretty soon, not only was I good to go, but I had way more than what I needed to pass! YAY!

So I got my second treatment today, two down, four more to go.

I really didn't want to have to delay my treatments. I want to go to Sweden later this year and I want to be in shape to go. That means I have to stick as close to my projected schedule for chemo (finishing up at the end of April if all goes according to plan) as possible.

Oh, I'm watching a show on Michael Jackson (don't ask me why) and they just talked about him getting propofol. That's what the anesthesiologist gave for my surgery. As a matter of fact he actually said to me as he administered it, "now I'm going to Michael Jackson you...." And the last thing I said to him was "okay, just make sure you remember to wake me up!" OUT!

Some day I will relate here some of the "intereting experiences" I have had with my nurse at chemo. Suffice it to say she is scatterbrained, not good at multi-tasking and sometimes borders on dangerous. Lynne thinks she is burned out...she maybe right.

When I'm all done with treatment I'm going to insist on meeting with the head of the program to give my feedback and suggestions for improvement. I'm going to have to address the concerns I have about this nurse.

In the meantime, I have to stay on my toes and pay attention at crucial times. Today the benadryl hit me hard and I couldn't stay awake all morning. Usually it makes me dopey and I feel kind of sick, but I don't sleep more than a few minutes. Today I almost fell asleep on the toilet about mid-morning. I really had to use all my strength to fight it and get up and back to the treatment room.

Sandy was there for the crucial times to make sure things were done right. I am so lucky I have her. Today they were having trouble drawing blood from my port after my treatment, it wasn't flowing right. The nurse tried some things, including having me cough, which I really didn't want to do because I didn't want to contaminate the area by coughing near it. Finally, Sandy said, "take a deep breath." I did and the blood just flowed. I kept taking deep breaths and they got all the blood I needed.

Later Sandy told me that the most common cause of poor blood draw is repositioning...the needle has moved and is resting against the wall....the easiest thing to do to get it to move is to have the person take a deep breath. My nurse had me leaning forward, coughing, dancing and rocking in the seat....never suggested I take a deep breath.

As I said, I'm so lucky I have Sandy there.

Came home and I was able to enjoy the shrimp scampi and angel hair pasta meal Jean made. About an hour later my taste buds went south. Lucky!

Now I'm operating off the steroids apparently. Hopefully the effect will wear off soon so I can sleep tonight.

In the meantime, nighty night!

I'm slipping....

about posting here. I have to get better. Even if what I have to write is mundane, trivial, garbage...

Well...mundane, trivial garbage has been happening. Done.

Actually, I've been having a different kind of week. Actually got out two days so far. Yesterday I had to take the car to Toyota and have it serviced. I hadn't gotten a recall notice, so I wasn't sure if my Camry was one of the ones effected by the gas pedal problem. They did the service and reassured me that my car was NOT one of the ones with the problem! YAY!

In the afternoon Sandy and I went down to Waterford to watch Ryan play on the freshman basketball team. He is really good, they are really good and they won. I was happy to be able to see him--haven't seen him play yet this year. Then Ryan had been asked to play on the JV team that night. So, after the freshman game, we schlepped over to the other gym (remember, this is rich Waterford) and watched the JV get whupped by New London. Ryan didn't get to play much and when he did, he had turnovers...poor kid. He was playing sick, probably shouldn't have gone to school, but you know kids. I can remember playing basketball in high school with a high fever, etc. Ryan won't let these mistakes stop him. He's a very determined, hard-working, NICE kid. I think we are going to be going to a lot of basketball games in the years to come.

After the game we went over to Frank and Jean's and had dinner. They stopped at Wendy's on the way home and treated us. I had a taco salad. Good. Then I crashed on the couch. Sandy took me home. It was the longest I've gone since my surgery.

Today we left early to have my bloodwork done at Backus; then down to L&M to see Dr. McCourt. We had to wait for awhile down there, so we got to chat with my favorite NL nurse, Heidi. She is so funny and we always enjoy yacking with her.

Then I saw Dr. McCourt. She is very happy with how I'm healing and appalled about my bowel
situation. But there isn't anything more she can do about it. Just make the appropriate sympathetic faces when she talked to me about it.

I was hoping to get my last CA 125 results...they hadn't been entered in the computer for some reason. Dang.

Afterwards we stopped at Chester's Barbecue. You know me and chemo...I get the barbecue cravings and we went right by the place....so.....of course I went in. I got pulled pork sandwiches for me, Jean and Frank and something called "pulled chicken" for Sandy. I had been kidding her and said, "maybe they have pulled chicken for you!" Sure enough.

WELL! The pulled pork sandwich was EXCELLENT! They put about a half a pound of meat in each sandwich. I couldn't finish it of course. I also bought sides of cole slaw and baked beans, because it's not barbecue without slaw and beans.

WELL WELL WELL....of course I spent the next hour and a half in the bathroom.

Good barbecue.

Came home and crashed for about two and a half hours, with my little doggies snuggled up next to me.

Tomorrow night we go out to 99 Restaurant with Lynne and David. A new, night-before-chemo tradition. Dinner with Lynne and David. Right now the thought of food makes me ill...I'm sure I'll be hungry by tomorrow night!

Nighty night!