NOCC Run/Walk

                                         

Annie's Army:  L-R Sharon, Steve, Pam, me, Patty, Carol, Todd, Sandy and Lindsay and all the doggies.

Janet and I put together the gift bags for the doggies registered for the Walk/Run...bags and cookies donated by Janet's friend, Gail.

I would load more pictures here if I could find the damned things.  I just downloaded the pics and now I can't find all of them!  So weird.

The NOCC event was a huge success for the organization, for our teammates and for me personally.

The organization held the biggest walk ever.  Raised the most money ever.  This is the third year for this event and it's growing nicely.  

My team members did well...Steve was second male in his age group in the 5k Run...bettered his time from last year by two minutes!   WOW!  

Sandy and Rocket averaged a bit over nine minutes per mile in the run.  Rocket really helped with this, pulling Sandy just about the whole way.  He and she loved it...they had a great time! 

Carol successfully completed her first-ever 5k, despite blisters and being sore from previous injuries.  So proud of her!

The walkers on the team all finished the course, most of them had doggies that they walked with....and the pooches had a great time too!

There were over 160 dogs pre-registered...this is the first year we have allowed dogs in the run/race and it was much appreciated by people and a HUGE success!

Our team exceeded our $2000 goal and the money continues to come in.  Next year we hope to add more team members (and doggies) and raise even more money.

The weather was wonderful, the food vendors were great and everyone really enjoyed themselves and left the event happy and satisfied.

It was a great time for me because I was able to make it through the whole day, even though I worked hard and long the day before on helping with set-up for the event.  Last year at the walk I was totally out of it...I was soooooo tired and confused.  This year was TOTALLY different...for the better!  What a difference!  YAY!

Now I'm looking forward to our trip to Acadia, we leave on Saturday.  Poor Sandy, she's exhausted...and actually said she didn't want to go to Acadia...but I told her I would load up the RV and I could help with driving...contrary to what she thinks.  She now feels better about it.  We are going to have a good time, exploring the parts of the park we didn't get to see last year, poking around in the area.  The dogs will love it and we will relax and enjoy ourselves.  I hope the weather holds that's all.

This week before we go I'm going kayaking with Jessica on Wednesday.  Probably the last time of the year...which is a shame as I have only gone out on the water one other time this year!  Sandy has yet to get in the water.  Maybe if we have Indian summer in October we can go.  I hope to have Joyce over for lunch, maybe Thursday or Friday and show off the bathroom. 

Joyce and I are starting to look forward to our trip to Stonewall Kitchen in November...we are going to take a cooking class up there...and spend the weekend in Ogunquit.  Can't wait to take her to Billy's Chowder House.  It's going to be a weekend of eating and playing...YAY!

Okay, signing off...things are great, I feel great and life is GREAT!

Later!

Taking Charge

So, by now, most of you know the good news:  my CT scan showed that everything is "stable" and I opted to continue my "chemo vacation" with the blessing of my oncologist.  Someone said, "oh, I'm so happy you are cancer-free."  Nope, I'm not "cancer free"...I still have cancer, it's just staying stable...the lesions I have are the same size from CT scan to CT scan...and my "numbers" on my bloodwork are low. 

I am taking matters into my own hands about my abdominal pain and am using a lot of homeopathic remedies to help it.  I drink aloe juice now which really helps soothe everything and I swig the "gripe water" (ginger and fennel) which helps alot.  I can go for longer periods now when my abdomen does not hurt...YAY!   The Green Market has been a good resource for me...I go there at least twice a week now. 

The pain in my side waxes and wanes...but never goes away.  I go to the allergist tomorrow, finally and hope he has at least a partial answer to what the hell this is!  Watch, it will all be GAS!    I have been getting better in that department and we all know how much gas that can't come out can really hurt.  Maybe I just have to fart for a day (and a half) and everything will be fine. 

Anyhoo, as the chemo gets further and further in the rear view mirror, I feel better.  I notice an increase in energy.  I have been taking a remedy for that too and that helps big time!  I have been able to do more around the house, go out more and last longer before the fatigue hits.  And when the fatigue does hit, I recover faster.  I just have to lie flat for a bit and I can get up and go again.

This weekend we are heading to New Hampshire and Maine.  New Hampshire first for "Wag-it Games" a doggie camp where the dogs will be playing different games.  We'll be taking the RV, of course and staying over Fri-Sun.  Monday we move to Saco, where we will be staying at the KOA.  Tuesday Sandy will be driving the car up to Augusta, to take Bubbles to see the vet up there.  I'll stay back with Rocket and relax.  Truman will go along for the ride to Augusta.

Rocky has an eye infection of unknown origin.  Poor guy has to go back to the vets today because it isn't responding as well as we hoped.  He has had to skip dock diving, going in the water treadmill at PT and his agility classes.  He has been rather "reserved" also....quieter and more pathetic looking.  I hope he feels good enough to enjoy his weekend of games!

The Seaside gang came over Monday night and we had a great time.  I got to show them the bathroom and the RV and we had great food (which they brought) and caught up a bit on what is going on with us.

The weather has turned a bit in the direction I like to take...cool in the shade and warm in the sun.  I've been harvesting my roma tomatoes and have frozen three batches thus far.  Some kind of weird thing is hitting the "heritage" romas that we planted and I haven't been able to harvest too many usable ones.  It's a shame because they are nice big romas.  

We have enjoyed the "fruits of the garden" this summer...the squash, beans, corn and tomatoes.  The egg plant are now coming in, but they are small.  I dunno if they will get bigger...this is the first time we have planted them. 

The corn stalks are HUGE.  We'll let them dry and then bunch them around the arbor as a decoration...recycling them.

Oh, and I'm ALWAYS soliciting $$ and walkers/runners for my team "Annie's Army" for the Ovarian Cancer Coalition walk in September---the 22nd.  If you can donate, volunteer (we need volunteers) or walk/run (and there are no "walk police"....if you sign up to walk/run and don't do it, no one will say a word!)....let me know.  I'll be happy to help!  My NOCC Home Page    click on this to go to my page.

Okay, time to get back upstairs to finish the laundry. 

Later....

"Quick" update.   Work on the bathroom progresses...it seems like it's taking forever, but in reality it's "only been a month."  Of course, I had totally unrealistic expectations of it taking two weeks.  Cue loud, maniacal laughter....

We've been glued to the Olympics.  Have enjoyed seeing the runners and the bball team (women).  Sandy wants to run again...like she did in high school.  She has been reading a lot about it and talking a lot about it, but I don't really see her running anywhere.  I'm trying to encourage her to come to the gym with me, I need a gym buddy and maybe that will get her jump started.

She should go running with Rocky again.  He loved it and she did too.  I think I will push her to take him out some time this week.

I, of course, have no desire to run or do anything that involves sweating a lot.  I would be happy to be able to get to the gym and workout again.  I haven't been in some time due to the gut problems, first the runs and then the pains.  Now it's the fatigue that keeps me from going.

Sandy got me some stuff called "Gripe Water"...it's for babies with colic, hiccups etc.  I took the adult dose and it really helped with my abdominal pains!   It's $10 a bottle and worth every penny!  Can't believe that something so simple has helped so much....it's so nice to not walk around in pain all the time.

Where the hell did they get the name Gripe Water though?  I don't get it.  It's composed of ginger, fennel and bicarbonate of soda.  Weird.  I'm not griping about it, mind you, just find it curious.

Okay, signing off....USA USA USA!!!

Later....

Half way there....

The bathroom is half done.  The shower is tiled, the floor is tiled.  The electrician is coming Saturday to install the new vanity light and prepare the area for the installation of the wiring and thermostat for the floor heat.  The shower door guy came today to measure for the glass.

The shower door will be ready in "two weeks."   I wanted to scream!  Two weeks is the answer for everything! 

I can't complain...Jim has been great, he's coming back on Monday to start prepping the walls for paint and to install the trim.  Still have to finish the plumbing in the shower, install the toilet and install the vanity top and faucets.

I'm glad I didn't put the sealer on the vanity...just as I suspected, some damage was done during the work on the bathroom.  I'll wait until the old top is removed and the new one installed before I do the touch-up and the sealing. 

I was kidding when the work started in the second week of July that I wanted it done "by the end of August"....now that doesn't look like a joke anymore! 

Today I ran out of steam....I had NO ENERGY....the shower door guy was coming over in a few minutes and I felt absolutely drained!  It took all my will to get up from the chair, get the dogs in their kennels and greet Kirk at the door.  I have no idea how I got him upstairs and then back out the door again.  I guess the 5 hour energy drink I had knocked back just before he arrived must have kicked in.  It was truly scary. 

Sandy thinks I am deficient in manganese or magnesium or something....it has happened several times before when I was getting chemo and they would have to give it to me via IV.  She is searching for a topical version of it for me as she thinks it will make me sick if I take it orally.  What would I do without her?

When I saw my therapist yesterday I told her, "I'm a woman of above-average intelligence (verified by testing...don't take my word for it), who is has great support...from people with medical backgrounds, I have fantastic insurance and I struggle to get a proper diagnosis, proper and adequate treatment and I have to do a lot of work on my own to insure that my doctor's are properly informed regarding actions that other doctors are taking with me, etc.  HOW THE FUCK do people with less resources do it?  I know the answer, they don't....and they suffer and die.   It's unbelievable in this day and age that this goes on....but it does, every friggin' day.

Enough of that....tomorrow we are hopefully, off to the beach for the first time this year!   Carol is coming with and we plan to boogy board...I already have them out and stacked up in the garage, ready to load into the car.  I can't wait!   I hope I have the energy to do it.

Saturday we are going to Hebron Fairgrounds for another Jack Russell Fun Day...the dogs will get to do their favorite activities and then Sandy and I will hit Harry's on the way home.  We went the other night after the dogs PT appointments and they were CLOSED!  I was crushed!   Charmine said they closed for a staff party....so they should be open on Saturday. 

Be careful out there...the air is bad.  Pace yourselves!

Later!

Thursday from the RV

The pictures from the CT scan I'll have done in the third week of August are starting to take on the noteriety of the Zapruder film!   No less than three doctors now want to see those images and two of them want hard copies!

I went to see Dr. Sansone last week and she got it in her head that the pain I have been feeling in the area of my lower right lung could be a pulmonary embolism!   I knew that couldn't be right, but she went ahead and called Kathleen, my nurse practitioner at Dr. Galan's office and Kathleen was obliged to call me and tell me to go to the ER immediately. 

Carol was with me and we really wanted to go to a Polish Deli in New Britain...any Polish deli.  So, we made a command decision about the ER visit...and went to the Polish deli.  We got pierogis and homemade grilling kielbasa (both of which were DELICIOUS, by the way) and then I dropped her off at her car back in Norwich and made my way to the ER.

It was an exercise in futility.   They did the preliminary test for pulmonary embolism (blood work) and chest x-ray and I was sure that they would see that I did NOT have a PE and maybe, just maybe, they would figure out what I did have.  NOPE!  The bloodwork came back a bit elevated and they were obligated to do a CT SCAN!   OMG!  

Now I have had a CT scan in April, May, June, July and will have another in August.  OVERKILL MUCH?!!!

So Dr. Sansone thinks that my guts are in an uproar because of the Avastin.  She also thinks I have "bacterial overgrowth" again and put me on medication for two weeks...that RX cost my insurance company $1,000!   I am soooooooo lucky I have good insurance! 

She wants to see the pics of the CT scan that I will have done in August.  Oh...by the way...after all the promises I got from my oncologist's office, they NEVER sent the info to Dr. Sansone that they said they would!   I guess I just have to do this stuff myself.

Yesterday I went for my annual follow-up visit for my gastric by-pass.  When I told the tech that I thought I had a hernia, they immediately switched me from seeing the Nurse to seeing Dr. McMillian.  Now I LOVE Dr. McMillian...she is a UConn grad and she is WONDERFUL!   She agreed that I probably have a hernia...but a definitive diagnosis can only be made by a CT scan of the area....now SHE wants a hard copy of the pictures! 

She also agrees with Dr. Sansone (and Sandy too) that my abdominal woes are from the Avastin...a case of the cure being a problem...I won't say the cure is worse than the disease, because that is definitely NOT true!   The cure is a problem. 

As the Avastin gets out of my system...and as the Gas-Ex does the job that Gas-Ex does, I feel better and better.  I still have the mystery pain in my lung area, but I have an appt to see my allergy doctor at the end of August, and maybe he can shed some light on that! 

We went to Stowe last weekend in the RV with two teenagers, Ryan and his girlfriend.  Ryan was in a lacrosse tournament up there and we were his transportation, food and lodging for the weekend.  It was fun, but very tiring as we did NOT bring the car.  That meant that we had to drive the RV to the event area.  It called for a lot of setting-up and tearing down during the weekend.   We did have a nice air conditioned place in which to eat, potty, rest and relax between games though.  Ryan didn't play in the last game so we were able to hit the road to home early, avoiding the Sunday night traffic.

Vermont is so beautiful.  The air up there was so good, so easy to breathe.  The scenery was spectacular.  I love it there.  It's another one of those states that, if it had an ocean, it would be the perfect place to live!

The bathroom work is really progressing.  The tile is going in the shower and on the floor.  They should be finished by tomorrow I would think.  Some modifications that I requested have resulted in some delay...like I increased the amount of floor heating....but that's a good thing. 

It is looking so beautiful...can't wait to see what it looks like painted and with the vanity top and new light installed!

Hopefully those jobs will get done next week and I'll be able to enjoy my new space for my birthday! 

Storms coming in tonight...hope we don't lose power....we don't have enough gas in the RV tank to run the generator for long...we were so tired Sunday we didn't "top off" before we put it in the driveway, as we usually do.  I have "battened down the hatches" and we will hope for the best!

Be careful out there folks, the weather this summer is crazy scary!

Later....

Renovations....Joy and Horror

I'm typing this seated at the dinette in the RV, which is parked in our driveway, plugged in so I can run the air conditioner.  The dogs and I consider this our "new home" as the guys work on the bathroom renovations.   It makes for a much quieter and nicer environment than having to lock them up in their kennels in the house and listen to them bark every time they hear a peep from upstairs.

The work is progressing.  Todd came Friday and moved the plumbing for the shower to the opposite wall, which means that now I am going to get the glass half-wall that I always wanted, right next to the big beautiful window in the bathroom.  I am so excited about this.  I went down to a local place that Darlene had recommended some months ago and ordered the full glass shower door and the glass for the half wall.  The price they quoted me was EXCELLENT!   Jim, my contractor, had told me that a glass door like that would cost "$4,000."   And his predictions for how much the wall would cost was equally dire. 

Now I realize that he just always uses the "$4,000 figure whenever he's presented with a new idea.  I don't mind, now that I know this about him.  He is doing great work up there and is so neat in the process.

Today they are trying to take up the tile in the laundry room....and remove a raised section of flooring that it's on.  For some reason Bob the Builder...the original home owner who did all this installation, chose to over-engineer everything!   The floor can't be pried up because he put hundreds of nails and screws in it!  They have to pull up the tile to get to the nails and screws and he put the tile down with Who-Knows-What but it isn't coming up easily!   They have to chip each tile and they break and leave little bits, etc.  A nightmare! 

Now Jim has a healthy respect for what I went through trying to get the damned wallpaper off!  Bob over-engineered that too....I don't know what he used to adhere it to the walls, but it was EXCESSIVE!

On Friday when Todd was working on the plumbing, I was out back with the dogs when the familiar gurgling began in my intestines.  CAUTION...what I am about to write you may NOT WANT TO READ! 

I went into the house and used the toilet and when I went to wash my hands, the water just dribbled out of the faucet.  UH-OH....Todd had shut the water down!   Now, when I have one bout of diarrhea, it does NOT stop there...no siree, it goes on and on, sometimes the next bout coming immediately on the heels of the last one.

I panicked....what to do?  The RV!    I raced out there and checked the water levels....the fresh water read EMPTY!   Oh no...I can't use the RV!   I could get a bucket and fill it from the swimming pool and use that to flush the toilet inside, but that would only be one flush and frequently I have to flush multiple times in one sitting....OMG!  I can't use the house toilet!

I grabbed a roll of toilet paper and the key to the back gate that leads to the path in the woods...SO HAPPY we have woods behind our house.  By then my guts were really gurgling again....I raced down to the gate, got the key in the lock and it hit!   I didn't have time to unlock the gate...had to "do it" right there along the fence...with three Jack Russells right there, watching me with puzzled looks on their faces. 

I scooped dirt over the mess and raced back up to the house, where I got plastic store bags and handy wipes from the RV.   I also picked up a small garden spade from my tool box.  I raced out back again and through the gate to the woods.  

I had just enough time to set all my supplies in a row when the wave hit me again.   I crouched there in the woods, surrounded by the piles of brush that we haul out there from the yard and was thankful that we no longer lived on Sunrise Street, where none of this "cover" would be possible.

The whole thing lasted for what seemed like an eternity.  I had to dig four holes out there and felt like I was back in the National Guard, touring Germany.  I was physically wiped out and it took all of my strength to clean things up, and make my way back to the RV, collecting the dogs along the way.  I collapsed on the bed and the dogs and I slept for about an hour until Todd called on my cell to let me know he was done. 

The evidence was all bagged and disposed of properly....the holes were covered over, camouflaged with sticks and leaves and I poured about a half gallon of vinegar over them.  I could have kept my mouth shut and no one would have been the wiser.

But no...I had my iPhone with me out in the woods and I texted Sandy as I crouched...telling her, "if this was happening to someone else, I'd be laughing." 

I go tomorrow to see the gastroenterologist and hopefully she can come up with some remedy to help me with all this shit....and I mean that literally and figuratively.  Carol is coming with me...she used to work with Dr. Sansone and it will be great to have them see each other again...and she can help me explain things to the doctor.  She can also help me remember what the doctor says and can share the info with Sandy.  Sometimes I have trouble with this part...remembering or understanding what the doctor is saying.

The work on the bathroom will continue into next week and maybe beyond.  In the meantime, we head to Stowe this weekend, taking Ryan with us.  He'll be playing in a lacrosse tournament up there.  We are all excited about this get-away. 

Later.....

Lots of energy lately...it seems that the more the chemo gets out of my system, the better I feel.  I swear that the chemo is what makes me feel sicker than the cancer does!  That's probably half-true.  All I know is that I have been able to get a lot of things done lately.  The one thing that gets to me fast is the heat...I wilt under the sun. 

I have been able to take the dogs for walks around the neighborhood, mow the lawn, do laundry, vacuum, cook and clean...all in the same day!   Being in air conditioning in the house helps a lot. 

We have had a good, productive week.  Rocky went for his second session at Denise and Bob's cottage and he did great!  He even jumped off the end of the dock!  He absolutely loves this stuff...now we have to figure out how to get him to jump for distance.  Distance is key in dock diving competition...they don't care if you hesitate at the end of the dock, it's how far you jump that is important. 

We went to Janet's for the Fourth...nice picnic and it was great to see Janet, Jeremy and Jessica and the pooches.  I should have brought my bathing suit...it was SO HOT!   I finally moved into the house to get cooled off, but it was too late.  I was too far gone.  Sandy brought me home and I laid down for awhile and then perked back up.

No fireworks next door this year.  I don't think they will do that again...not after the talk Carol had with them last year, sealed by my chat with them.  It was pretty cheeky of them all these years to think that we loved their fireworks upsetting our dogs and we liked having the debris all over our back yard.  They used to shoot off BIG fireworks.   No more, for which we are grateful.  However, the people up the hill right across the road through the woods had to make up for the loss of the old fireworks by putting on their own show.  People can be such assholes!

The good thing...Bubbles really calms down with the thundershirt that we got for her.  We put it on when the storms are starting and before the fireworks and she was excellent throughout the ordeals....she laid on Sandy's lap and didn't run off, drooling or any of the other stuff.  Of course, it helps that she is going a little deaf.  My poor baby is going deaf! 

Wow, is 8:45 and I have already gotten so much done!  I've done a load of wash, fed the dogs, cat, birds and fish.  I've loaded stuff into the RV for this weekend's trip.  I have cooked up potatoes, to fry with the fish for tomorrow night and for potato salad for lunch tomorrow.  I cleaned the fridge and did general cleaning upstairs and down.  Next I have to put away laundry, make the bed and finish packing. 

Oh...I have to get clothes out of the closet before Monday.  The work starts in the bathroom Monday and once it does, it may be hard for us to get into the closet. 

I still have to get a light fixture for over the vanity.  I'll do that next week, when the guys are working...it will be nice to get away from the hubbub in the house.  I lucked out, Sandy has to work third shift three days next week--for the opening of the new Backus "ER" in Plainfield.  So, she will be sleeping in the RV during the day and will take the dogs in there with her...freeing me up to be able to be footloose and fancy free!  

I may even sneak away to the beach one day...you never know.

I am looking forward to going to the beach someday soon with Sue.  She had her big day yesterday and Bill called last night to let me know things went way better than the surgeon thought it would.  I was so happy, I shrieked!   Later in the night as I was sitting up in bed in the dark, I started crying, thinking about all she has been through and how much better she is going to feel now.  Well...not right now...but down the road she is going to feel so much better.  Can't wait for her to come home so I can go bug her!

Oh, I have to note this...I am totally hooked on "Breaking Bad."   I can't believe I haven't watched the show before this.   I am recording all the previous seasons on the dvr and watch an episode or two to take a break from my chores.  I can't decide if it's a comedy or drama...or both...I just love it.

And the other thing I'm hooked on is the theme song Kathy Griffin recorded for her show....Sandy and I sing it spontaneously.  I downloaded it onto my iPhone, so now I have it for forever...it's "in the Cloud."   I love her and am thinking about going to see her again when she comes to Foxwood in November.  This would be the third time I see her and you know what they say about the third time...

We are off to Dummerston, VT today...coming home Sunday.  Murph and the neighbors are in charge while we are away.  

Later.....