So here's the short of it,
I'm starting the countdown.  Today was 12; only 11 more Herceptin treatments left.

And here's the long.

Well, I just can't help myself.  I've started the countdown.  I had treatment number12 from the end today, and have only 11 more Herceptin treatments!  It's such a good feeling.  On the other hand, I'll have to say that I've become so familiar with all the folks in the office that it will be a sad feeling not to be going in every week. 

Today Lori and I talked about the muscle cramps I'm having.  She says it's very difficult to tease out whether or not it's the Herceptin or the Arimidex, but she thinks it sounds more like side effects of the Herceptin.  Arimidex causes muscle and joint soreness and pain, but not usually cramps.  Of course we'll have to wait to see, but it's such a good thing to anticipate that when the Herceptin is over I won't have the muscle cramps.  In the meantime, she suggested that I cut the Flexeril in half and try that.  The whole 5 mg made me so groggy that I really wasn't comfortable taking it when I had to go to work the next day.  So I'll be giving that a try - tonight. 

Spring Break is coming up.  Tomorrow is my last day of work before some time off.  I've got a doctor appointment in the morning and then working the rest of the day. I'm so looking forward to some time off. 

So here's the short of it,

I'm not feeling great, but it's been a pretty good day altogether.

And here's the long

I really haven't been feeling very well the last couple of days - it's intestinal upset - not enough to keep me from working or any activities, but just enough to keep me pretty off kilter.  Today I'm a bit better but yucky enough to be grouchy.  I made oatmeal for dinner tonight -it's a favorite for the two of us when we don't really want much dinner; I make that really hearty old-fashioned stuff .  I had read about using different ways to flavor up oats in a healthy eating article, so tonight for the first time ever I tried putting peanut butter in it.  It wasn't good, I didn't like it, and I threw most of it away. 

I'm still having lots of trouble with muscle cramping.  Monday I spent all day long in an elementary school in parent meetings, and I was in one of those hard plastic chairs - they were red.  By noon time, I was having so much trouble. Every time I would get settled into the chair my legs would begin to cramp.  I ended up standing for some of the time.  Last night I was up several times with the awful leg and foot cramps.  Today off and on it's been my feet and hands and a bit in my calf.  It's hard to know how to get comfortable.  This cramping is not unbearable, but I'm weary with it and it may be contributing to my grumpiness.

The weather is warming up nicely.  When I got home this afternoon and took Sophie out for her afternoon constitutional, it was lovely.  Two of her friends were out and she got a nice romp.  The other two dogs are an English Lab and a Labradoodle.  So they have that chasing and catching a ball thing going on.  Sophie likes to catch a tennis ball in the air after it bounces, but she's really not that into chasing it.  She did run about three times, then she struck that "I'm watching you girls pose" that she gets and watched them chase that ball for another 10 or 15 minutes.  She did get enough running around that she's sacked out right now.

I put in a pretty long work day - I'm not doing that so much anymore.  But today it felt pretty good to get engaged in something, stick with it, and get a bunch done.  I've got really good work partners.  That helps make it work.

Happy Passover

So here's the short of it,

חג פסח שמח

Happy Passover

And here's the long

 Tonight we went to the Passover Seder at Temple.

Valdis and Kailee, Alan's Mom, Anne, and my Mom, Emily all enjoyed one another's company as we had a delicious meal.  But we sure did miss the family times we've had together in those years before Pennie moved to Tampa.

 

It was great to have Valdis and Kailee join us.  They seemed to enjoy it.  Valdis was especially good with Mommy Anne!

We missed having Liga with us, since she is still here in town, and we thought about Shelley, Lou, and Max, and Daniel.

We also thought lots about other family who aren't with us. 

  


It was good to be together.

Matza cookies

So here's the short of it,
We finished the cookies tonight. 


And here's the long

Liga made dinner for us tonight - we had, of course Pasta and Bread enough to fill us up for awhile - Mom joined us.  Then after dinner, we finished the "Jewish Cookies".

 We used the sweetened Matza base and made several kinds.

Almond Toffee Cookies.  They are chewy and yummy!

We made a variety and they are all just yummy.  There are ones made with apricot preserves and others with red plum jam.Then there are the almond toffee ones, and finally those dipped in chocolate.  

Liga surprised me and decorated a few of them with a ribbon for cancer cure!

"Jewish cookies"

So here's the short of it,
Liga and I got a good start on making Passover cookies tonight.

And here's the long

Starting last night Liga and I have been making what she calls "Jewish Cookies".  We are making some cookies from Matzah to take to the Seder at Temple on Monday night as well as to share with some folks.

Last night we got started and wet down all the matzah and bagged it up to let it set.  This evening we got it all sweetened and ready for baking.

We're doing quite a bit so we worked on it from about 7 until 11:00.  Liga said it seemed like we worked on it all day! About half way through Liga suggested that we make them all square since that would take less time.  Things started moving more quickly when quit cutting them to make circles.

We have two more boxes to finish baking tomorrow, then we'll start putting them all together.  We are going to make some jelly sandwich cookies. Then some others we are going to ice.  I think we might do some with just cinnamon sugar.

This and lots of other recipes we love come from Matza 101.  There are lots of Jewish cookie recipes in it.

So here's the short of it,
Love my work and that Sophie dog!

And here's the long

Early this morning Sophie got restless - at about 4:00 AM!  She wasn't barking, but she was chewing loudly.  One of her toys of choice these days is a plastic water jug.  She gets a new one whenever we empty one.  She was really loud  - when I took that away from her so I could go back to sleep, she found one of her chewies and brought it right over next to me and started chewing!  So I got up and took that away.  Then she got something else!  It is a good thing I've bonded with her.  This morning it was pretty funny, but at four this morning, I was not laughing.

Today was one of those days - in one of the schools there was a parent who had requested a meeting this morning.  It was the only day/time she could come, even though I have set aside a couple of days to be at that school all day long to make all of the meetings needed in those buildings.  AND I was there at 8:00 AM and the parent was a no show, and no call to say sorry I can't come, and oh well, that's just part of my job.  It's frustrating though.

My back is bothering me.  I'm thinking about taking one of those muscle relaxers tonight since I don't have to get up early tomorrow. We'll see.  Here's a nose report.  I've made a little jar of "unpetroleum jelly" to carry around in my purse, and I've been faithfully putting it in my nostrils every time I think about it.  It does a great job of keeping all the places in my nose from scabbing over.  So now they are just sores - that's not nearly as uncomfortable and believe it or not, it bleeds less. It does seem to drip more though.  Anyway, I'm almost out of my "unpetroleum jelly" so I'll have to stir up another batch pretty soon.

Muscle Relaxer

So here's the short of it,
I tried a muscle relaxer last night - think I'll wait til the weekend to try it again!

And here's the long

OK, so last night I took a new medicine.  It's a muscle relaxer called cyclobenzaprine.  It was supposed to keep the muscle spasms away, but I had one in my foot in the middle of the night.  AND this morning when it was time to get up, I could barely make it.  Well, I did make it but I got up late and was rushing around to get out of the house on time.  I'll try it again over the weekend or spring break. Mom told me this morning that the cramps she's had for a long time have not been nearly as bad since she's monitoring herself to make sure she drinks lots of water.  So I'm going to give that a try and see if it helps.

Today was a good work day.  I could always work until the sun comes up and still have a long list of things that need to be done, but I got lots done today and left feeling good about what I had gotten done. 

I've got a pretty early morning tomorrow, so I'm headed to bed but without anything that could make me confused or sleepy tomorrow. 

Herceptin and counting

So here's the short of it,
Today was Herceptin number 40!

And here's the long

I know I said I wasn't going to start a count down until I got to 10, but I'm beginning to get excited!  Only 12 more Herceptin treatments to go! 

I've been having lots of muscle cramps in my legs and feet over the last couple of weeks -  so today I talked with Lori about it.  Apparently lots of women who have Herceptin get muscle cramps or soreness, so it's possible that it's caused by that.  If that's the case, in about 12 more weeks, I'll know, because I'll be through with the Herceptin and it will all go away.  Another possibility is that the muscle cramps are a side effect of the Arimidex.  If that's the case - I'm supposed to take that for at least 10 years!  That will be a conversation to have with Dr. Schlabach at my next appointment.  In addition, it seems that my old lady approach to the stairs may be related to the Arimidex as well as my muscle tiredness.  I'll just have to wait to see what is Herceptin and what is Arimidex.

So here's the short of it,
Today was an almost normal day.

And here's the long

Today I had an opportunity to visit with one of my favorite principals.  We were working out the details of a teacher difficulty.  She is always so positive and so upbeat, and is just such a pleasure to work with.  It was one of those moments in time that lets me know why I do this work.

Later this afternoon, Liga got home from her vacation and we had a lovely walk around the circle with Sophie dog.  Even later this evening Valdis stopped by for a brief visit.  In addition to that Mom made dinner for Alan, Liga, and me. 

You know, it was such a normal day.  The weather was bright and just warm enough.  It was almost like just a normal day.  Maybe I'm just not that far from having some really normal days. 

Another tired day

So here's the short of it,
I didn't get much sleep last night, and am pretty tired tonight.

And here's the long

Today was a long one for me.  At least I didn't have to start at the crack of dawn.  8:00 in the morning is plenty enough early for me to have to be on the other side of the county!

I'm pitching in to do some of the work for three schools where we had a teacher unable to finish out the year. It's not particularly difficult work, and it's the kind of work that I really enjoy, but it's really time consuming when there's so much else I really need to tackle.  Anyway, it has to be done, and right now there's not much other choice. 

This evening we had a department chair meeting.  I got to see lots of folks and I sat next to my trouble buddy from my days over at the Central Office. I should know better than to sit with her, she always whispers something to me and gets me going! Anyway, it was sure fun to be a bit lighthearted even if it was a late afternoon/evening kind of thing.

I was up so late last night that by the time I got home, I was just done.  I had planned to go with Alan to hear a lecture tonight at UTC about the process of making the English Bible.  I was too tuckered out, so I just put on my PJs and will be ready to go to bed in no time.

We are beginning to make plans to go see Max - and of course Shelley and Lou as well.  Today Shelley sent word that he ate a whole banana, a big jar of food, some apple sauce, and some fish!  Now you know that boy is going to grow, eating like that! Can't wait to see them.

Sam Glasser in concert

So here's the short of it,
We went to a great concert this afternoon.

And here's the long

This afternoon we went to hear a concert by Sam Glasser. Mom went along as did Mommy Anne.  I really enjoyed the music. I'd surely suggest that if you get an opportunity to hear him to take advantage of it.

I kept trying to get a picture of him "in action".  Most of my pictures look like the one of the right!  With persistence - I did manage to get the photo on the left. 

I'm glad I slept in a bit yesterday and today.  I procrastinated with doing some work online that I had to have done before 8:00 in the morning.  When I got started, I kept getting kicked off our secure site, or having it slow down incredibly.  So now it's almost 1:00 in the morning.  I'm sitting in the den watching Home Shopping Network (to keep some noise going) and getting ready to head to bed for a bit.  I got the work done!

Tomorrow is one of those working from can til can't days.  But one thing is for sure - days like that go by quickly.

Cemetery Visit

So here's the short of it,

It was a lovely first day of spring.

And here's the long

Yes, I turned off the alarm clock and slept in until about 9:30.  What a luxury.  And another luxury - no one was at home today.  Alan and Valdis were working up in Hixson and Liga is on vacation with a friend in Deland, FL., so I had the house all to myself.  I love that!  I wonder sometimes if that comes from so many years of living on my own.  I don't know, but I do know that it's a real pleasure to have a day to myself in the house.  For some reason, I seem to be able to get things done.  It was nice.

Then this afternoon, I took Mom to the cemetery.  We both wanted to go.  She had been by for a short visit yesterday when she went with some of her lady friends from church to a memorial service there.  She didn't have much time.  So we went by and picked up some artificial flowers - lilies since they will look like Eastertime.  It was nice to have some time to visit the cemetery with Mom.


The weather was so nice today to bring in the first day of spring.  I made it a point to go out in it with Sophie several times.  She really enjoyed getting out and running all around the circle.  Valdis came by and spent a little time with us after he and Alan got through working and Sophie just loved playing around with her.

So here's the short of it,
I've just learned about the Sartorius Muscle from my massage therapist.

And here's the long

Hurray! The weekend is here.  So here's the plan.  I love doing this (I know lots of people think it's pretty crazy.)  I'll let the alarm go off;  I'll turn it off and settle back down into my warm bed space in a sleepy reverie thinking to myself I can just go back to a good sleep - and sleep and sleep, and sleep.

My morning didn't get off to such a good start.  I ended up only working a half day, but I got a few things cranked out.  I'll have some work to do over the weekend to be ready for Monday, but that's OK too.

This afternoon I had another massage.  Kelly worked my upper back and my neck.  Then she worked on that right lower hip and thigh.  She spent some time concentrating on my sartorius muscle.  It's sometimes called the tailor muscle because it enables us to sit in a cross legged position.  Anyway she worked that over really well because the strain and soreness seems to be pushing down as she works the muscles in my lower back.  During the massage today I couldn't really tell that so much was happening in my leg.  But when I got home I could really tell the difference.  It was curious that I experienced a little soreness on the left side for the first time in a long, long time. I know that all our muscles are interconnected, and I know that the problems I have are all related to the surgery for my right side, I just don't know how it's all related.  Kelly encouraged me to try to do some stretches over the next couple of weeks.  I had been stretching and then I had a bit of a set back and it's been several weeks.  I'll try to get back to that.  In the meantime, since I've checked out the anatomy picture, next time I'll know to tell Kelly that I think my Vastus Lateralis needs some work. 

Breast Cancer Educational Series

So here's the short of it,
Tonight we went to hear Dr. Schlabach give a talk.

And here's the long

Reading the online group discussions about Herceptin has really given me some new insight.  I've been thinking that I'm  so tired by the end of the week because of working.  Now I'm thinking that having my treatment on Wednesday contributes to me feeling so tired as the week draws to a close.

Tonight my oncologist was speaking at a local Breast Cancer Network of Strength.  He attends the very well known San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium every year, and he shared some of the newest studies and treatments coming down the line. Alan and I went.  There was quite a large crowd.  There were women - very young to older than me, and a few men.  I saw Phil and his wife - the man I met in radiation who has the same cancer as me.  One very young woman had on a toboggan a bit like the ones I wore.  I was guessing she was right in the middle of her chemotherapy.  I saw several women I knew who had undergone surgery and radiation only.  I met another woman who said she was on her 146th chemotherapy treatment.  She gets a dose of Taxol every week!  It was an amazing crowd of people.

Hearing the new studies and learning about what's coming down the pike with a bunch of other people who have the same basic life experience was a good evening.  And once again, hearing Dr. Schlabach speak with such understanding of his work and such compassion for his patients just confirmed what a great thing it was that he ended up being my oncologist. 

Herceptin

So here's the short of it,
More about Herceptin

And here's the long

Today was Herceptin at 3:30.  I keep thinking about the online group discussions I looked at last night; almost everyone who posted was having the Herceptin every 3 weeks.   I think back to that first meeting with Dr. Schlabach and how I had this intuition after 5 minutes that I wanted him for my oncologist.  Actually it may have been within the first minute.  One of the things that he said that day was that he followed the protocols of the earlier trials and administered the Herceptin every week instead of every three weeks. At the time that wasn't something that meant much to me, except that I had to go to the office every week instead of every three weeks.  Of course it would be so much more convenient to be on an every three week schedule, but I haven't really thought much about it. 

Now that I'm this far in, I've looked up some of the studies that moved the protocol to every 3 weeks instead of every week.  I'm thinking it was to align with the every three week chemo schedules.  Anyway, the every 3 week schedule is apparently as safe and as effective as the every week.  But there are several articles that say side effects are greater for the every 3 week schedule.  Since one of the side effects is heart trouble, I wonder about that safety finding.  I'm keenly aware that a less that 1% failure rate, is still a failure for someone. 

Anyway, it seems that Herceptin side effects may explain lots of my complaints - muscle aches, joint pain and stiffness;  acne breakouts; ragged nails and cuticles; splitting skin on my fingertips; foot and hand cramps; tiredness; shortness of breath; diahrrea, stomach queasiness, gas and bloating; shortness of breath; difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep; those horrible nose sores and frequent nosebleeds; and maybe the continuation of the neuropathy in my feet; heartache (actually both heartburn and depression are side effects - wouldn't that be heartache??) Fortunately I don't have any of these at the severity that many suffer according to the posts I'm reading, but all those women are on an every 3 week schedule.  Apparently many women have a difficult time for a day or even three after their infusion - including fever and severe aches and pains.  I haven't really experienced much of that.  I haven't had the doctor report on my last heart scan, but the technician told me it looked really good. 

I feel so lucky to be diagnosed in this time when such good medicines are available.  And I continue to feel so fortunate that Dr. Schlabach is my physician and that Lori is my nurse! 

Wisdom from Christopher Robin

So here's the short of it,
Tonight I found some really fine wisdom from Winnie the Pooh's friend Christopher Robin.

And here's the long

So I did it one more time (get up really early).  I was sitting in the parking lot up on the mountain 10 minutes before I was supposed to be there.  Of course I did have a coffee thermos in hand to make it through that early morning meeting.  Thank goodness the course of work at these early morning meetings is meaty and interesting and I'm not at all inclined to be sleepy.

This week we are finishing up gathering up "corrected files" for our state monitoring.  I took the last two I was responsible for getting over to the office this afternoon.  That felt good.  While I was over at the office, I made it in to see two or three people I haven't seen in quite a while.  Getting reconnected after all these months with a couple of people was really good. As I checked in with one of my cancer sisters, she told me "life is terminal".  I loved that! 

I've got these nose sores going on that are quite annoying.  Each time I try a "new remedy" it seems to work for a day or two and then they are back.  I remember in an older  post when I was reeling from a recent chemo treatment, and also had the nose sores, I said that when that's my worst symptom I think I can manage it.  Well, it's not my only symptom, and I can manage it, but I'd really like to find a way to make it a bit better.  Lots of the listservs and online support groups about Herceptin seem to say that the nose sores and nose bleeds are to be expected and lots of assurances that it will go away when Herceptin is finished.  That's not very long!  In the meantime, I also noticed that lots of women complained about acne breakouts.  I didn't think about that having to do with the Herceptin, but I'm glad to know what's causing it.  Lot's of women are on a larger Herceptin dose every three weeks.  I'm awfully glad I'm on the lower dose every week.  I think it might be the reason I'm not getting so many of the other side effects reported. 

 Said Christopher Robin to Pooh: "You must remember this: You're braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think"

More about Patience

So here's the short of it,
I suppose I still have lots to learn about patience. 


And here's the long

Well, today has been one of those days.  I have been "called to the bathroom" in the middle of things all day.  First of all, I couldn't get out of the house, then when I did it was a difficult day just from that perspective!  I actually had two different meetings (with parents in them) that I had to get up and leave! I'm beyond being embarrassed about it, but I'm annoyed.

Tomorrow I have a really early day!  I know I'll be able to get going, but the idea of leaving the house at 6:30 in the morning after the time change is a bit unsettling.  I have such a hard time going to sleep at night, so I'm not ready to get up in the mornings!  I'll manage though. 

I remember one of my cancer sisters who was about two years out from her treatments telling me that she never did get her bowel control back to any predictable place.  She would laugh about it and say something like "that's OK, I'm still here."  It may be that it's just another of those lessons to teach me some patience.  Many, many years ago when my niece Lauren was just a little thing she was quite insistent about something.  Her Dad, my brother Steve, told her, "Honey, you have to learn patience."  She said to him, "But Daddy, I don't know patience."  I have often repeated that story to folks.  I think it resonates with me because I'm not that well acquainted with patience either.  I think one of the huge life lessons I am taking from this whole illness, is my need to become more intimately acquainted with Patience.   
                                                                                                                      

So here's the short of it,
Happy Birthday to Max!

And here's the long

Today was Max's first Birthday. It looks as though he had a great birthday party!  Here's a link to pics of his party!

There's the family.  Shelley, Lou, and 1 year old Max.

We're looking forward to seeing him really soon.



So with the time change today, I slept until 9:30!  I'm planning to get home right after work this week and take a nap or two during the week to try and help get over the time change hump.

The salve that Mia gave me for that sore place on my chest is working it's magic - it's not healed yet but is on the way.  But even more importantly, I'm putting it on my nose sores and as of today they are no longer bleeding. I'm hoping it will help them heal.  Apparently the nose sores are a gift from Herceptin.

 I've got a busy week with an amazing training coming to town on Wednesday and Thursday.  It's called Choices in Little Rock from Facing History and Ourselves .  I'm looking forward to being able to be there.

So here's the short of it,

Puppy Bath, Door Chore, and getting Mom home.

And here's the long

I had a good night's sleep last night, but today seemed to just slip through my fingers though.  I didn't sleep really late, but I sure didn't get a lot accomplished.

One thing did happen - Liga and I gave Miss Sophie a bath!  I'm glad there were two of us.  She's such a big girl and a couple of times she decided that she really didn't want to be in the shower with puppy shampoo all over her. She didn't fight it, but it was good to have two people to contain her. And once it was all over and she began to get dry she wanted to nap off and on the rest of the day. 

Alan and I did work for a spell on the bathroom door this afternoon.  I love the pocket doors all through the house, but we had a malfunction today. (Sophie was a part of making it happen)  We were able to get it fixed, but that was tricky.  A couple of years ago, Alan had someone manufacture some of the rollers as replacement parts.  So we had them on hand and now we'll be able to close the bathroom door!  There was a funny incident.  As we got finished and closed the door, with Alan on the inside and me on the outside, the door seemed to lock and he couldn't get it open from the inside.  It was a good thing I was on the outside and could get it open.  A minor adjustment of the catch showed that it wasn't really locked and now it's working just fine.

Mom got home late this afternoon. Betsy was so good to drive her up from Atlanta, and it's wonderful to have her back again. It's a nice feeling to drive by her house on the way to or from work and just see her car in the drive and the light on.  We had a nice visit with them this evening.

TGIF

So here's the short of it,
I am so glad it's Friday, because I'm really tired!

And here's the long

This is a real TGIF day! My day today was pretty tiring and I'm really glad to have a couple of days not to have to get up and go to work.  I'm really not looking forward to the time change this weekend.  I don't still have my days and nights mixed up, but it's still much harder to get up in the mornings.  I guess if I just had no obligations, I'd be a night owl and get up late in the mornings. 

Anyway, I'm going to try and get bunches of sleep this weekend. 

It's Girl Scout Cookie time here in Chattanooga.  We stocked Alan up on several boxes of Thin Mints, and got a variety of other kinds that won't last long.  BUT Guess What!  I've found some recipes for making Homemade Girl Scout Cookies.   The first ones I try will be the Samoas!  There's even a recipe for a Samoa Bar Cookie. I don't know when I'll ever have time to make them because they look pretty time consuming, but now  I have the recipe, if I ever have the time!

Mom will be home from her California trip sometime tomorrow. I'm eager to see her and to hear how she's doing. She got into Atlanta last night, and Steve picked her up from the airport.  She's spending today visiting with Steve and Pat and tomorrow Betsy is going to take her to a craft show and then drive her on up to Chattanooga.  In the meantime, she's had a wonderful house sitter helping out so we haven't worried so much about the house sitting empty all the time she was gone.  And of course I've been able to drive by and/or stop mornings and evenings.  I know for sure that Plato will be so happy to have her home! 

Check out her blog to see what she's been up to!

Propolis

So here's the short of it,
I have a new salve for a sore I've got going on, and I'm having to think about my hair.

And here's the long

It's been a pretty dreary day here in Chattanooga.  It wasn't particularly cold, but damp and drizzly, and oh so gray.  I was not in the office except for the very last part of the day, so I ended up "out in it" several times.

There was a neighborhood association meeting this evening at Barger Academy for Fine Arts an elementary magnet school in our neighborhood.  We got to hear the choir perform, had a potluck dinner with a really good chicken casserole, and then heard two candidates for the Hamilton County Commission, and two candidates for the Hamilton County School Board tell us a little about themselves. 

When we got home I think we were both just ready to collapse!

I've got a really busy morning in schools tomorrow, but my afternoon is in the office.  And that's a good thing.  I'm looking forward to getting lots done.

For the first time this morning I felt like I really had to "do something" with my hair.  It's not really long enough to brush or "do", but it's too long to just towel dry and go.

I've gotten a sore place right in my radiation field.  It's in the place that was so sore and itchy anyway, right on that bony place on my upper chest, and it's been bothering me especially when I try to go sleep and just get relaxed - that's when it has that little pingy sore feeling just enough to keep me on edge.  My dear cousin, Mia, brought a salve by this evening that she swears healed up a rashy place she had in just a couple of days.  It's called Honey House Propolis Salve.  It's got olive oil, comfrey root, calendula, plantain leaves, beeswax, raw honey, propolis, and Vitamin E.  It's a bit like the unpetroleum jelly I made and am still using except I didn't put all those herbs in it.  I had not ever heard of propolis. Now that I know about it and its properties, I may try to find some to add to my next batch of unpetroleum jelly.  I am going to use this not only on my chest, but also on my eczema spots, and that persistent nose sore that I have.  The nose sore just isn't healing even with my miracle M.D. Anderson mouthwash.  So maybe this salve will do the trick. 

So here's the short of it,

Today brought another Herceptin treatment, and news of a friend's cancer diagnosis.

And here's the long

Today was Herceptin number 38. That means that I have 14 more weeks of  IV treatments.  Since my port malfunctioned I've gotten my treatments in my right hand or arm.  So far most of them have been in the hand or in a lovely vein I have that runs right along my wrist on the inside side.  Lori is really good at getting that little butterfly needle in but I have to be very careful not move.  So I can't get up and go to the bathroom during the infusion or even wiggle around very much.  Even if I'm going to use my phone, I have to use only my left hand.  Thank goodness it only takes about 45 minutes to get the infusion done. It won't be long before I'll be starting a countdown on these treatments as well!

Today, one of my very dear professional friends, Louisa Mesich, a teacher that I work with, called to tell me that she has just been diagnosed with breast cancer.  From her biopsy report, it seems that she has the Estrogen positive, Her2Neu that I have.  Her surgery is tomorrow afternoon and she has elected to have a bi-lateral radical mastectomy.  For those of you who pray, put Louisa in your prayers.  Tomorrow will be a difficult day for her, but I have lots of optimism that she will be just fine!  She has chosen Dr. Schlabach as her oncologist, so one thing I do know, she's going to be in good hands!

Long Hair

So here's the short of it,

My hair is growing!

And here's the long

Well, this morning when I woke up and looked in the mirror, I had "bed head"!!  I can hardly believe that my hair is growing long enough to get messed up!  I guess before long I'll have to get the old hairbrush out and actually fix my hair.  I'm not wearing my hats very much at all any more.  The weather has warmed up enough that my head's not cold very often.  I still go to bed with a toboggan on and used to I can remember it coming off in the night and waking up in the middle of the night with a very cold head and putting it back on.  Now I guess I just don't notice when it comes off.  That's probably both the room being warmer and my hair coming in!

Tomorrow's a pretty busy work day and late in the afternoon, I had another task added!  I also have to be at the infusion center by 3:30.  I'll have to get an early start and really hustle to get everything on my list done.  I've had about 2 weeks of not feeling quite as well as I had been, so I also know enough not to push myself too hard.  We'll see how it all goes.  I've had a couple of good nights without the Ativan -  that seems a good thing to me.

So here's the short of it,
Moments of memory and great video of Max!

And here's the long

There are these unexpected moments - they come unbidden. This morning I was on the freeway headed around the city for the road up the mountain.  I had a busy day mapped out with lots that needed to be accomplished and my mind was on all that.  I came down the ridge and looked over at Lookout Mountain, and then on down the road and Signal  Mountain was there - suddenly memories of Dad just flooded over me.  It is still so hard to believe that Mom is spending her days with that special first great grandchild, and Dad is not with her.  

On another and lighter note, check out what Max is up to at Yale.    I've recently read about some of these studies on infant cognition, and find them fascinating.  I'm even more intrigued now that I know Max is participating.  The article is pretty interesting and the video you'll find there is very cute. 

We are planning a visit over spring break, and we're both really looking forward to that!

Sleep

So here's the short of it,
Sleep is so restorative.

And here's the long

I slept well last night.  I suppose I can call it my Ativan weekend since I took it both Friday and Saturday night.  I've explored the thought that it is a medication for anxiety.  Even though I don't really have a handle on a certain anxiety I have, I suppose it makes sense that as a cancer patient I would have all kinds of anxieties.  I guess whatever I have must fall into that "free-floating anxiety" category.  I suppose that looking back on the year I've had it would make sense that anxiety keeps me from sleeping well.  I'm very tired now, but am staying up to watch a bit more of the Oscars before heading off to sleep. Perhaps I'll have another really good night tonight. 

 I'm looking forward to a good week coming up. It will be busy and full. 

Massage

So here's the short of it,
A massage today...

And here's the long

In spite of having a rough two days, I decided to get up today and keep my appointment with Kelly.  It seems to really make a difference in my ability to tolerate almost everything. I get what she calls the Therapeutic Massage. According to the website -This is a deep tissue massage designed to relieve the client’s specific areas of pain, working out the knots in the muscle tissue with slow strokes and deep pressure. She tells me that she can feel the difference in the tightness of my muscles along my spine since I began.  I don't know exactly where I'm loosening up, but it's making a difference.

Today I talked with her about how stiff I am and how frustrating it is to try to do stretches and not be able to move very much at all.  She was so encouraging.  She told me to just barely move and hold that position while I breathe and to stop trying to push myself.  She says my body will settle into that spot and the next time or maybe the next or even the next I'll be able to move a little further.  She emphasized that it's really important not to get frustrated and push too hard.  So here again I'm encountering one of those lessons I'm supposed to be learning from this whole ordeal.  Patience. I had gotten myself somewhat limbered up for an old gal but I'm way behind the place I started from at this point and it seems my progress is not going to be as fast as it was before... sigh.  Patience, Patience. 

Here's a little about this woman who is making such a difference in my life these days.  I like her a lot.  She finds the knots and spots that are tight.  She uses pressure to relieve the spots and then long deep pressure strokes to push the tightness out.  Sometimes it is so astonishing that a deep pressure stroke in the upper part of my back may cause a corresponding muscle pull in my lower back or hip.  She's got that whole massage therapy knowledge about what connects to what and how to work on it.  Here's a little about her from the Center MedSpa website.
   

Kelly Mantovani
Licensed Massage Therapist

Education
Tennessee Institute of Healing Arts

Family
Two Children – ages 9 and 5

Hobbies
Running, hiking, studying about healing the body

Pets
Bearded Dragon, Salvador

Guilty Pleasure
Coffee

Why I Became a Therapist
The human condition is amazingly complex. Through massage I am able to work with all aspects of my clients – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It is the most fascinating and rewarding work I could ever do.

Favorite Quote
“There is no try. There is do or do not.” Yoda, Jedi Master

Rest, Relaxation, and Recuperation

So here's the short of it,
I spent the day resting and relaxing at home.

And here's the long

I had a day of recuperating at home.  I slept lots, and didn't really do anything at all.  I was pretty much staying with the BRAT diet which I've heard of for years as a remedy for stomach distress and diarrhea, but it seems that it's not really recommended anymore! I've rested lots today and am feeling a bit better.  As I recall, this is eerily like what happened to me last Friday.  I can't think of anything really in common between these two days, except the awful stomach distress. 

I've been using my A&D ointment all day on my finger splits.  They hurt much less and three of them have already closed up!  Who would have thought.  I've also put it on my eczema spots on my legs and they seem to be less itchy.  Of course I smell like A&D ointment.  I wonder how long it will take to get tired of that!

So here's the short of it,
I must have a bug!

And here's the long

I felt bad all last night and didn't sleep well at all.  My tummy was just roiling.  This morning, I still felt yucky, but didn't have fever and knew that if I stayed in the bed I wouldn't even sleep.  Besides, there's lots to do at work.  We were monitored earlier in the year by the state department and we are busy getting all the fixes in place before they get back.  I got a lot done actually, in spite of taking about an hour in the middle of the day to go have an electrocardiogram.  (I'll post more about that when I'm feeling a bit better).

This afternoon I started feeling a lot worse, so I came on home.  Like most teachers I usually work a much longer day than required, but today, I was ready to leave right on time.  By the time I got home, I just had time to get to the bathroom before I started vomiting.  Alan and I were planning on having dinner with friends, but instead I went straight to bed.  Alan called Lori (my nurse) for me, and she let us know that there's a nasty intestinal bug going around that's probably what I have.  But she advised coming off the Trilipix which I started last night and trying it again later. A couple of hours later, the diarrhea started.  At least now my digestive tract must be kind of empty, because I don't have a stomach ache any more.  I'm still keeping my bean bag heating pad on my tummy; it's pretty comforting.

No work for me tomorrow unless I wake up feeling just a whole lot better. I'm going to bed really soon.

A&D

So here's the short of it,
A&D is good for lots of stuff.

And here's the long

I don't have an appointment with Dr. Schlabach every time I go in for an infusion.  I only see him for an appointment every 9 weeks or so and/or if I have a crisis.  But every time I've ever been in the office and he's there, I've seen him either in the hallway or he comes through the infusion center.  It took a couple of times before I understood that he was doing that on purpose to check on me.  Today I was coming out of the lab and stopped by the insurance window for a quick talk, and he was walking by.  He reached out, put his hand on my shoulder and looked me over with that doctor's eye - for all the world it felt as though he had just enveloped me in a huge, warm, and caring embrace.  I am so lucky that I ended up with him for my oncologist. 

Today I was so tired.  By the time I got in the chair for my Herceptin, I just felt a great weariness coming over me.  I really don't know why I'm so tired -- and I've also gotten a chill.  Anyway, I did a bit of research about my fingertip splitting and promptly fell asleep in the chair!  I guess I needed the rest.  I did learn that some people have luck using A&D Ointment to treat this condition.  That will be easy enough for me to try since I bought the biggest tube they had back during the days of chemo and unrelenting diarrhea!  As soon as I got home I put it on.  It seems to have made the discomfort a bit less so far. When I looked it up online I found that people use it for everything from an anti-aging face cream - yes I said face cream - to ezcema and chapped lips.  I never knew. 

 My blood counts are good now.  They are still checking my PT/INR level - and today it was OK.  I ate the three salads that I was supposed to eat, and took my coumadin.  Tonight I've started taking Trilipix which is a cholesterol lowering drug.  We'll have to continue monitoring since it sometimes has a bit of a blood thinning attribute so it is a balancing act to get the coumadin in the right amount with the the trilipix. 

I'm headed to bed a bit earlier than usual tonight - with an extra cover.  Maybe the tiredness and the chill will be gone by morning.  

No Snow Delay, but Lots of Snow

So here's the short of it,
No snow delay, but a memory making day. 

And here's the long

I was just sure we would have a delayed start or a snow day today, but that didn't happen so I was off really early to my meeting up on Signal Mountain.  Snow was beginning to accumulate on the roads by the time I got up on the mountain, and it was slushy going.  By the time my meeting was over, there was an accumulation of somewhere between 3 and 5 inches.  Parents were flooding into the school, several back and forth phone calls had taken place between the central office and the principal's office, and school had been dismissed. It was a beautiful snow.  I didn't have the foresight to take a picture, but I found a couple of beautiful shots posted on News Channel 9 by a woman in Cleveland using the name ladygrif. 

The den that Mom and Dad built onto the Tuxdeo House has a beautiful, big window that looks out onto the side yard with a tree right outside.  There's a bird feeder hanging in the tree right outside that window.  Dad's big burnt orange recliner was positioned in the den so that he could see right out at that bird feeder when he sat in his chair.  He sat there and wrote (on a yellow legal pad using the lapdesk Mom got for him) or he watched TV.  This time of year, he would be in that chair finishing up his garden plan and checking out his seed order.  He kept a life list of the birds he had seen and he watched the feeder every day adding his new sightings to that list.  There's a downy woodpecker that lives in our neck of the woods and that woodpecker often frequented the tree outside that window.  And of course, Mom and Dad both loved redbirds.  So the pictures tonight by ladygrif from Cleveland reminded me so much of them.  Today when I stopped by there to work on the computer for Mom, the house was quiet and snow was covering the branches of the tree. There were no birds because there's no food in the feeder, and the big recliner was empty.

Sleep

So here's the short of it,
I'm having trouble sleeping.

And here's the long

I stayed home from work today.  For some reason I couldn't get to sleep last night.  My Mom used to talk about "getting the big eye".  I think that must be what happened to me.  I may have messed myself up on Saturday night, because I couldn't go to sleep and I finally took an atavan late - sometime after midnight.  Then I slept until almost noon on Sunday.  Maybe that's why I couldn't go to sleep last night. I've also had that horrible back ache that I get sometimes.  I've been stretching and using heat all day long, but it hasn't helped so much.

I didn't even feel well enough to take Sophie out for her usual walk this evening.  As a result she was restless and a bit too hyper this evening. Thank goodness she's calmed down now.  I thought I'd take a nap sometime today, but never really could go to sleep. I have a very early morning tomorrow, so I need to go to sleep pretty soon.  It looks like there's a slight chance for snow/rain/slush in the morning.  It doesn't look as though there will be enough snow for us to miss school, but if there's slush about, we may have a delayed start - in that case I'll have a reprieve on that early morning. 

I have a bit of discomfort going on with my chest.  That one place right on my sternum that got so irritated is bothering me.  I'm going to use that same treatment that I was using during the radiation.  I have the anitbiotic soap to scrub up with and then I'm going to use the radiaguard lotion - I still have some left.  If that doesn't work, I go back to the cornstarch.

I need to take a hint from Sophie.

She's sleeping like I wish I could!

Split Pea Soup

So here's the short of it,

I'm inspired by Elizabeth to post a recipe. 

And here's the long

Mom is in California visiting with Elizabeth, Josh, and Elijah.  Elizabeth is guest writing that blog for the time that Mom will be out there.  I hope everyone will visit it and keep up with what's going on out West! Check it out at EmilyandGene.blogspot.com  Elizabeth posted a great sounding soup recipe, and inspired me to post the recipe I made today!

I seem to have recovered pretty well from the horrible evening I had on Friday.  I've been trying to figure out if it was food poisoning or if I just got a short and very awful bug!  Anyway, I watched what I ate again today, nothing very spicy.  I made a batch of split pea soup that we had for dinner.  It was just the trick.  While we were at the grocery, I looked at the ingredient list on the split pea soup mix that's available.  I've never used it, but thought it would be a good cooking lesson to see what they use.  It listed celery salt.  I rarely use celery salt, but decided to put in a couple of ribs of celery to see how it tasted.  Alan said he thought it was the best I've ever made. I don't use a broth for my soups as most people do; I just use good old water. 

Split Pea Soup.
Put the following ingredients in a stock pot
Equal amounts of yellow and green split peas (I use about a pint altogether - I keep them stored in mason jars in the pantry)

One sweet yellow onion diced to your preferred size (I chop it small) more or less depending on your taste. I like lots of onion.

Carrots diced.  
Celery - one or two ribs.

Cover all the above ingredients with water.  You could use a stock if you preferred.  I'm sure that chicken, beef, or vegetable stock would each give this a very different flavor.


Add a good tablespoon or two of olive oil.  I like to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  And I just free pour a small stream around two times.  


Let this simmer for a long time.  (All morning or all afternoon), stirring from time to time to make sure it doesn't stick on the bottom. 

After cooking slowly for 3 or 4 hours,  Add quick cooking barley - I use about a handful.Let it continue cooking for another 2 hours or so. 


I like for the peas to cook up.  I've seen lots of recipes where it seems people prefer for the peas to hold their shape.  I say do it however you like it best!  


Sometimes instead of adding the barley at the end, I'll chop up a potato or two and add that at a time to get the potato cooked all the way through, but not break all the way down.  It gives it a good flavor too.  

This is a favorite cold weather soup around this house.  I usually make a big batch and it's good for supper and a few lunches.  It's also easy to make this a bigger or smaller batch.


I've had a relatively low key weekend - in spite of the length of that recipe, it doesn't require much tending to - but I'm looking at a pretty hectic week coming up at work.  I'm glad I'm well enough to work, and I'm using this public forum to remind myself that it might be wise and necessary to take a sick day to stay home and rest so that I'll have enough energy to work during the time I am at work. That certainly won't be tomorrow.  There is a small possibility that we'll get a snow day Tuesday or Wednesday.  That would be so great.  I'd have an extra day to rest and not have to worry about being behind because I missed a day of school. We'll see what the weather brings!