Good family time

So here's the short of it,
I'm feeling stronger and had a good visit with Shelley, Lou, and Max.  

And here's the long

Today I continue to be stronger.  But now at 8:30 in the evening, I'm really tired.

This evening we had Mommy Anne, Shelley, Lou, and Max for dinner.  Liga also invited her friend Danny.   I felt well enough to really help in preparing dinner this evening.  That's a major step forward.  Sophie got along great with Max tonight. Actually for the first part of the evening she was quite shy and not sure what to make of this baby in her house.  By the end of the evening she was giving Max some little doggie kisses on his hand. They will be headed back home tomorrow early morning.  We'll miss them!

My physical symptoms are certainly bearable, but they are sure no fun.  I continue to have neuropathy in my feet and hands.  In addition to the numbness and occasional tingling I'm beginning to have occasional shooting pains in my feet - I have nothing at all like that in my fingers.  My fingers are mostly just numb, and make handling small things really difficutl.  The fingers on my right hand are cracking open in small sore places on the tips - following the ridges of my fingerprint, as well as in a couple of places at the corners of my nails.  For the first time in a long time, I'm having some back pain.  It's been so long since I really did any of my stretches and I've sure gotten pretty stiff - I imagine that's the biggest part of my back pain.  As I get stronger, I'm going to really make that a priority.

Tomorrow night at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, there will be a ceremonial lighting of the Star.  Gene brought that idea of the star with him from Kentucky when they moved to Chattanooga.  He and a gentleman that he met at church, made the star and for several years now it's been on the front lawn of the church each Christmas season.  Alan and I are planning to go to the service. 

Stronger

So here's the short of it,
I'm feeling better and trying another neuropathy treatment.

And here's the long

I've felt stronger today!  That must be good news about my blood counts. 

It's been months since I've had enough energy to make a dent in the mess on the kitchen counter.  Everything that I put there has just stayed there.  Along with just a few things that other people put down.  Sophie's adventure with my medicine box yesterday was my incentive, so today I cleaned up the counter.  I didn't get out of breath from the exertion, and I didn't have to keep sitting down. It's not quite finished, but I think Sophie has been very disappointed the last couple of times she's tried to see if there's something interesting.  She apparently suffered no ill effects from the medicines and the glass shards.  She's going to be very disappointed tomorrow when she can't have all the whole wheat bread she wants. 

I read a post today from someone who wrote that foot baths and massage really helped her neuropathy.  So as I sit here, I've got my feet soaking and am going to give myself a foot massage before I go to bed tonight. I'm still taking the B6, I also read that I should be taking B12 - I'll get that on the grocery list too.  My right foot and hand seem to be worse than my left.  I could imagine it's because my port is on my right side, but I know better, because the end of the port is somewhere in the middle of my chest.  So I don't really know why that should be.  Today my middle finger on my right hand is really tender on the nail and all around the edges of the nail.  I know lots of people lose their nails during chemo......I'm thinking that's not what's happening after all my chemo is over! 

This evening Alan and I had dinner with Joyce and cousin Daniel, and then went over to visit with Max for a few minutes before he went down for the night. 

Thanksgiving and Sophie May Not

So here's the short of it,
Thanksgiving was very different this year, and Sophie May Not was a very bad girl. 

And here's the long

Today has been an adventure.  It been a very different Thanksgiving.  I've also had much more energy than I thought I would have. 

Late this morning, we went to Cracker Barrel.  I met Aunt Joyce and Cousin Daniel there as they were on their way through town going to David and Cyndi's for Thanksgiving Dinner.  We visited for about 30 minutes and then the rest of the crew arrived - Mommy Anne; Shelley,Lou, and Max; Liga and Valdis; and Alan and me.  I've never done Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving before, and there were sure a lot of people "doing Thanksgiving" there.  We had a lovely time and it was nice for us to all be together for a while. 

We had several cars there and Liga left early so that she could get ready to go to work.  I was taking my time moseying home the long way when I got the call. When Liga arrived, there all over the living room was the evidence.  Sophie May Not had gotten one of my weekly pill boxes and a compact florescent light bulb still in its package.  She had chewed open the pill box and the florescent light bulb package was open and it was shattered all over the floor.  By the time I got home, Liga had the mess cleaned up, and had saved the pills in the dustpan.  I was able to count how many were missing of each one. There was no way to really tell if she had swallowed any of the glass from the light bulb! Once I had everything accounted for, I called the Emergency Vet Clinic and they referred me to the ASPCA poison control center.  You can bet I was pretty nervous about that call!  I was mostly worried about the glass and the Elavil - that's a medicine they have put me on for my neuropathy.  (That will be another blog entry altogether about using anti-depression medications for neuropathy).  After a tense wait the vet on the other end of the call told me that she probably had not ingested enough to harm her.  He was not particularly worried about her ingesting the glass.  He told me to bulk up her diet today and tomorrow with whole grain bread.  That apparently will bind up any glass she might have gotten and help her pass it normally in her stool.  Then he gave me the symptoms to watch for that would be reason to take her in to the Emergency Clinic.  Thankfully, she has not exhibited any of them all day.  What an afternoon! Our last dog wasn't  big enough to counter surf --- and the counter is so messy these days partly because I've not felt like doing anything at all for months! Anyway, I spent a couple of hours today working on the counter.  I still have a section to tackle tomorrow.  Sophie has been amazed today - every time she came near me I was offering her a piece of bread!  Right now she is snoozing away just across the room from me and seems to be doing just fine and dandy.  

Late this afternoon Cousin Mia came by on her way home from taking Clyde to the Atlanta airport for a quick Thanksgiving trip to see his Dad.  We had some great girl time making fried green tomato and turkey bacon sandwiches for supper and just chattering all about the kids, work, and stuff. 

It's not really late, but I'm beginning to get a little tired.  I think it's good that today wasn't a Thanksgiving like ones we've had over the years.  It's been hard to get through this first Thanksgiving without Dad, but it was easier that we were doing things differently than in the past.  Sometime during Thanksgiving Day Dad would always ask everyone say something they were thankful for.  I'm very grateful that Gene Howard was my Dad.  I am also very grateful that Mom is still here with us.

So here's the short of it,

I had a relaxing morning  and a treatment this afternoon.  

Neuropathy and no hair continue.  

And here's the long

Today we had a lovely brunch at cousin Mia's with Shelley and Lou and Max.  It was a nice relaxing time.  Mia made three different kinds of quiche.  Everyone was raving over the spinach and mushroom one, but the way my taster is these days, my favorite one was made with ricotta and goat cheese with red peppers and tomatoes.  It was really nice.  

This afternoon I had a Herceptin treatment.  My red counts are very slowly creeping upwards.  I had another shot of Procrit, but right now no transfusion. Thanks to everyone who sent up prayers, meditated, crossed fingers or other methods of support!  I wonder what will happen with my radiation on Monday.  Dr. Gefter has told me that he won't start radiation until my counts are up a bit.  I'll just have to wait - so I'll thnk about that on Monday.

My neuropathy is still about the same.  Not being able to be sure of my feet causes me to walk slowly and to sometimes lose my balance.  I haven't fallen yet but I have to be pretty careful.  My right foot continues to be much worse than my left.  I've discovered that having my feet cold makes the neuropathy more pronounced. Mom got me these great socks to wear around the house at night.  I actually go to bed with them on my feet and a toboggan on my head.  Sometime in the middle of the night they come off.  Keeping my feet and head warm makes me much more comfortable.

I'm thinking I'm at the turning point now.  The other day Liga was in the car with me and the sunlight was hitting me just a certain way and she gasped and said, "Mom, what happened to your eyebrows!"  Well, they aren't completely gone, but they are sure barely there - and the same is true of my eyelashes.  So I'm thinking as far out as I am from my last chemo, it may be about time for hair to quit falling out, blood counts to quit dropping, and more energy to return.  I'm also really eager for my taste to return! 

Thanksgiving Break!

So here's the short of it,
Thanksgiving break is here, and Max and his Mommy and Daddy are in town.


And here's the long

Today was the last day of work before the  Thanksgiving Break.  I actually had a really good day and was back in a school building again!  I really like beginning to do some of my more normal activities.

My neuropathy seems to be about the same.  When I'm working at my desk I can turn on the little heater that Russ brought me and it seems to help my feet some.  And of course, when I fall asleep it doesn't bother me at all! My fingers don't really bother me - it's just that I don't have any dexterity.  

This evening Shelley, Lou, and Max got here after a flight delay at their layover, but we went over for a brief visit before Max went off to sleep.  I'll swear, when they were handing out handsome, that little boy got in the line twice!  He is really beautiful. 

Tomorrow morning we are going to spend some time with Mia, Dad's first cousin.  And I have a Herceptin treatment in the early afternoon.  I will also get a blood count report.  Last week Dr. Schlabach came in to visit with me and let me know that if my blood counts don't come up I'll need to have a transfusion.  So here's a request for lots of prayers and good thoughts that my blood counts will be up tomorrow.

I'm so glad to have some time off! Tomorrow will be a sleep in day.  I know, I know, I can just hear some of you saying that won't help me get my days and nights straightened out.  I do need to do that, but I'll work on that later!

So here's the short of it,

A good punch recipe, and a sore thumb report.

And here's the long

Yesterday at the reception for Dr. Carver, they were serving a punch that is one of the few things that's really tasted good to me in months.  I asked for the recipe and so I thought I'd share it.  Maybe it will be good to people with regular taste as well.

1 part ginger ale
1 part 7-Up
1 part white grape peach juice

Well, that's it!  I decided to buy the ginger ale and 7-Up in small bottles instead of the 2 liter ones  so I could just make a little at a time.  Sometimes something that tastes good stops tasting good, so I'm hoping this one will taste good for awhile.

I had a pretty good day at work.  I had a meeting in a school for the first time in a long time.  It felt good to be out in my "old world".  I'm still awfully tired all the time - it's especially noticeable when I do any level of exertion like walking up steps.  I have started trying to walk around the circle (at a slow speed) a couple of times.  I get Sophie out so she gets a chance to run around and it makes her a little calmer and I'm guessing it must be helping me a little too. 

My neuropathy is about the same.  A new development is a cut on the end of my thumb.  I didn't really know I had it until Saturday night when we went out to eat.  When I squeezed the lemon into my water, I felt my thumb just sting like all get out!  I looked and there was a cut right on the end of it that I hadn't even felt because of the neuropathy.  Last night it was sore and throbbing so much I had to take some ibuprofen to get to sleep, and this morning it was all swollen.  I called my onc nurse and she had me take a picture of it and e-mail it to her!  I thought that was so great.  I didn't hear from her so I guess it will be fine with anti-biotic ointment and a band-aid and ibuprofen for the pain until I go in on Wednesday for my treatment. 

I have one more day of work, then I'm off for the Thanksgiving Holiday break until the next Monday; I'm looking forward to some Turkey!

So here's the short of it, 

 "To her the name of father was another name for love."
~~By Fanny Fern.~~

And here's the long

Today Alan and I went to First Cumberland Presbyterian to be with Mom for the installation of Dr. Carver as their minister.  He came to the church as an interim minister to serve until they found another minister after Reverend Schenk left.  He had not been there long before Dad's surgery.  He was such a source of strength for Mom and Dad during those long weeks at Erlanger and then at Kindred.  He rarely missed a day of visiting with Dad.  He always shared a scripture and prayer with him.  I know that meant so much to Dad who had as a part of his morning routine always to read his Bible and pray for the list of people he kept updated on his latest legal pad. He was also at the house in the middle of the night after Dad died and conducted a funeral service that was wonderfully comforting to the family.

When Alan and I got there we sat in the seats we thought were those that Mom and Dad usually occupied.  Apparently we were wrong!  We ended up seated much further up front than Mom and Aunt Joyce!  The service was lovely.  The first hymn was "We Gather Together", and as the choir and congregation started singing I could almost hear Dad's voice ringing down through the years singing that song at this time of year in the various churches we attended as we were growing up. I have cried off an on most of the rest of the day as images and memories of Dad crowd my mind.  At one point Alan walked out of the church and I followed him - he was wiping his eyes.  He told me that yesterday, he thought he'd be able to clean up the garden that Dad helped us with every year since we've been in this house, with the exception of this year.  He said he got about half way through and just sat down and cried.  Most of the time I'm doing just fine and moving along and working and doing the things I do in my normal life, and then sometimes most unexpectedly something will happen and I am plunged deeply into my grief.