Author: KimJHA

Hooray Hooray Hooray, aren’t you glad you’re not a Turkey on this Thanksgiving Day!

Woke up Wednesday morning with my port site feeling tender.  When I looked at it in the mirror it was red, more red than it has been in a while.  After I got dressed I called Cancer Care associates to check in with a nurse.  Beth scheduled me to see a Nurse Practitioner.  This wasn’t on my agenda for today.  I was supposed to take it easy today since I was sooooo busy yesterday.  Hubby was worried he needed to go with me, as he had a full day already planned, getting the spare room ready for the big meal tomorrow.  I was good with taking myself.

Kristen, the nurse practitioner, agreed my port is sporting an infection.  Great….  She was going to send in a request to the Costco Pharmacy for two different antibiotics to hopefully knock this out quickly.  If I still show visible signs of infection on Friday I cannot get my infusions through the port.  She asked me how my veins are, and I had to tell her horrible, and I have tons of valves in my veins making it nearly impossible to start an IV.  Worst case scenario we will have to reschedule my infusion on Friday to Monday.

Just what I don’t want to do, postpone this any longer.  We talked about phase 2 a little bit.  She said most people have less nausea on the Taxol/Carboplatin, and because this is done weekly, the dosing is smaller.  She said people generally feel more tired on this phase, but it doesn’t really kick in until week 4 or 5.  Neuropathy is the big thing they worry about with “TC”.  Another greeeaaaat….

Once I was done at Cancer Care Associates, I headed to Costco to pick up the antibiotics and of course had to wait, and wait, and wait a little bit more.  Finally the Rx’s were ready and I was good to go.  I still needed to get my blood draw at LabCorp, on the other side of town, in prep for Friday’s infusions.  And of course the antibiotics need to be taken with food.  Stopped at Jack in the Box for a breakfast sandwich, which had NO taste, but I got the first two pills in me and headed to the lab for my blood draw.

Thankfully I was in and out of the lab very quickly as I was starting to wind down.  Stopped at TJ’s to pick up the three things forgotten yesterday and finally home, almost 5 hours later.  I was almost ready to fall asleep on the sofa when the family arrived.  I finally had to tell them I needed to take a nap and headed off to bed.

I got a nice nap in, and then it was time for us to head off to dinner at the Italian Restaurant I made reservations for us.  We had a lovely dinner, with much laughter.  I can hardly wait for tomorrow when everyone is here!

I have decided to commandeer the chaise lounge as my spot for tomorrow.  I have moved all my stuff from my spot in the corner of our main sofa, and set myself up on the chaise.  Now if I feel the need to nap, it’s a quick slide down and off to zzzz land I go.

And for the first time in years watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an absolute MUST.  One of my nephews from South Carolina is marching with his High School band in the parade!  I can hardly wait for tomorrow!!!

Stepmom brought a Thankful Turkey.  The Turkey is adorable and there are paper feathers you write what you are thankful for and place in his “butt”.

 

 

 

 

 

Life is all about being with family

Tuesday must have been my most productive day yet, since starting this new journey.  I knew I wanted to attend the MELT Method class at the Cancer Support Community to learn how to deal with the neuropathy.  As I was getting ready I noticed my toes really needed an updated pedicure.  I had time to stop and get a pedicure before the class if I left early enough.

After feeding the Toothless Wonder Cat, I got dressed to head out for the pedicure before I went to the class.  While I was getting my pedicure, they talked me into a new manicure as well.  This was all perfectly timed and I arrived at the Cancer Support Community in plenty of time to get set up for the class.

Cecelia from my Support Group was already there, and she introduced me to some others who are regulars in the class.  The teacher was nice and kept us all on track even when others started to deviate.  MELT is a physical therapy method you can do yourself using balls to help activate trigger points and connective tissues.  This helps counteract the effects of neuropathy.  I sure hope so!  After the basic class the instructor was willing to step into an unused room to give me a separate lesson on some techniques to use on the head.  She’s not heard of anyone exhibiting signs of neuropathy in the lips and gums, and she wasn’t sure if the techniques she was providing for the head would help, but they sure couldn’t hurt.

After I was done with the class I stopped to fill the tank on my car and run the car though the drive through car wash to get the dirt off.

After I was done with that I stopped at the house so Hubby and I could finish of the Thanksgiving shopping.  It was decided we needed a new rug/mat in the bathroom, so a stop at Bed Bath and Beyond was in order.  From there we needed to stop at Home Depot to exchange the wrong size toilet seat that had been purchased and some weed killer for the front lawn.

Trader Joe’s was the next stop, majority of what was needed to finish off Thanksgiving fixings I was able to pick up from TJ’s; and from there we stopped at Albertson’s to complete the shopping.  Back home to put it all away and Hubby says he’s not going to Support Group tonight, he’s just too tired and has a headache.  Wow, am I rubbing off on him?  I got myself a bite to eat and then it was time to head to Support Group back at the Cancer Support Community.

It was a good group night.  Heidi was back and I was very glad to see her.  I know childcare can be difficult for them at times.  Joanne was there as well, and her dilemma was she has a Black Tie event to attend on December 5 and she just doesn’t know what to do with her head.  She has a wig, but just doesn’t feel the vibe to wear the wig to her formal event.  She has received so much support over her chemo pattern baldness, as much as she hated the fact she would be losing her hair (right up there with my pain over the possibility of losing my eyelashes), she has started to embrace the hair loss.  She, like me has little hairs here and there that have not fallen out.  Close up, it’s kind of a patchy mess.  She doesn’t feel right going without a head covering, but doesn’t know how to tie scarves.

I told her once she knows what dress she is going to wear to her event, let me know and I’ll grab some of my scarves that match the color and we’ll figure something out.  She is very happy with this solution.

I told them about my mouth sores and Sandy told me she had done teas too, like I was doing, but she reminded me of warm salt water and baking soda rinse as well.  She also said she used Biotene to help with the mouth sores.  I have plenty of that, mouth rinse and spray.

M is still dealing with homelessness.  She has a contact I was able to get for her through my work connections.  She had a very bad week last week and still needs to follow up and that was the first thing she told me when she saw me.  She apologized for not calling the contact yet and I told her it’s completely understandable.  Her recent treatment just wiped her out.  I hugged her and told her I really hope this contact is the missing piece she has been looking for.

All in all, it was a good day and by the time I got home I was pretty tired.  The Toothless Wonder Cat was waiting for me in the driveway and followed me into the house.  This is not usual behavior,  but he is always welcome to come inside.

He ate two more pieces of roast beast before he made himself at home on the bed.  He stayed in until 11 PMish, right when Hubby decided we needed to bring in the litterbox for him, he went out the back door.

Wednesday my family arrives for Thanksgiving!  I can hardly wait to hug them all.

Life is being productive

I did finish vacuuming this morning while hubby did laundry, took out trash and other misc chores that needed to be finished.  I also started a lace cowl to add to the two chemo hats I’ve made so far with the first skein of hand spun yarn from the talented textile maker cousin.

We ran out in the morning after we finished up the few little chores that needed to be completed, to complete some banking, mail drops and grab a bite to eat from Del Taco since there will be no Mexican Food Wednesday this week.  We completed those stops in record time.

I did take today a bit easier, I want to be sure I am ready to take the MELT class at the Cancer Support Community tomorrow.  I’ve been warned the peripheral neuropathy will get worse in phase 2, and this class will provide me with exercises to help control the neuropathy.  I only have a few incidents of it now in this cycle, the mouth neuropathy is all gone, with occasional feelings of it mostly in my feet, and that is only when I am sitting.

The sore in my throat is doing much better, but I am now developing one on the side of my tongue.  Honey/Lemon tea, which consists of honey, hot water and a slice of lemon, and swishing with coconut oil will continue.  When we go to chemo school I want to ask the Nurse Practitioner if the white coating all over my tongue is normal though.  There has to be something that can be done about that.  I feel like if I could get rid of that my taste issues would get better.  Not necessarily normal, but better.

I don’t know why I didn’t think to get a picture yesterday since I seem to be on a picture taking kick lately, but my Auntie and her Significant Other (SO for short) stopped by yesterday on their way out to Arizona for Thanksgiving with his family.  It was so nice to get and give hugs, and visit with them for a few hours before they hit the road to complete their drive.  They did ask if we were interested in going out for a bite to eat, but I was still feeling the effects of too many chores on Sunday.  My stamina just is not what it used to be, and the aftereffect takes longer for me to recover.

After the Auntie and SO left, we sat and watched a bit of TV.  It was almost 8:30 PM before I realized we never took out the trash cans for trash day in the morning.  Oops!  Easily remedied, but so glad I remembered.  Not like I am still sleeping when the trash trucks start coming through in the morning, I could have easily ran out there in the morning if that had happened.

All in all, Monday was a good day.

Life is family

As I promised, Sunday was set aside for chores.  Cleaning the bathroom, sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, gardening,  making sure the kitchen cabinets are clean, mowing the lawn and laundry.  I wore myself out cleaning the house, while Hubby took care of the front yard and set up our holiday decorations.  He even ran to Home Depot to pick up new Poinsettia’s to complete the decor.  This year he staked down our holiday tree in the front yard so it won’t blow over.

Monday will have to finish the vacuuming, I couldn’t move anymore.  I had to take a break and promptly fell asleep on the sofa while watching football.  My goal was to be finished so we could watch the American Music Awards without feeling guilty.  We had already decided burgers from BCG were on the menu so cooking was not going to be an issue.  By noon, I was tuckered and hubby had to run to HD, so we decided BCG was going to be for lunch and we would snack for dinner.

Loved the AMA’s and Pink slays me!  She is one of my hero’s.   She is brave, strong and lives for herself.  Christina Aguilera always amazes me with her voice, and Kelly Clarkson is just beautiful.  I loved watching the boy band from Korea, BTS reacting to all the musical acts.   And Tracy Ellis Ross wearing her mother outfits during the show was stunning.  What a wonderful legacy for Diana Ross.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching this awards show.

Since I tired myself out, I sat all afternoon and dedicated myself to finishing projects.  I added buttons to the dragon cowl that the Grandson requested be his, and I told him it would be ready for him when he came over on Thanksgiving. 

 

 

 

 

I knit up two chemo caps from the first skein of yarn spun by my cousin that she sent me to knit up caps for donation to the Cancer Support Community.  I still have enough yarn from that skein to do another cap or maybe I’ll make a cowl.  I do notice my neck gets cold, not necessarily my head.

I still have 4 or 5 more skeins of the cousins hand spun yarn to go after I finish this current skein.

Another thing I noticed in the afternoon was I have my first “mouth” sore from the chemo.  It’s actually at the back of my throat, and I can see the sore.  I started drinking honey/lemon tea to help ease the sore.  It seems to be working.  Hubby was worried about the acid of the lemon making the sore worse, but I know what to do.

I also saw on the news, a clip about an interactive “art” installation that opens on Monday in LA – Happy Place.  I want to go!  It’s hard to plan ahead as we never know how chemo will effect me day by day, but we can project which days will be better than others.  I would really like to try to get there before phase 2 starts.  VIP tickets are super expensive, so no professional photographer to accompany us, but regular admission should work.  Check it out here

Life is learning your limits

Friday found me still dealing with a gut that hates me.  It doesn’t know if it wants to hold on to stuff or purge it.  Friday was gas.  It would not pass, just stayed in gurgly little pockets that would send shooting pains through my  bowels all day long.

When I first woke up, as many mornings, I look in the mirror and am startled by what I see.  My first reaction is who is that, then in that micro-second, I remember oh yeah, Chemo Girl, and she looks pretty damn good without hair.  The Darling Daughter forgot to take her bag of food home Thursday night, so she stopped by after dropping the kids off at school to pick up everything she forgot the previous night.  She said she noted the same thing, she looks in the mirror and for that split second she doesn’t recognize herself.

The neighbors across the street, who we love, have been actively following my progress and offering much encouragement.  Today Moses brought me flowers just because.  They are so sweet.  I love having them as neighbors. We could not ask for any better guys to be our neighbors, or our friends.

Friday was also the day for Amazon deliveries.  Three separate deliveries made for items ordered recently.  I have two more items pending…  Maybe Saturday.  One of the items still pending is my Hot Water Pot.  Years ago, when we first visited with our friends in Canada, they had this great hot water pot that sat on their counter, held about 4 liters of water at a time and kept it at a set temperature.  You pushed a button and it would dispense hot water.  Perfect for making tea all day long!   I wanted one.  I scoured the internet and could not find one.  On a subsequent visit we found one at Canadian Tire, and I made Hubby carry it on the airplane when we left to come home.  Since then I have been finding them no problem on Amazon.  As one dies I head to Amazon to order it’s replacement.  The latest one is starting to constantly cycle noisily and has a small air leak.  All the signs the last one exhibited before it started leaking water all over the counter.  Rather than wait for that, I ordered a new one to replace the dying one before it actually breaks.  Love having hot water at a press of a button.  Great for tea, coffee brewed in my french press, and anything else that needs hot water.

Saturday found me awake before dawn, as now seems to be my normal habit.  Knowing the Leonid Meteor shower should be visible I headed to the back yard for some viewing.  By that time of the morning the best viewing would be to the southeast, which is where we have a lot of light pollution from a refinery and a community college.  But I was game, set myself up on a lounge in the back and watched the sky.  Was able to see 5 meteors before the pending dawn light grew too bright to really see anymore unless they flamed super brightly.

As I lay there on the lounge in the backyard, it brought back memories of camping as a child.  My parents had separated when I was about 8, and my mother joined an organization called Parents Without Partners.  It provided group opportunities for families to do fun things at a discount, like camping, as well as social activities for the singles, like dances.  I was about 9 or 10 and had a
“boyfriend”, Bobby Joe.  He was more my friend than a romantic interest at that age, but I loved him dearly.  When we were at the same functions we were inseparable.  When we went camping, we always took our sleeping bags off to some remote spot so we could fall asleep watching the stars, more to spot shooting stars.  We would talk about all sorts of things.  Why our parents separated, our siblings, our hopes and dreams, world issues as we perceived them.  Everything and anything was fair game.  Bobby Joe spent one year working any odd job he could find to buy me a Holly Hobby doll and a jewelry box for my birthday.  I was so sad when the jewelry box was broken, and I don’t remember what happened to the Holly Hobby doll.  I loved Bobby Joe and I hope wherever he is in this world, life has been good to him.  It was nice to have those memories to reflect on while I was watching for the meteors.  Everyone should have a first love like Bobby Joe, all innocence and perfect friendship, holding hands and laughing in the sun, caring about each other and really listening.

After I finished watching the meteor shower I headed back inside and the Toothless Wonder Cat followed right at my heels.  Fed him a piece of Roast Beast (Kitty Crack), and he was good and wanted back out.  From there I changed into my yoga clothes and used my yoga app to do a yoga workout.

I finished the Mermaid Tail Snuggly Sack my cousin had asked for ages ago.  I ran out of yarn with just a row and a half to go on the tailfin.   It was OK though, I knew I needed to get to the store to pick up veggies for dinner.  This was the perfect excuse to finally get myself really dressed and head out for a bit.  Of course I had to stop for coffee, and I am glad I did as I ran into one of my favorite baristas who had left the coffee business to teach full time.  She did tell me she is going to work part-time during the holidays.  It was so good to see her and grab a quick hug.

By the time I arrived home, the giant Amazon box was on the front porch, signaling my new hot water pot had arrived.

Dinner Saturday was sauted carrots, pasta and the beer braised beef that I cooked up his past week since I was not able to make it this past Sunday.  Dinner was pretty good, and I was able to taste most of it.  My taste buds are hit and miss right now.  It’s not in sections of my tongue that they are not working, like the sides, or the center, but in random patches over the whole tongue.  No sores in the mouth as of yet, so I am taking that as a good sign.

We watched R.I.P.D. with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as we ate.  It was a very funny movie!  Can’t believe we took this long to actually see this movie.  One down in our queue, only 195+ to go.

Sunday the plan is cleaning and yard work for both of us, then watch the American Music Awards.

Life is good memories

 

 

 

I woke up Thursday with a headache and the signature gut ache that is the  precursor to the “purge” that comes day 6/7 of each cycle.  My gut is so going to hate me by the time I am done with this.  The headache lingered all day, and it was frustrating as we knew the darling daughter and grandson were coming over for dinner.

We knew we needed to go to Costco and Albertson’s so get a few items we needed to get us through to next week when we do the final Thanksgiving shopping.  I was very impatient and had a very short fuse.  Hubby says this has been the M/O since chemo has started, but even I knew I was having major patience issues.  It started with Costco and everyone stopping at the entrance to talk and blocking those of us behind trying to get into the store.  And of course there are those that see someone they know and they stop mid-aisle to chat with their carts blocking everyone else from passing.  I grumbled my way through Costco for the few items we needed.

By the time we arrived at Albertson’s I needed to use the restroom.  I headed to the ladies room while Hubby started picking up the items he needed.  I was again frustrated when I could not find any cube stuffing.  Just down right ticked off.  How the hell are people supposed to make their Thanksgiving meals without friggin’ stuffing?  Grumbled my way through Albertson’s as well.  As we waited in line I decided to try one more pass at the aisle that should have had the cubed bread I prefer to use for stuffing.  I found the last two boxes hidden at the back of shelf.  I felt a little better.

From there we headed to Del Taco since it was National Fast Food Day.  I ordered a taco, quesadilla and fry combo.  After I ate, Hubby sent me to bed.  The nap helped a bit, but that darn headache was just there, not painful, but enough to be annoying.  It make my shortage of patience even shorter.

The darling daughter showed up about 5 PM with the grandson to make us dinner.  She started dinner, Hubby went out to feed the Toothless Wonder Cat, and grandson and I made paper dragon airplanes before we moved onto the wooden train set.  Funny, Hubby was just saying we need to clean out some of his toys, the train set being one of them, donate to a children’s hospital or something since he doesn’t play with it anymore.  Guess we have to keep that box just a bit longer.

Dinner was ready and we all sat down to dinner at the table together.  It was so much fun having dinner together, and the darling daughter made a wonderful chicken piccata, herbed rice and  sauteed green beans with mushrooms and shallots.  The grandson loved the dinner and was all for eating it so he could have a cupcake they picked up for our dessert.

During dinner it was brought up that the Grandson wants to shave his head in support of his Nane.  My heart just melted.  This prompted a conversation about feelings, and how the grandson was having a hard time talking about his feelings in front of us.  We let him go at his own pace, which ended up whispering to his mommy and she would relay what he wanted to say.  We also decided it was time to add the Grandson to the measuring wall in the garage.

Once the Grandson had articulated his wish to shave his head in support of his Nane, a phone call was made to his daddy.  It was decided they needed to discuss this as a family before the final decision was made.  I was worn out by the headache, the dragon planes and train playing, so I stayed inside while Grandpa, the Darling Daughter and Grandson trooped out to the garage to add him to the measuring wall.

 

After the Darling Daughter and the Grandson got home, they had their family talk about the Grandson’s desire to show his support for me, and he was allowed his wish to shave his head.  My heart is bursting with love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life is gratitude for so much love

Wednesday was check up day with Dr. Sikaria.  Of course I was awake much earlier than normal.  It was going to be a nap day for sure!  We planned to go to my appointment then go take a walk at Disneyland.  Dr. Sikaria is very pleased with the progress of my chemo treatments and how Blink is responding to them.

Blink is no longer physically measurable.  This means Blink is so soft now that with manual manipulation we can no longer find any defined edges to Blink, and the soft, rubbery area we can feel is much smaller.  Blink is still tender to manipulation, so feeling me up does leave me a bit sore, but I am good with that!

She said there should not be any issues with still planning on a lumpectomy, and only sentinel node dissection at this point.  There has been no indication of lymph node involvement, she cannot feel any changes in the lymph nodes around my right breast and nothing showed up on the initial MRI.  When Hubby asked about the time between MRI and initial treatment, could it have spread then, Dr. Sikaria said because of how well Blink is reacting to the chemotherapy, any possibility of spread beyond the breast at this point is highly unlikely.

I will still need to undergo radiation treatment after surgery.  Still no getting out of that one.  She said it would most likely be 5 to 6 weeks of radiation treatment; 5 days a week.

She also had us scheduled for the next round of chemo school since I only have one more treatment under phase 1.  Next phase will be weekly, with Taxol and Carboplatin.  Carboplatin is a new drug in the breast cancer arena, and if I really had a big objection to it, Dr. Sikaria said she would cut it.  I told her I am willing to try any new drug that gives me any type of edge on my triple negative cancer.  I need all the help I can get.  She agreed.  Her treatment plan also corresponds with all I have read on websites and Dr. Loves book.

She is worried that I am having problems with peripheral neuropathy already though, she said Taxol and Carboplatin will be worse.  I had to explain to her it’s not painful, and currently it fades as I get closer to my next cycle.  It’s more annoying than anything.  She suggested I add some B6 to my vitamin/drug regime.  We will have to go look for some to supplement what I already take in my current multi-B sublingual.  She was good with leaving it at this but wants to keep an eye on the neuropathy.  We may need to change up my infusion schedule and may even have to drop the Carboplatin.  I hope I can tolerate the drugs well enough, it’s kind of scary to me to not do everything I can to beat Blink and rid myself of it with all the ammo I can muster.

First cycle of phase 2 will begin the day after my birthday, then it will be moved to every Wednesday.  Hubby is hoping this will give me enough recovery time to have good Sundays for family dinner nights.

All my next infusions have been scheduled and my last one is currently set for February 21, 2018.  This means I need to reach out to my oncology and plastic surgeon around January 10th to start the surgery process.  My times for infusion have been changed too, I now will be going in the afternoons, since these new infusions will not take quite as long.

I don’t know why this unsettled me, it was very strange to have a feeling of wrongness just because my infusion cycle is changing.  For the most part I’ve not had problems with someone “moving my cheese”, but this really unsettled me.  When Hubby was asking me how I felt, I wasn’t sure how I felt.  Unsettled.  A little fear of the unknown, fear that I will not tolerate the new drugs and more changes will need to be made.  Afraid that at the end of this it will be anti-climatic and I will be left with waiting for the next “shoe” to drop.  I will continue to have annual mammograms (maybe every 6 months), and I will have 6 month check ups with Dr. Sikaria once my current active treatments are over.  I should be glad and looking forward to this, but there is that tiny little bubble of grey fear that just sits in the corner of my gut waiting for it’s chance to pounce.  Not going to let it win.

I also asked Dr. Sikaria about the 130+ new gene variants that have been announced to be linked to Breast Cancer and what this means to me and my kids.  She said, she had read up on that when the announcement was made and it should not change anything for me based on my current genetic work up.  The significance of those finds is so minuscule compared to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene variants that it should not change my treatment plan currently and because I was negative for both the major and other minor variants already known, the darling daughter will need to start having Mammograms at 42, the recommended 10 years prior to my diagnosis age.  But our current risk factors do not change with the new information.

After we were done with my check up and being scheduled for all the infusions for the 12 weeks, chemo school and my next check up with Dr. Sikaria in a month, we headed out to Disneyland.

We only had one agenda, eat lunch at Rancho del Zocalo since we have only been there once in the over 20 years we have been pass holders, and walk.  I was able to taste most of what we ate and then we walked.  I had to stop a few times as my feet were bothering me.  I am still retaining some water from the steroids administered during chemo infusion, and the shoes I chose to to wear didn’t go well with the swelling.  It exasperated the minor neuropathy I have in my feet. I did sleep on the way to the park, and after we left, I pretty much slept the whole way home as well.  I was in bed early too, as my day exhausted me.

 

 

 

 

 

Life is being OK with naps

 

 

Not much going on, still a great cycle, but I have noticed a change in the timing of when “things” are hitting.  Up to this point the taste buds and “metal mouth” have hit within 24 to 48 hours of treatment, meaning day 2 or 3 of the cycle.  I am now on day 5 of the cycle and losing my sense of taste is now coming on, along with the funky metal taste that takes it’s place in my mouth.

Also the peripheral neuropathy in my hands, feet and mouth.  It’s coming back on day 5, and I am really noticing it this time.  It’s not painful, but irritating.  I am having a harder time feeling things with my fingers, so it is harder to knit, put together my fun little metal model of Cinderella’s Castle that I am working on,  and I feel like I may “miss” my mouth when I am eating.

My feet are a whole other issue.  Not sure how I feel about the neuropathy in my feet.  I can walk, it’s not painful, but it definitely concerns me and my plans for Wednesday.  I do have my follow up appointment with Dr. Sikaria on Wednesday, I should probably bring this up to her.

The Cancer Support Community is offering a class next Tuesday – The MELT Method, which provides instructions on using physical therapy on the connective tissues to help control the discomfort neuropathy causes.  Cecelia, in my support group swears by this class.

Rebecca was back again this week, and I was so glad to see her.  She get’s her port on Wednesday and was very nervous about this procedure.  I explained my experience to her and showed her how my port looks, the bump it creates right under my collarbone, how it looks like a bruise because the physical port is purple, and I explained to her how the procedure went for me and how I was able to talk to the head nurse and the surgeon during the whole process.  I hope this helped her in facing this step in her process.

Hubby and I always plan to get to Support Group night early so we can take a walk around the Redondo Beach Pier.  It was a beautiful night, and I was able to grab a great picture of the shoreline at night.

Not bad for a phone camera….

Support Group was good, I am glad Hubby said I had to do this and I am glad I made him go too.  When we got out of group last night he was speaking with Rebecca’s spouse Kevin, and was telling him that he didn’t think Support Group would be of any benefit to him, but he has found comfort, solace, and benefit in attending.  I didn’t make a big deal about hearing him explain this to Kevin.

There is a gal in my group who has just had he worst luck.  She and her permanently disabled adult daughter have found themselves homeless while she has been undergoing her treatment.  It started with a repair being made in their apartment and her daughter being sexually assaulted by the repairman, which led to a complaint to the landlord, which resulted in eviction.  Yeah, there should be laws about this, and I am sure there are, but when you are focused on trying to remain healthy it becomes difficult to manage other things like this type of situation when you are on your own.  So, “M” has found herself homeless and trying to continue her Herceptin treatments to finish off her therapy regime.  Some in our group put her up in a hotel for the past week, last night I extended that stay for her for two more days.

“M” has been hooked up with city and county services and has a social worker assigned to her case, but they have not been all that helpful. Every time she comes up with a solution, she is shot down that they cannot get her the documents she needs to complete a process that would get her in a permanent home.  I am really praying the two extra days will get her the time she needs to get a home space settled.  She has three more treatments left and really wants to complete her process.   Please let her find the peace she needs to complete her journey through breast cancer and a safe haven for both her and her daughter.

We had another gal who tried Edibles during her chemo treatments and had such a bad experience she brought all her edibles in for others to take.  It was very funny, that conversation!  I didn’t feel the need to try any of the edibles, but she really wanted to know who took the “chips” as she ate two chips and was high for over 24 hours and swears there was a baboon in her backyard.  (It turned out is was a raccoon…).  The bag said it was two servings, she didn’t even complete one serving.  Patty who is dealing with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer was first on dips to take what she wanted.  We all agreed, she gets first dibs.  I hope this helps her!

I really love the dynamics of my support group.  I love how we are a diverse group of women, and we share so openly, honestly and care about one another. It helps me feel empowered.  It does take a village.

Life is caring for others

 

Sunday was such a great day.  I loved the cooking in the kitchen, sharing my herbs with the Darling Daughter, and watching The Boy cook up our steaks for dinner.

To cap that wonderful day off I pretty much did nothing on Monday.  I got up, diddled in email, fed the cat, washed up, but never got out of my new comfy PJ’s.  I might need to head back to Ross and find another pair at this rate.

I finished one knitting project, still working on two others.  I ran out of yarn for the mermaid tail and waiting to hear from the yarn shop I purchased from if they happen to find anymore, otherwise I will have to undo the tail add in a different yarn at the end of the body, and re-knit the tail piece.  Going to give it another day or so before I resort to undoing what I have already done.

 

Then there is the baby romper I am working on for the new baby that joined “the neighborhood”.  Granted this baby lives in Washington, but his mommy lived here and is one of our kids friends, and her mom and dad are our friends.  She gets handmade gifts.

I purchased from Disneyland metal art sculptures of two of the castles – Cinderalla and Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella’s Coach.  They are models you have to put together.  I’ve been just a little too shaky to work on one of them the past few days.  I tried again but still cannot get the tabs into the slots to link the pieces together.  Will try again soon.

I also received another package in the mail anonymously, this one contained two paint by number kits on pre-printed canvas.  No mounting boards or stretcher bars, but looks like hanging clips are included with the paint.  Anyone going to tell me who sent this?  Looks like they will be beautiful pictures….

This has been a great cycle so far.  Other than the shaky and the neuropathy returning.  Again, in the mouth, what is up with that?  My lips and gums go tingly throughout the day.  My fingers and my feet I get, but my mouth?

Darling Daughter did text the Grandparents over the weekend and evidently convinced them that I am up for having everyone here for Thanksgiving as normal.  Kids are cooking, although I am purchasing the food, so we will have our normal compliment of people for Thanksgiving this year.  Dad, Mom 2, Little Bro #1, Nephew, kids and grandson.  I can hardly wait.  It already sounds wonderfully exhausting, and I am so excited for this to happen.  I love being surrounded by my family.  Even if I am just sitting there taking it all in, enjoying the noise, the teasing, the laughter, all of it.  Makes my soul swell with joy.

Life is taking it easy and letting it roll on.