Yet another doctor…

Happy Wednesday Reader’s!

One boy working, one boy watching.

One boy working, one boy watching.

Yesterday was a busy day. I had two morning conference calls, worked on a financial plan, did some trading and got cleaned up and ready for my doctor’s appointment. My Man worked from home and around 1pm we went to pick up The Boy from school. We knew there was no way we would be back from my appointment, which was at 2:30pm, to pick him up at the bus stop (2:55pm). So we brought him with us.

My appointment was at Emory’s campus location in Decatur at the Winship location. We all met with Dr. Higgins and she was very nice. More on the Dr. Read end of the spectrum then Dr. Pickens. She explained why it would be a good idea to have radiation and the possible side effects. I ended up getting blood drawn there and on Friday I must have yet another CT scan to map out where they will zap me. Then I have a chest X-ray and a follow-up appointment with Dr.Pickens. Looks like I will be spending all day at the hospital. I will be starting my radiation on December 3rd and will have it everyday (give or take a few), five days a week for about five or six weeks. The actual time it will take from when I get to the hospital, check in, get zapped and leave will be around 20 minutes. Less time then it will take me to get to the hospital from my house! She did tell me that they will pay for my car to be valet parked. Should I ask for money for gas?

I wasn’t feeling all that great when we left. Not sure if it is getting off of the pain med’s, being tired, being tired of all this bullshit, the idea of driving five days a week to get zapped or all of it combined. On our way home we stopped to eat dinner and then came home. I went to bed before 10pm and woke up to My Man snoring. I couldn’t fall back asleep since My Man would not stop snoring, so I went in and got in bed with The Boy. He moved over and then used me as a pillow. The Boy likes to wrap his whole body around his pillow! I finally fell back to sleep and the next thing I knew My Man was waking us up. We had overslept a bit but we were able to get up and ready for school in time.

Will they ever get along?

Will they ever get along?

Thanksgiving is almost a week away. What are your plans? Going out-of-town? Having friends and family over to your home? Let us know!

Well Shit.

It is another chilly morning here in the ATL. I would like to say that yesterday was a fluke and Poppy sailed down the coop with little effort but then I would be lying. The Boy even came out with me to watch her decent. Turbo came out first and was steady and determined on her journey down the plank. Poppy…well Poppy brought a smile to our face and the first giggle of the day.

I heard from Dr. Read late in the day yesterday. The little f-ing tumor was not dead. Well Shit. I have an appointment with a Dr. Higgins at Emory. She, yes She, is a Radiation Oncology, Assistant Professor and her focus is head and neck cancer and lung cancer. Now, I don’t have lung cancer but my tumor was in (and out) of my right lung, so she is a good fit. I am excited that she is a she. It will be interesting do see how she interacts with her patients. Is she like Dr. Read or Dr. Pickens?

I wasn’t thrilled to hear that I would be going through radiation. I would really like my cancer journey to be done but that is not the case. I called my friend Gerri, who has been my go to girl during since June. She told me that radiation will be the easiest thing I have had to do since I was diagnosed. It is just a bit of a pain in the ass. She had to go in for treatment every day, five days a week, for 30 days. And the actual treatment lasts for like five minutes. She said she got to know the valet guys and they stopped parking her car. They would just pull it over to the side since she would be back in less than ten minutes.

Now, there are many different types of radiation therapy and who knows what kind I will have. My case is different from Gerri’s. She had a tumor they were focusing on and shrinking before her surgery. I don’t have a tumor anymore. Just a general area where a tumor once was, so I don’t know what my treatment will entail.

We are entering a very busy time of the year. We are going out-of-town for Thanksgiving and then again for a small trip to Barnsley Gardens the second week of December. And then there is Christmas. So, like I said before, having radiation right now is going to be a pain in the ass. But that is ok. I trust Dr. Read and he is doing his best to make sure that this is the last time I and my family have to go through this.

And to end on a happy note, I present you with Tired Puppy.

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One Wing Flapping…

Reader’s! It’s cold out there! The ATL was super chilly last night. Temperatures drop to the high 20’s last night. Thankfully The Girls were locked up tight and seemed fine this morning. I figured by now that they would be Pro’s at strutting up and down their plank. Now I am not too sure. It could have been she was still kinda of sleepy or that the chill in the air got to her but Poppy has not mastered the plank. Not. At. All. When I slid open the door, Poppy was the first to show up with Turbo closely behind her and I swear she had a bag of popcorn with her. She stood back and watched as Poppy did her best to try to get down the plank without falling off of it.

Pickles!

Pickles!

Her wing was flapping! Her feet slipping! Is she going to fall? Steady Poppy Steady!

Stop pressuring me.

Stop pressuring me!

“Pass me some popcorn Turbo.”

“Squawk!”

Oh No!

Oh No!

“Son of a Bitc….. I’m ok! I’m ok! I got this.” Flap, Flap, Flap.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

Focus! Focus! Go! Go!

Towards the end of Poppy’s journey, she just leaped off the end of the plank, her one wing flapping in the wind. It was a sight to be seen. You could tell she was pleased to still be alive. She had made it through another morning.

Turbo's turn.

Turbo’s turn.

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Focused and determined.

Turbo seems to have mastered walking down the plank. She walks fast and determined. There is a reason why she is the head hen. By the way, she does not share her popcorn.

Update

I am happy to say that I getting better everyday. I am not feeling as worn out and getting up out of the bed is getting a little bit easier. However, there is one area below my arm pit that is causing me some discomfort. In fact, it is down right painful. This morning I was trying to wake up, still very sleepy and I moved my right arm slightly and son of a bitch! OMG. It felt like I was being stabbed with a white-hot knife. I was fully awake after that. Then I tried to put some deodorant on. No! No! No! Not going to happen. AAHHHH!

If you see me, stand on my left. I will smell nice and fresh. The right side, not so much.

The bruises have almost faded away. They look better than the one on my wrist from the IV in my artery. That thing still looks like a mess and is sore. I am taking Hydrocodone for my pain. I think that being mixed with the chemo that is still in my body, the anesthetic, and all the other medications they have given me are mixing together. This in return has caused me to be a bit fuzzy at time. My brain gets fuzzy, I am still hairless. It is kind of like being on a roller coaster. I feel fine on minute and the next, my heart is racing and I can’t focus. Back and forth, back and forth. Up and down, up and down. I guess it is a good thing I am not driving. Breathing is getting easier. The coughing not as painful.

I called Dr. P’s office yesterday and I go in next Friday for a follow-up appointment and to get my stitches out. I sure hope by then, the left armpit pain has gone away. I will also get an X-Ray taken. I emailed Dr. Read today asking if they have gotten any word on if the tumor is dead or not. Hopefully I will hear something soon.

Shout Out!

Let's Bloom!

Let’s Bloom!

Judi R.- I just got the flowers! They are so pretty. Thank you so much. Now I have to keep Simon away from them. Thank you!

I know it is snowing out there in some places, so stay warm and be safe Readers!

I have turned into a cat.

Good Morning Reader’s!

I hope you all had a nice weekend. Did you have fun? Me? I impersonated a cat this weekend. I laid around. I slept. I got up. I walked around. I laid back down again. My “human” aka My Man, fed me. I napped. I stretched my right arm. I walked around. I tried to get comfortable. I laid down. This went on all weekend. I would love to say I feel rested but that is not the case. It is no wonder they (cats) sleep as much as they do. They are forever searching for the perfect nap.

The right side of my torso is very sore and where the incisions are, painful. In fact at times it feels like they are burning and I feel like they are bleeding. But they are not. I am having a hard time not using my right arm. Like opening the refrigerator. That hurts! But I automatically reach with my right hand and pull at my side. I have incisions under my right armpit, my right boob (ouch!) my right side and halfway down the right side of my back. That is the one I wasn’t planning on. The pain medication is working but it doesn’t take it all away. I am also tired. I have no energy. All I want to do is lay around and nap. I have turned into a cat.

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The above picture was taken the day we adopted Timber. It was also right after I got my cancer diagnosed. This is what I really look like. I was asked to post the Jiffy Pop picture. I am not happy but here it is.

Jiffy Pop Hat

Jiffy Pop Hat

That is me after they took my glasses away and were getting ready to wheel me out and into surgery. As you can see, I have lost my eyebrows, eyelashes, my skin is a mess and I am about 15 pounds heavier. Not looking my best. But that is ok. While I have been laying around acting like a cat, I have been thinking about all I will need to do to get back to looking like I did in June. I have always been one to plan ahead.

Whatcha Reading?

Here a the books I have read recently. If you are a reader check them out.

Replay by Ken Grimwood

The Valley of Amazement- Amy Tan

The Kitchen God’s Wife-Amy Tan–Reading right now

Allegiant-Veronica Roth

Sycamore Row-John Grisham–Listening to right now

 

Jiffy Pop Hat

Emory Midtown

Emory Midtown

Wednesday started off very early for My Man and I. We were at the hospital by 6am to check in for my surgery. I was told that I would be Dr. P’s first surgery of the day. Well, that wasn’t the case. I was brought into the pre-op room where I took off all my clothes and got dressed in one of those lovely hospital gowns. They also gave me a hat that looked like the top of a blown up container of Jiffy Pop. Once my IV was in they let My Man come back to hang out with me. Then the wait begun. Turns out, I wasn’t the first surgery. I watched the two men who came back with me get taken away for their surgery’s. Finally we were told that it would be at least another hour and a half. I told My Man to go get some breakfast. I watched the busy room and took a nap. I woke up and my Mom and Dad were there. The RN brought over some chairs and the four of us waited. My Man and Dad had their laptops and my mom on her Kindle. I messed around on my phone and ipad.They finally came and got me at 11:30am. They had taken my glasses and put on the Jiffy Pop hat on me and to tell you the truth, I can’t remember much else. I do remember that the surgery room was freezing!

Checked in and now waiting

Checked in and now waiting

The next thing I knew I was in recovery. The RN’s who took care of me were great. I was in there for an hour or two (not sure) before a room became available. I had no idea what time it was. I had yet to see My Man. I was told that he couldn’t come back to see me. By the time I got to my room and saw him it was after 6pm. He had been in that waiting room for 12 hours! He said they called him three times and told him that I was asleep/awake and that someone would bring him back. They never came. He told me he was beginning to get worried. My poor guy. He hadn’t eaten anything all day. He didn’t want to leave the waiting room. He said he was the last person in there. I felt so bad for him. 

After I got settled in my room he went out, ate dinner and had some beers. We texted back and forth to each other while he ate. He was telling me about the restaurant and all the people who were in there. Apparently there is a musical based off the movie Ghost and it was playing across the street at the Fox Theater. The bartender had tickets to it and offered them to My Man. By the time he walked back to the hospital and got to my room, he was buzzed and I was high as a kite on pain killers. I am sure the RN’s thought we were crazy. We were on the first floor this time, no Theo this time. My Man did not like the first floor as much as the 7th. I was happy with the RN’s, they weren’t Theo or Tiffany. I didn’t really sleep that night. I laid there zoning in an out of it, pressing my pain medication button.

Dr. P told My Man that the tumor was actually in my right lung and had grown out of it. That is a good thing because it shows that the cancer did not spread outside the lung like we first thought but a bad thing cause it grew out a bit. He was able to get all of the tumor out and took some of the area around it. So the surgery was a success.

We had been told there was a chance I would be able to go home on Thursday but I wasn’t going to get my hopes up. I have learned my lesson. They took my pain med’s button away and due to my low blood pressure I wasn’t allowed any pain killers for about 2 hours. Not pleasant. I have had this issue before so I wasn’t surprised but I did my best not to move around. I was still pretty out of it. Later I got my pills and they took the catheter out. My RN got me up and we went for a walk around the floor. It wore me out. Afterwards I  got comfortable in my chair and tried to stay awake while I watched Boardwalk Empire.

Walked the hall once and now chilling in the chair watching Boardwalk Empire.

Walked the hall once and now chilling in the chair watching Boardwalk Empire.

Dr. P’s PA, Robert, came in and took my chest tube out. It burned when it came out but it wasn’t too bad. Next came another chest X-ray and it looked good. I was released around 6pm. It was so nice to get home and see The Boy. He has had to go through a lot and I just wanted to be home with him. He gave me a big gentil hug. Love those hugs!

How am I feeling? Well, I am tired. My right side is very sore. I feel a pressure on my chest. I have breathing exercises I have to do to every hour to make sure I don’t get pneumonia and they make me cough (which I am supposed to do) but it hurts! Right now I am sitting up in our chaise lounge since laying down and getting up is very painful. I can’t lift anything more than 5 pounds and they don’t want me driving for two weeks. At this point, I couldn’t drive if I wanted to but I am not sure about two weeks! I have a life!

One of many bruises.

One of many bruises.

One of the 4 incisions. Chest tube incision is covered by the bandage.

One of the 4 incisions. Chest tube incision is covered by the bandage.

I will go back to see Dr. P in the next two weeks to get my stitches out. Right now we are waiting for the tests to show if the tumor is “dead” or not. Once we know that, then we will go from there. In a perfect world, it is dead and I am done! Thank you all for your prayers and kind words. They really mean a lot me.

I think he is happy I am home.

I think he is happy I am home.

Tomorrow is the big day!

Reader’s!

How are you this Tuesday? Is it raining or is the sun out shinning like it is here in the ATL. My day started as is always does by getting up and getting The Boy reading for school and Timber, Panny and Simon fed. I was in a hurry today since I had a 9am appointment at the hospital for my pre-op. My Mom and Dad came into town yesterday for my surgery. Mom came with me to the hospital and my Dad stayed at Hotel Yorba and did work, went for a run and played ball with Timber.

Mom hanging out in one of the waiting rooms.

Mom hanging out in one of the waiting rooms.

Mom and I first went up to Dr. P.’s office and talked to his secretary, Cindy (who is super nice) before heading down the Pre-Op area. I signed in at the main desk and they then sent me to another desk. Before I got the main pre-op area, I had been to four desks to “check in”. Everyone in that hospital had to know I was there.

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Ready to squeeze

Ready to squeeze

Ouch

Ouch

I was weighted, blood pressure and heart rate was taken. I was then sent back out to wait. They had HGTV on the TV so it wasn’t so bad waiting. Soon I was called back in. I had two RN’s taking care of me. One went through my health history, medications and the “to do” and “not do” before surgery. The other took four vials of my blood, had me go pee in a cup and preformed my EKG.

EKG

EKG

After having to take off everything from the waist up, it took the RN about 2 minutes to place the ten sticker things and hooked me up to ten wires of the EKG machine. She the turned around to the machine. I was still answering health questions, when she turned right back around and started taking the wires and stickers off. I thought that maybe something had gone wrong. I asked “Was that it?” thinking she was going to start over. But it was! All she had to do was push one button and that was it! It took twice as long to get me ready than to take the test. Crazy!

After that we went down to radiology and checked in (again!) for my chest x-ray. I waited for about 5 minutes and was called back to one of the coldest rooms I have ever been in. Again, I had to take off my top and bra and put on a gown. Chilly!!! They took and x-ray of my front and one of my left side. We then headed back up to Dr. P.’s office. We had a very short wait and then saw his PA, Robert. To be honest, I really don’t know why I met with him. I didn’t have to sign anything, he didn’t tell me anything new and I had no questions. Ok. Overall, Mom and I got out of there under three hours. Not too bad!.

My Man and I will be at the hospital at 6am tomorrow and my surgery should start around 7:30am. I am the first surgery of the day! Dr. P. said the surgery should last 1-2 hours. I will have a drainage tube put in on my right side. Depending on how it drains (gross I know), I could be released sometime Thursday.  I will also have a morphine drip with a button I will get to push. Fun!!  I don’t think I will have my computer with me, so it maybe a few days before I post again.

I want to thank everyone for their love and prayers. They mean so much to me and my family. I believe that even though not very talkative, social or punctual, Dr. P. is a very good surgeon and I am in good hands.

Talk to you soon!

Two Hours Later…

Morning Reader’s!

Today is the day I go see Dr. P. about getting the little f@$ker out of my chest. I wouldn’t say that I am nervous about the appointment, I know the tumor has been shrinking and I have to believe that this appointment will not be a rehash of the last one. That being said, I am not my normal self this morning. I am sure I will feel better once the appointment is over and a plan is in place.

Later in the day….

OMG. OMG. What a day. My appointment was at 11:15am. My Man and I got there at 11am because they always say to get there 10 to 15 minutes early to sign in. So we did that and sat down to wait. Two hours LATER. Yes, two hours later!! We were still waiting. At this point, we were worried. The Boy gets dropped off from school at 2:55 and we needed to leave the hospital by 2:00 or 2:05. You never know what the traffic in Atlanta is going to be like and now it is after 1:15pm and we are still in the waiting room. Dr. P. didn’t even show up till after 12:30!! Where the hell was he? No idea. Anyway, we got in at 1:20pm and he came in at 1:38. I was watching that clock like a hawk. He was overly nice to us. Good. Anyway…

My surgery is set for November 6th. I go in for pre-op on the 5th. They will take blood, give me an EKG and another CT Scan. I will have a Thoracoscopy. The surgery will take 1-2 hours. It will include three small incisions on my right side. I will have a chest tube put in for  drainage. If all goes well, I will be out of the hospital the next day. Total recovery is 2 to 4 weeks. Now, we want the tumor to be dead. Dead as a doornail. If it isn’t dead, there is a chance I will have to have more chemo. I am glad to have a date on the books. I am ready to get this all over and move on with my life.