Tag Archives: Cancer

Chemo Brain…I got it.

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Happy Saturday Reader’s!

It looks like a nice day out here from my hospital window. I hope it is nice where you are. My 3rd chemo ended around 11:30pm last night. I was able to get a few hours of sleep before I was waken up at 2am and then again 4am. I think the doctor on rounds came in around 6:30 but I wasn’t really awake when she spoke to me. I then fell back asleep till the phone rang. Wrong number. Nice. It was 8:45am and my chemo was due to begin at 9am so I just stayed up. I then noticed My Man was gone. Seconds later I got a text from him asking what I wanted for breakfast from Rita’s Bluebird Dinner. Yummy! I gave him my order and 15 minutes later I was in heaven!

My chemo went well. I have two more cycles to go through. People ask how I am feeling. I am tired, run down. My brain isn’t working at full speed. You may have noticed while reading the past few blogs. Chemo brain, that’s what I got. I also get a tingling feeling at times but no numbness. And I pee, a lot. Which is a good thing but annoying. Good news is that my white blood cell counts went up yesterday! Woot! Woot! Very happy to hear that.

Today we are watching football. Can’t find the Alabama game on the TV here but are getting updates. doesn’t seem like much of a game anyway. RTR! We are watching Michigan State. They need to get their game on in the second quarter!

The Boy, my Mom and my Dad came down for a visit. The Boy went to piano and guitar this morning and my dad picked up some items for the coop/run. They have been having to put Turbo and Poppy on the ramp at night, so that they would walk up into the coop. My dad thinks part of the problem is that they can see their old coop and want to get into it. So this morning he and The Boy moved it so that they couldn’t see it anymore. They are having no problem coming out in the morning. My dad and I think it will just take a few days for them to figure this out. In the meantime, we will help them out. My dad and The Boy also moved some dirt into the run to make a dirt bath for the girls. He said they went straight to it and had a blast.

Not too much else going on here. Just ate my lunch of chicken salad with crackers and cheese and an apple. I bought all of it on Wednesday to bring in to the hospital. I have ordered only one thing from dinning, orange juice. And yes, it tasted terrible! WTH? It is orange juice! I couldn’t even finish it. 

Have a wonderful day Reader’s! Enjoy!

Getting Ready!

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Good Day Reader’s!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Tuesday. Today I am getting ready for my last cycle of chemotherapy. I check into the hospital tomorrow and still have a lot to do. My parents are on their way over from Birmingham as I type. We are going to go out to lunch at Breadwinner where I will grab two containers of  yummy soup to bring to the hospital for lunch. We are also going to stop at Trader Joe’s to grab some things. Such as more chocolate! I knew My Man couldn’t help but eat most of what I bought last week. I am also going to by some yogurt and fruit. I am going to make a fruit of salad to bring for snacking and yogurt for breakfast. No more burnt bagels for me! Who knows what else I will get, it is Trader Joe’s after all. Just like Target, you go in for one thing and come out with thirty.

Me and my bother!

Me and my bother!

My brother is traveling for work this week and was in the Atlanta area last night. We met for dinner and he spent the night. We took our bald picture (it is staying in the vault) and one with my favorite hat.

The Boy and his new tent

The Boy and his new tent

The Boy is raising money for his school and will be participating in a fun run on Friday. The weather is supposed to be perfect for it. I am sad I won’t be able to go and watch him run, like I did last year but I know he will have a fun time. As The Boy received pledges, he won gifts. The last one he got was a tent. It is much nicer then I thought it would be. However, now that it is open, none of us can get it closed. Why does that always happen? They make these impossible to close!

The Boy

The Boy

The chicken coop/run is still under construction. I really hope he can finish it today. I wanted to get the girls all moved in before I checked into the hospital. However, when I go through all the still needs to be done, I just don’t see it happening. I will take some pictures this evening and load them on the computer, so I can at least show how it is coming along. It looks really good. I can’t wait till they are moved in. They are going to love it!

Ready for my new home!

Ready for my new home!

Have a wonderful day!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away….

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Hotel Yorba Landscape Pictures

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Coop/Run Foundation

Coop/Run Foundation

Stairs are done!

Stairs are done!

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Below is a great story on how important it is to have a good foundation of family and friends surronding you when you have cancer (or any illness for that matter). I can’t begin to tell you how much my My Man and all of my friends and family have helped me. I couldn’t have gotten through all this without them.

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/53088893/#53088893

Whatcha Reading?

I finished up The Wife by Meg Wolitzer and The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty recently. The Wife was ok. I liked her book The interesting’s much more. The ending  to the Wife was very abrupt. I was like Wait? What? I really thought I had missed something. I flet like she kids got bored writing the thing was like “The hell with it. I’m done.”

I really liked The Husband’s Secret. It posed a few tough “What would you do?” questions that I am still not sure what my answer would be. I really got into the book and finished it in about 3 days. It takes place in Australia, so I had to get use to the comments about Good Friday being the beginning of Fall and some of the slang I didn’t get but overall I it was good. Right now I am reading What Alice Forgot also by Liane Moriarty. I am only 10 pages into the book, so I will let you know if it is as good as The Husband’s Secret.

I am also listening to a book on audio. It is called The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I saw her interviewed on the Today show about her book and thought it sounded good. I think they have a book club and this is the current book they are reading. Shannon is like 24 years old and this is her first book. She has already sold the movie rights and ithe book going to be a series. So far I like what I hear. The story takes place in London in the future. If you are into audio books I recommend this one. The narrator, Alana Kerr, is doing a great job so far. A bad narrator can kill a book for me. I have been known to stop listening all together due to the narrator.

It has been overcast and rainy here in the ATL for the past two days. I fear the weather will slow down the chicken coop/run progress and the rest of the landscaping. Fingers are crossed that it clears up later this morning like it did yesterday. Busy day today. I have financial plans to work on and finish, two conference calls, laundry that needs to be started, need to go to the bank and I really need to go to Trader Joe’s. The Boy’s lunch is looking pretty pathetic!

Reader’s! Have a wonderful day!!

Um? Where’s my Chemo?

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Roll Tide Roll Saturday!

Happy Saturday Reader’s

I am tired Reader’s. I did not have a good night sleep last night. The RN last night (Tiffany & Maggie were off) gave me a pill to fall asleep. Now, I have no idea of the names of most of the medications I take. I call tell you what the they do and if a pill, what they look like but the name, no idea. So when she gave me a pill I was like what is this? I thought it was a pain pill for my little spill I had earlier in the day. She said no, it was a sleeping pill (I had already taken it). I told her that my sleeping meds where always given to me via my port. It is listed in my records. At that point, there wasn’t much I could do. The pill did not really work well. It took me forever to fall asleep and I was in and out of it more than the night before. It also left me kind of fuzzy and my face was all red this morning. Plus the bags under my eye have bags!

But the worse thing was that she didn’t realize I need to have my premeds at 6am and chemo at 6:30am. She came in at 4am to change one of the IV bags and then again later, not sure the time, to do something. At that time I asked if it was my chemo and she said no. Well, the next time she came in was for shift change at 7:15am. I was like, I was supposed to have my premeds and then chemo at 6:30am. She was like “what?”.  I know it is all written down in the records on the computer and I was here when Theo told her. Anyway, I got my chemo and I don’t think it will push me back to much but it was a bit disheartening. My Man was not happy. I think I may have her again tonight. None of my favorite are working tonight.

So, I finally told a RN that I had a little “fall” late yesterday. Well, I my chart is now marked! I am a true “fall risk”. She even called my doctor an told him. So embarrassing. He came around to see me today and was like “what happen”. Ugh. Well, yesterday I put ice in one of the blue gloves (from the five boxes in my room), and iced it. It did hurt. I was able to get my prosthetic on but it I could feel it. This morning it the swelling had gone down some and I was up and walking around but later when I took it off, there was bruising. Pickles. Oh well. I showed it to the doctor and he didn’t seem to worried. It does feel better.

I had visitors today! Rebecca and Devra drove done, as did Kristen and Baby K! She isn’t a baby any more, she is 2! She and her mama brought me breakfast. Thank you! It was a fun visit. Lots of laughing. My Man came back and then left again to get lunch. He brough back Bone Garden Cantina! Yummy. The Boy and my parents are on their was back from Montgomery. The Tri-Athlon was a success! The Boy was very happy to see his cousins. I can’t wait to see him!

 

 

Friday! Friday!

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Good Morning!

I hope you are all doing well on this Friday morning. I can see the sun is out here in the ATL from my room on the 7th floor. Last night was uneventful. Slept till around 4:30am. Tiffany (yeah!) was my night RN and she had to change my meds and take some vitals. I had to use the restroom anyway and was able to fall asleep right after. My Man woke me up talking on the phone with his dentist. He overslept! Had to change is morning appointment to an afternoon one.

My chemo started a 6:30am and finished around 8:30am. Afterwards I took a “sponge” bath and changed my clothes, I had a bit of an incident. As you know, I am a below the knee (left leg) amputee. The only time I have fallen out of bed (because I didn’t put my prosthetic on) was right after The Boy was born and I was in the hospital. I had taken my leg off and then proceeded to stand up and fall. Not smart. Well, it happened again! I am ok but my leg is pretty sore. When I do put on my leg and walk it hurts. I will try to lay off of it for a while. I just feel like an idiot! Rookie mistake.

Later today my mom, dad and The Boy are headed to Montgomery, Alabama. On Saturday my dad and brother will be participating in their first triathlon. My dad just turned 69 yesterday!! I think they are both a bit nervous about the whole thing. The swim with be in a lake. It will be a staggered start, so not a total free for all. Last year there were 100 participants in the race, so hopefully this one will be low-key too. The cool thing for The Boy is that he doesn’t know his aunt and uncle and cousins will be there too. He will be very excited. Bad thing is I won’t see him till later on Saturday.  

For breakfast I had a protein shake and a cup of coffee I made with the portable coffee maker Dona C. loaned to me. It works perfectly! I brought two containers of soup from Breadwinner for me to eat during lunchtime.

Theo is back this morning! The floor is booked full of patients but it is pretty quite right now. Soon I will get my soup and walk to the microwave. Get some exercise!

Reader’s!! The weekend is almost here! Be good, Be Safe and Enjoy it!!

 

All Checked in…Finally.

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Good Afternoon Reader’s!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day. I am finally settled into my room here at Emory Midtown Hospital. The day started out well. Once I signed in at the doctor’s office this morning at 9am, they called me back to access my port and take blood samples. Then I was called back to meet with Dr. Reed ahead of my 10am appointment. Woot! Woot! The appointment went well and he was very happy with how I am doing and feeling.

Then we went to admissions and our train slammed to a halt. Turns out the seventh floor was booked. There was no available room for me. Pickles. They sent me to a temporary bed on the first floor. The woman in the next bed was not having a good day. There was loud moaning and groaning and she threw up once. Doctors kept coming in and asking me if I was Miss Smith. No, thank goodness. Miss Smith was not having a good day.

They were able to start my fluids around 1:30pm. This made me happy. I really did not want my chemo to start late and push everything back. God knows I don’t want to stay here any longer then I need too.

I finally got into my room around 3pm. Guess who was there? Theo! He had my white board all ready written out with my chemo orders. My room has a flat screen TV!!! Theo said that they are slowly replacing the TV’s and that I got one of the two rooms that have them. Sweet! My first round of chemo should start around 6pm. Like before, I won’t be able to take any pictures and post them while here in the hospital. However I will when I get back home.

Tomorrow is Friday, my favorite day of the week. Make sure you enjoy it!

Happy Wednesday Readers!

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Happy Wednesday Readers!

I am feeling a little panicky today. Tomorrow I will be admitted into the hospital for round 3 of chemo and I feel like I have a ton to do. While I did do some laundry yesterday, there is still more. Isn’t there always more? What’s up with that? I vacuumed but of course there is fur all over the floor this morning. Timber is shedding and I can’t seem to keep up. Then there is the packing! Ugh. I hate to pack. I feel like I do when I have to pack to go on a vacation. I am trying not to bring a bunch of stuff that I won’t use (like I do on vacation).

My mom and dad are on their way over here from Alabama. They will be hanging out with The Boy and all the fur children for the next five days.

I met with Molly from WDesign Landscape, Inc., earlier today. We reviewed the plans for the Hotel Yorba Landscape project. She is really excited about the coop/run project. We discussed how we could reuse the wood from the swing set and cedar fence. The fence people will start next Tuesday or Wednesday and the rest of the project will start later next week. I will try to take some pictures. Can’t wait till it is all done!

Not sure how much posting I will do while in the hospital. I will try to take more pictures this time. Take care Readers!!