PRESENT #2 from Nurse

One of the chemo nurses came in to visit me on her day off because she realized that I would be in the hospital the week that she was not working. Nurse Karen has taken care of me a few times and we get along great and she will usually stop in and chit chat if she has a minute and fill me in or her daughter's wedding plans and her other daughter's hope to be a chef. Well, she made me a pillow case and cross stitched Tinkerbelle on it. She wanted me to have it on the day that I started my next to last chemo treatment because she knew that it would make me happy. She remembered that my routine when starting a chemotherapy session. After being admitted to the hospital, I change my clothes and usually start the day in my Tinkerbelle Pajamas (except once when I forgot them). Especially in my early chemo days, I would sometimes change them a couple of times a day, and if my parents took them home, they would wash them and bring them back for me to wear, because I I always start out with Tink. (My poor parents have more laundry to do when I am in the hospital than when I am not!). I don't know if wearing the Tink pajamas was intentional or not and it may have been something that I decided with my neice Hannah, we both like Tinkerbelle. But it has become my routine and Nurse Karen made me a matching pillow case to go with my pajamas. It is so adorable! She wanted me to be able to have it in the hospital while wearing my Tink pj's and getting my next to last chemo! It was so thoughtful and really well done - she is very talented. She even used sparkly thread around Tink's wings. So, when I go in for my August 23rd treatment, I'll wear my Tink pj's and carry my Tink pillow case with me!

PRESENT #1 from Nurse

During my last chemo treatment hospital stay, I received some presents (gifts) from nurses. I am a "regular" on the fourth floor of the hospital now and most of the chemo nurses know me. It is sort of like that song from the tv show "Cheers" - "where everybody knows your name". Although, I think that I would prefer if everyone knew my name when I went to a fine restaurant or bar and NOT at the hospital! Well, aside from the good care and chit chat that I usually share with the nurses (the night shift nurses are usually more chatty than the day shift ones), a couple of nurses brought me presents. One nurse, who always discusses food and the state of the Hamilton/Lauraville section of Baltimore (near where I live) brought me a really yummy breakfast bar/cookie that she said was healthy. I don't know aobut healthy, but it sure was good. She sells her baked goods at a farmers market in Lauraville and I think to a couple of restaurants and we have discussed it before. She was not even my nurse, but saw my name on the patient roster and brought me a treat. So nice! So yummy!

CHEMO SCHEDULE CHANGE - August 23 Next Treatment

Well, as much as I like to keep everything on schedule and as much as I want to get all of the chemo treatments over with, I have postponed the next chemo treatment by one week. I know, it is only a week, but it is still one more week of being "in treatment" vs. being "out of treatment". So, my last (hopefully!) chemotherapy treatment should begin on August 23, 2010. The good part is that I get an extra week of feeling good in-between - so yeah to that! If the doctor would let me, I would have that chemo treatment today and get it over with! That is the mode that I am in now - getting things over with - I can't wait.

I had blood work and a doctor's visit on Wednesday and things are looking good. The future plan is to get done the last of the maintenance chemo treatments, have some scans, and have a consultation with the radiation oncologist. I hate not having a more solid plan - this wait and see stuff really gets on my nerves. But, things are moving forward and that is a very good thing!

ANOTHER CHEMO OVER - HOPEFULLY, ONE MORE TO GO

I am resting comfortably at my parents house - was discharged from the hospital int he early afternoon. Yeah! Feeling well, but very fatigued. I'm sure that stepping foot outside the cool hospital into the heat wave did not help! Mom and Dad got me home quick and back into a cool invironment. Lots of interesting things went on in the hospital this time - I'll fill you in later. Please know that I am thankful for all of your thoughts and prayers and calls and notes of encouragement.

OFF TO TREATMENT

The hospital called and my bed is ready - you would think that I am staying at a four star hotel! Anyway, I don't want to go, but have to - at least it will be air conditioned. I will send some updates later in the week.

LIVING LARGE BEFORE MONDAY'S TREATMENT

Well, today is my last day of living large before going into the hospital for what I hope is the next to the last chemotherapy treatment. Last night I squeezed a real lemon in my iced tea and this morning for breakfast I had a vegetable omelette that included tomatoes. I also drank a big glass of orange juice - the kind with pulp and acid. The term "living large" has taken on a new meaning in my life these days. In my pre-chemo life, living large may have included fine dining in some Cindy Wolf restaurant downtown and a couple of glasses of expensive wine. I would order almost anything on the menu and never think about if it could cause mouth sores or acid indigestion. In my pre-chemo life, living large might have also meant having both an appetizer and dessert at a nice steakhouse and not thinking twice about the amount of grease in a blooming onion or the spicy rub on the steak. In my current "chemo treatment" life, living large means things like drinking orange juice and having lemon in my tea and not needing to only drink caffeine free tea. Oranges and tomatoes and spaghetti sauce and all things spicy will now be totally taboo in my diet. The good part is that I learned my lesson about eating healthy bland food immediately before, during and immediately after chemo treatments. The bad part is that I absolutely love food and all this bland eating is really boring. When these treatments are over, I may never eat a piece of chicken again! I also can't have a glass of wine, I am on so many medications that have warnings in huge print that say "DO NOT TAKE WITH ALCOHOL", that I am certain that a glass of wine would send me to the emergency room. But, to honor a friend and co-worker, and to feel like my old self again, I did sip some champagne at a retirement party last week. That was truly living large. Not only did I wear heels and went to a party, but I also ate all the yummy food and drank some champagne (well, less than half a glass), and mingled and chatted with co-workers and friends and had an absolutely wonderful time. Sad, but wonderful. I will miss the attorney who retired very very much! Wonderful in the sense of being with people that mean a lot to me and really enjoying myself and feeling really really well. I am looking forward to more days like that - no, not more retirements - I don't want to lose any more of my favorite people in the real estate group - I am looking forward to more fun times where I am feeling well and sharing good times with friends. Many times during the treatments I have had to be very careful about being in crowds and restricing my time with people, so just being able to be out and in a large group is living large. What a wonderful feeling. A special thanks to all of you who have helped me to live large during these chemo treatments!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Past Memories & Resolution

Wishing everyone a great holiday weekend!

Some special memories from past July 4th's:
(a) A long time ago, probably in the early 80's when in college, my friend Tom had a tradition to go to Washington DC to see the Beach Boys in concert on the Capital lawn and fireworks. Well, for a few years in a row, we did that together. When you are young and carefree, it doesn't seem like such an ordeal to pack a lunch, drive and park in Washington, DC and sit out on the lawn for hours waiting for some music to start. We would "bond" with the people planted on blankets around us and most would proceed to get really drunk and wild and crazy (and really loud) as the day wore on. At some point, there would be speeches and music and laughter and finally fireworks. Then, the real fun began - gathering your stuff and navigating the drunks and crowds to find your car and head into horrible traffic and go home - many hours after you left the house that morning - and by this time, a bit sun burned, starving and exhausted. What fun! I can't even imagine going through all that trouble to see a "free" concert and fireworks anymore! I guesss that is the real test of age - when young, nothing is impossible!

(b) About 15 years ago, I desperately wanted to go to Oregon Ridge to see the Symphony and fireworks. Well, I had broken my leg that winter and was still in a cast. It was a walking cast, so my friend thought that we could do it. So, we packed a lunch and blankets and we got to Oregon Ridge nice and early. It was super hot and we baked while sitting on the blanket and listening to the music and waiting for fireworks. Well, all of a sudden there was huge bursts of lightening across the sky. My friend go completely paranoid - she was afraid that the walking cast would act as a lightening rod and attract the lightening to us. She was so freaked out that we immediately packed up and tried to leave. Well, as we were navigating the crowds and moving towards the parking area, the sky opened up with a torrential down pour. We got totally drenched and stampeded with others trying to get to their cars and out of the down pour. We finally got to the car - I thought that I had probably rebroken my leg with all the people that ran into us and almost trampled on us on the way to the car. Anyway, we got to the car, soaking wet, and sat for hours trying to get out of the parking lot. (And I really needed to use the rest toom!). Well, to date, I have still never seen fireworks at Oregon Ridge!
(c) My friend Patrick's birthday was on July 4th. It is odd, but I know a lot of people that celebrate their birthday on July 4th. [Happy 50th birthday Brian W.!] It is like all of America is celebrating your birthday with you - or at least that is how I would view it! Anyway, one year, for Pat's birthday, a group of us went to a restaurant in Little Italy called Fisherman's Wharf - it may still be there, but at the time it was fairly new and super pricey. Well, we ate and drank and celebrated and at some point were planning to leave to head to the Harbor to see the fireworks. Someone at the restaurant told us that they had a balcony that would give us a good view and yes, it did and we all gathered on the balcony and watched the fireworks. It was one of those moments that just happend perfectly, we had not planned to watch the fireworks from the restaurant and had no idea how much fun we would all have. The fire works were great and Pat was super happy and it was a great July 4th. It is now a bitter sweet memory, because Pat died years ago at a young age. I have lots of great memories of Pat and I think of him every year on July 4th. I also think of him whenever I see fireworks - he loved them and they always remind me of him.

This year I am not going anywhere to see fire works in person. I would like to, but the heat and effort are all a bit too much this year. Maybe I will watch them on tv or maybe I will glimpse a few on the skyline from my parents patio. It is not really a priority this year. But, here is my first resolution for next year - I resolve to see fireworks in person somewhere fun (Harbor, Oregon Ridge, Ocean City, etc.). Okay, check with me on July 5, 2011 and see if I fulfilled that resolution.