Days Gone By

Let me see what has been going on. Pretty good days on Wednesday and Thursday. Oh, Thursday I kind of volunteered to make a quilt for a raffle this summer. There is a Beta Sigma Phi convention this summer and our chapter is involved. During the discussion about ways and means it was quiet for a bit to long and my hand went up.
Friday, our day to go out for lunch, we went to Whataburger. We got back just in the nick of time and I was feeling rushed when I went in to pick up the kids. Many of them said, "You went out to eat at Whataburger!". I smiled and said "I did", I was holding a cup with the name on it. I have to admit I was getting a bit tired of "You went out to eat at Whataburger!" after being so informed 22 times and said as much to a passing friend. She is so quick. She asked me if I used that as a teaching moment? Sadly, I didn't. Thank you for a new perspective Ann, I will try to next time. I went to the cancer center and got herceptin and radiation. I was very tired. I went home and laid down until Ken got home. Friday night is date night, so we caught the early movie of The Little Fockers and dinner at Billy Boys.
I woke up feeling rested on Saturday. Ken had to work, so I had the day ahead of me! Jane stopped over, I got an order ready for the store, and I did some other things. I talked to my sister and daughter, Haley. You know it was one of those wonderful days where you piddle, but at the end of the day you aren't sure if you accomplished much, but you feel good because you were busy. We met Ken's dad and sister for dinner. It was a good day.
Today, I have felt a little off. We went to church, Walmart for groceries and gas, and home to unload. We decided to be ready for the bad weather that is coming our way. I talked to my daughter, Kayla. I tried to sew, but I cut my finger and it kept bleeding through the band-aid. I just wasn't feeling right so I came and sat in m chair. Ken was working on the bathroom upstairs, but had to quit to go to a meeting at work. So I took a nap. He is home and cooking dinner. I am not as cold as I was, so I guess whatever it was is passing. I so hope school is not canceled!

Busy Days!

-- Hair Update -- This is the back of my head. This is how much hair I have so far. It has a bit less color around my face than it does back here (not that there is an over abundance of color back here). I am looking forward to not wearing the wigs, however the long one has been met with the greatest approval!
Monday I left school and went to radiation. I did radiation and x-rays. Then I met with the radiation doctor. I hurried back to school for a title I meeting. Today after school I went to a grade level meeting, hurried to radiation, and then went back to school for another meeting which ended at 5:45. Thank you Laura F., Charme', Pam, Laura W., Tami, and Amy for your input, help, and flexibility.
Ken is upstairs working on the bathroom leak. The first picture is the dressing area. Last night I could see floor joist in this area. The second picture is the shower floor. The pan, which is concrete that was poured under the shower area has to come out and all the tile will have to be replaced. Which also means the pan will have to be repoured before the tile goes in. What a job! More decisions will have to be made about the tile. We are talking about a heat pad under the tile in the dressing area. Ken is looking into it. The pad isn't so bad, but the thermostat makes up for it. We will see. I am off to take a shower downstairs. Which makes me wonder - Why do we have two floors? Hmm!

Big Week

We had a great day. We went to church. I enjoyed the sermon, it was meaningful. This afternoon was spent at Walmart getting groceries, sewing, and some piddling around the house. I finished a quilt top and I am very happy with the quilt. I did some chores around the house. Ken worked on the upstairs shower to see why we had a leak in one of the downstairs bedroom. It looks like the floor has to come up and be replaced. The tile has to come up, so I guess we will be tile shopping. We are thinking of putting the warming pad under the tile when we redo it. We will be without an upstairs bathroom for a bit.
Next week will be busy with radiation everyday, radiation doctor on Monday, Labs on Wednesday, oncology doctor on Wednesday, and herceptin on Friday. I think I will be starting the five year pill soon. Maybe I'll know more on Wednesday.
Have a great week. Enjoy your family.

Surgery Release

I didn't realize it had been so many days since I updated the blog. Not a lot is going on in the medical front. I have taken steps to get the surgery release for the hip replacement from the oncologist. Next week I will see the oncologist and have herceptin plus radiation everyday. I could of canceled radiation on Thursday because of the weather, but I didn't. I was able to get out and take radiation.
My hair is starting to get thick in the back. It is more than fuzz on the sides and top. It is almost totally gray. I knew it would be gray, but I don't think I realized just how gray it would really look!
Ken and I had a wonderful date night. We went to Red Lobster and had a delicious meal for two.
My granddaughter Madison called yesterday and told me she wanted to see me. That was so sweet, it just made my day! So we are planning a visit.
This was a wild week. No school Monday, change of weather, no school on Thursday, and the snow made for a loud and wild week.

M. L. King, Jr. Day

No school today in memory of M.L. King, Jr. Ken and I enjoyed lunch out together today. We don't get to do that very often, so it was a nice change.
I spent some time getting two tires fixed today. I have had several nails in my tires lately. I hope the construction is cleaned up soon. I got some sewing time in today. Happy time. I spent some time on the computer downloading some center pictures for school. I am in the process of revamping my center time. I don't think the way I am doing it suits this class very well. I have made some changes through the year, but I am still not happy with the way centers are working (actually not working!). So I am still working on making it work better for them.
I went to radiation and it was the long visit where x-rays are taken and I get to see the radiation doctor. I am experiencing some itching on my chest, but no burning.

New Orthopedic Doctor

Ken and I got up and while he tidied up I finished filling out the 10 pages of questions for the doctor visit. Ken had an idea about where the Oklahoma Sports and Orthopedic Institute is located, but I had no clue (as usual). So I told Lola (our GPS) where we wanted to go and we were off.
We actually arrived with time to spare. We missed all the traffic this morning. I handed in my paperwork, handed over my id and insurance card, gave her a check for my co-pay, and gave her my x-rays. We got into the patient room, spoke to the nurse, took about three x-rays, got examined by the PA, and then I got to see the doctor. He had three options for me. (1) Do nothing - NOT an option. (2) Manage pain - Been there NOT staying any longer. (3) Total hip replacement surgery - BINGO! He said we would do it February 23rd. So the date is set. I hate to miss school, but I am in pain. I need to get a release for surgery from the oncologist and I will be set.

Sleepless Nights

Another day of radiation is behind me. Tomorrow will make 10 out of 33 behind me. Amazing I am almost 1/3 of the way through this part of the journey! I am putting the cream on the radiated area and it seems to be keeping my skin moisturized.
I did not sleep very good last night. I was having trouble staying awake until 10:00. I got in bed went to sleep and slept for about an hour and a half and then I am wide awake. What is up with that? My hip hurts so much I can't get comfortable. I try to lay on it and it is painful, I try to lay on the left hip and it hurts the right hip, so I am left with the back which seems so boring. I can't seem to feel as curled and cozy as I use to on my side. So I read for an hour or so and try to sleep some more. Which I do, but just a couple of hours and then I repeat the above until 6:00 when I get up. It was a long night! I hope tonight will be better.
We will be off in the morning to the new orthopedic doctor. Ken took off to go with me. I think he was concerned I would not be able to get to the doctor or get home by myself. I am glad he is going with me. I have a lot of paperwork that I need to fill out. I got my x-rays, but the forms are very extensive. More on the visit later. Have a good weekend and do something you enjoy!

New Do

Yesterday, the radiation girls gave me a designer gown instead of a towel, took x-rays during the radiation process, did the radiation, and took me in to see the radiation doctor. My skin is not showing any pinkness yet. I am keeping my skin well moisturized. All is good so far. I was given the talk and a pamphlet about lymphdemia again.
Not sure I mentioned that on Friday I changed my do for a longer one since it is getting cold outside and all the previous dos were short. I have had many positive comments about the look. My favorite was from Kena when she said it looked "runwayish". One of the boys, who has a shaved head, said to me "your hair looks funny". I think he actually meant different. I teasingly said back to him, "your hair looks funny" to which he replied "I brushed it today". All I could say to that was "I did too".
I went today and radiation went quickly. Then I went to a meeting at the central office. Radiation just seems to take up a portion of my time each day, so far without bothering me very much. Life is good!

Friday I had herceptin and then I had radiation. The herceptin went long and I messed up the radiation schedule, but it worked out okay. I am not seeing any effects of the radiation on my skin. I am keeping the stuff on the radiated area and all is well. I was tired Friday evening and very glad that Ken didn't have to go to work. While I was at the Cancer Center I traded my hair in for another new do!
Ken is working tonight, but thinks this will be the last of it. Yeah!
We got a little bit of snow here, but not like the kids in Texas got. Steve sent me wonderful videos of the grandkids playing and eating the snow. Thank you, Steve!
Ken and I got some errands done on Saturday. I did a little bit of sewing on Saturday. This morning we went to church. I slept pretty good Friday and Saturday night. I started cleaning one of the bedrooms downstairs with the idea of de-cluttering the room. Well, I got the room re-arranged and the linens washed, but the bed is still not completely made. I still need to clean out the closet, where I found numerous books, frames, baskets, coats, pillows, tins, and other miscellaneous stuff. I tided up, but the closet and shelves will have to wait for another time. I kind of know what is there and will be thinking of how and where to give these things a new home. Watch out I may come bearing gifts!

Radiation Continues

Well, I have 3 days of radiation behind me, 30 to go. Each step makes the end closer. Yesterday and today the time was about 21 minutes with approximately a 5 minute wait, but who is counting. Now I do need to share about the stuff I am putting on the radiated area. I am not sure radiated is a word, but I kind of like it so I am going with it. The doctor and the radiation techs all recommend a minimum of 2 times and say that applying it more is better. Janet, my sister, went through radiation and got me some pure aloe gel. She said this would really help. So, I squeezed some out on my hand and it looks like the fatty stuff that you see after you put a ham in the fridge. Gross! Then I started smearing it on the radiated area (really cold & gross) and that is when I realized I squeezed out way too much! Even a little bit is a lot and it feels sticky. The stuff the doctor gave me is more like a lotion. A little goes a long way with it too! It doesn't soak in very fast either. I use the aloe at night and in the morning. Then while I am at school I apply the lotion at my break 2:00 and then again after radiation.
Oh added fun! On the underarm that the lymph nodes were removed that is included in the radiated area I can't use regular deodorant. So, Janet also got me a special deodorant without aluminum. It is kind of different. It is a roll on, but the directions say to put it on damp or get it wet before you apply. That plus I can't shave and I can't feel anything in the pit area may make you want to be on the right side! This to shall pass!

Radiation

I started back to school today. No kids just professional development. Meetings over at 3:30 and first radiation at 3:45. I went out to go to my appointment and my tire was very low. I called Ken to come fix it and since I was late he took me over to the Cancer Center. I signed in, it is pretty cool. Right above the sign-in sheet is a camera that the people in radiation can see the sign-in sheet. In about 5 minutes a radiation tech came and got me. I got to get undressed from the waist up and I got a towel to cover up. I got to lay down and put my arms above my head with a cushion under my knees. Then they started the process of aligning my tattoos up with the lights. I learned then that on Mondays they will take x-rays. The x-rays don't show progress or what they have done it is to be sure there isn't any changes in my breast due to swelling or weight gain or loss. After each x-ray the radiation doctor looks at the film and okays the procedure. Then the radiation happens which is just a minute or so. This happens four different times. Then I get to get dressed and go to the exam room. The nurse takes my vitals, gives me cream, tells me no shaving or deodorant under the left arm. Then the doctor came in and went over everything again and asks if I have any questions. That took about 45 minutes. The rest of the week I understand to be just the getting undressed, radiation, and dressing. We shall see what tomorrow brings!
I am excited about seeing the kids tomorrow! We are going to start an author study on two of Jan Brett's books. It will be fun.
I am feeling good except for my hip. I have trouble standing up if I sit for very long. I have medicine, but I hate to take it if I am not really hurting.

Back In Oklahoma

OU won! Woo Hoo! Today is my son-in-law's birthday. I left Steve's gift when I saw him at Christmas. I forgot to call earlier. I hope he has had a good day.
Janet and I had a great time out at our Mom's. We arrived back in OK around 2:00 am. We were very tired! It was so tired it was hard to go to sleep. Rusty, the big red dog, could tell when I went upstairs that we had company. He wouldn't settle down because cousin Zeke was downstairs. This morning Janet said that Zeke had trouble settling down as well. We got up late and went to breakfast at iHop. Then Janet left for Texas. Thankfully, she arrived safely home. I tried to relax today. I did go to school for a little bit.
Tomorrow is a professional development day. The kids start back on Tuesday. I am excited to see them. They will be excited to see their friends. I am looking forward to Tuesday.