Old friends

my friend Alice and her daughter Liann just left after a 4 day visit. Alice is an old Navy friend who I have known for nearly 25 years. They didn't care if I just laid on the couch all day, they just wanted to see me and help out where there could. And they did! They cleaned out my refrigeratior, how embarrassing, there was probably stuff in there from the first Bush era (just kidding)! They entertained Luis and we had some great talks. Liann and Luis got along great, there were some pretty fierce battles on the Wii!

I know I am repeating myself, but I am so lucky to have such good friends. I think often times we tend to take friendship for granted, take it from me, true friendship is a blessing.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Hope the Easter Bunny was good to everyone. I have had a busy several days, Luis's godfather was visiting from California and we went to Great Wolf Lodge for Luis's birthday (11!! they grow so fast!). Had a great time, the place is amazing. Luis and Bruce got the gloves out and tried out Luis's pitching arm, 40 mph! not bad for this early in the season and the weather being cold. His coach says he'll get him up to 50!

Today is Easter and we had a nice family dinner at my sister's and also celebrated Luis's and my niece's birthdays. Luis got his favorite color (green) and is plotting what to do with his newly found riches. He also was outfitted by his generous godfather with a new glove and cleats so he is all ready for the baseball season. He is also playing volleyball and they have their first game of the season a week from tomorrow.

I have had a rough patch physically, still losing weight and have a hard time keeping anything down. Needless to say my energy is sapped and I don't have much of an appetite. Had my CT scan last week and get the results tomorrow when I go in for chemo. And through all this I still have my hair so I count my blessings!

Once again thank you doesn't quite cover it

So, it's been raining cats and dogs and last night my neighbor knocked on my door and said "you know your sump pump isn't working" which of course means my basement could flood. I called my brother in law and God bless him he was out until 8:30 in mud and a cold rain installing a new sump pump, with my 82 years young neighbor supervising and giving running commentary and fortunately providing all the tools. I am not surprised that Ray would do this, he is that kind of guy, but it still overwhelms me how lucky I am.

On the health front I am still feeling fatigued and having a hard time keeping things down. I had a CT scan today so we will see what that shows when I go to chemo on Monday. I could find out tomorrow but we are going to Great Wolf Lodge (a waterpark resort) and my friend Bruce is flying out, so if it's bad news I don't want to put a pall on the trip. I am hoping for good news especially from the sirspheres, so keep those prayers coming and fingers crossed!

Feeling better

thank goodness! I was really starting to get down, sick and tired of being sick and tired. but today is the first day in several that i haven't puked (tmi for some). Every day is a new one, and although I am tired, I am glad today is a decent, if not good, day

Well no wonder!

I've been feeling really lousy for the past several days and I found out the reason yesterday. It was not really surprising, it was side effects to the xeloda, one of my chemo drugs. My blood counts (like platelets, white cells, etc) were off whack, in fact my platelet had dropped from 149 to 72 (142 is low normal). my doctor took me off the xeloda (hooray!) and gave me a new drug for the nausea and I am feeling MUCH better this morning. one day at a time, that is my motto

not feeling great

or very good for that matter. It's been building up for the past few days and emotionally and physically I feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck. Nothing specific, well, pain and GI upset, but overall I just feel like crap. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I love my son

but there are times when I don't like him very much, like today. We are in the middle of a snowstorm and he just pitched a fit because I wouldn't go out to buy him snow pants (my jeans will get wet and my legs will be cold!). So, in his eyes i am the worst mother in the whole world.

Hitting the "wall"

yikes, Kristin and I spent (mostly Kristin, what a worker!) several hours cleaning Luis's room yesterday and I am exhausted! bags and bags of stuff for Goodwill and just trash, I mean, how much stuff can a 10 year old have? a LOT! I get so out of breath with such little effort that there is no way in hell I would have been able to do this at all, so Kristin, you are amazing and I thank you so much! It started with Christine helping me move the turtle and the fish down to the rec room, much better place and I will say that the room is starting to shape up. Once again I am reminded how blessed I am to have such good friends. Think about your friends and if you get a chance, tell them thank you, there is nothing like a good friend. And of course I know that Kristin has been wanting to get at Luis's room for the longest time and I was glad to oblige! So Luis has a clean room that is mostly clutter free, adorned with many many sports posters (of course!) and there are three exhausted women who have accomplished the impossible! Again I say there is no way I would have been able to do this without them so Christine and Kristin a big hug and a thank you!!!

how refreshing to write a whole entry without mentioning chemo, symptoms, etc etc. it gets boring after a while, you know?

still feeling good!

amazing! Yesterday I was full of energy, just love that decadron. Today a little more pain but still have enough energy to tackle Luis's room. So that is what my friend and I are going to do. Cleaning a 10 year old boy's bedroom, fate worse than death if you ask me, but it's got to be done!

Chemo, Round 3

Started my third round of chemo today, I am feeling pretty good, much better than I did this weekend where I spent most of my time hugging the porcelain. Of course the worry is that I am obstructed, but I think it was just a stomach virus because Luis woke up puking this morning and it has been making the rounds at school. So, they took more blood and I haven't gotten any phone calls yet so I am assuming that I am in the clear. I am not yellow which is a good sign. I am working on the Decadron high, which unfortunately makes me think I have more energy than I really have, so I get overtired because I do too much like an idiot. Oh well, that high will be over soon and I will be feeling like crap for a couple of weeks.
I am scheduled for a CT scan in 3 weeks to see how I am progressing, to see if all this puking, radiation, beads, etc has made any difference. Let's hope so.