Cloud #9

Hello all...
I know I haven't been very good about updates lately, but I'm here NOW. Tomorrow is Chemo #9. Wow, after this I will be 75% done. And thank the sweet baby Jesus because man oh man, I am getting tired of this every two weeks. I can't even imagine how much more freedom I will have when we can space these things out a little further and how much better (hopefully) I will feel with less poisons running through me.
It's been a very, very busy few days. I rented a car last week so I could run errands and I actually committed to buy the Mazda I test drove on Wednesday! YAY! I can't even tell you how excited I am to pick it up this week. The weekend was awesome - dinner and a movie with Chantelle, Kristie and Shardelle on Saturday night, I HIGHLY recommend "This Means War" - so funny! On Sunday Chantelle threw a baby shower for her cousin Brittany and her new baby Ava.  It was such a nice way to spend the afternoon - baby cuddles and cupcakes. Who could ask for anything more?
Today Chantelle took me for blood work and my chemo update. It was alarmingly busy at the canser clinic again. Chemo brain made me forget to put the numbing cream on my port before going, but seriously I don't know why I even bother with it. It totally didn't hurt much at all and the cream is dearly expensive - Laurel, my phlebotomy nurse said it really hurts some people who have low pain tolerances - I take that to mean I am a tough broad.  We struck up a conversation with a lady from the North Battleford area, who was diagnosed with stomach canser. They did surgery and when they opened her up it had spread to her other organs, so they just closed her up, gave her 2 - 6 months to live and sent her home to get her affairs in order. That was 10 years ago. Again, it is that sort of story that gives me the hope and strength to follow this journey where it takes me - with the faith that I will win. Bring It On!!!
I saw a new oncologist today and he was very thorough.  He too seems happy with my progress and gave me a script for "Magic Mouthwash" which is supposed to help me with the mouth sores and tenderness. I CANNOT wait to get me some of THAT! I am happy to report that I have gained 2 lbs (I might have done a little dance) according to the clinic's scale, 3 lbs according to mine.  At every chemo update my nurse, Janice asks about all the side effects so she can chart it and we can decide if there needs to be a change in my dosing. So we went through the laundry list of symptoms, the last (and maybe the most frustrating for me) being my impaired cognition.  In other words, I am on the edge of stupid right now.  And it's getting worse as the days go by. She didn't really know how to take it initially, but when I explained how I need to pause for three or four seconds to think about any word that has more than 5 letters in it, she started howling. I even told her how Kelly felt the need to point out yesterday that having a conversation with me is really quite painful for him right now.  Seriously, Chantelle had a music trivia game at the baby shower, which would typically be right up my alley, but I swear, it took me ten minutes just to come up with Led Zeppelin - ONLY one of the most well known rock bands in history. 

This is me on chemo...

Janice thought it was pretty funny when I told her how I have always been very good at tailoring my language (which can get inappropriate at times) based on the audience -- UNTIL CHEMO. I am a little worried that Sophie's next word is going to be an F-bomb because I can't seem to stop them from rolling off my tongue. In fact, it happened TWICE while we were talking to the nurse. It's like I have chemo-induced turrets. Jeepers I hope I can get that under control before seeing Tim's folks again....
We had a yummy lunch at Earl's with Sonya - so good to see her again and have some laughs. She always does such a good job at breaking down big problems into what really matters and what doesn't.  And she makes me howl, so always fun to see her.

Sorry - about that - fell asleep. It was about 10 o'cock when I dozed off, it is now 3:30am just woke and couldn't sleep. Please let me continue. Ahem. When Chantelle dropped me off at home, we rolled into the parking lot of the condo to see my Dad's big maroon Grand Marquis in my spot. He brought Dorothy in for a bone density test at the hospital, so I drove them to the appointment. Can't tell you how driving Dad's grandpa-mobile again reminded me of the summer that I got turfed from JOI and had to borrow it for a couple of weeks. Good news is it didn't take long so we went and grabbed a mid-afternoon snack at Foxy's - one of my favourite, locally-owned pub style restaurants in town. 
So, overall a pretty good day all things considered. One final note, today was Tim's son's birthday, so Happy, Happy Birthday Riles! We are throwing him a birthday party next weekend and I cannot wait. Pictures to come...

Only 3 and already taking charge behind the wheel. This kid is going to be a heart-breaker, I'm sure of it.

Tomorrow, which is now today thanks to the early morning wake-up call from my bladder, I have chemo at 8:30am.  Yikes, that's an early one. I am looking forward to getting it over with though, because Wednesday I pick up my car, Thursday I pack and Friday I leave for 9 days in Ontario with Tim! Wahooo.....

Birthday Wishes!

Happy Birthday Lance AND Roli. Wishing you health, happiness and good times in the coming year...

 

Woody, is That You?

It's been a really, really good couple of days. Last night Jackie was in town from Winnipeg and took me for a really nice dinner at Bliss.  It was so good to get out of the house, have a nice healthy meal and get some good face time with Jack. Hon, thanks for reminding me how amazing life can be when you just let it unfold as it should, for giving me perspective from "the other side" and for always keeping your eyes and ears peeled for new treatment options. You are the best.
AND let me take just a wee moment to thank Astra Zeneca (never thought I would say THAT in the old PPI days at JOI) for creating, bottling and distributing my NEW favorite product - Xylocaine Topical Oral Anesthetic. OMG - finally some relief! I JUST found it in my medicine cabinet and feel like a new woman. I 'm not 100% sure, but I think my friends at the Attridge Co-op Pharmacy suggested when I started chemo to buy it. (My apologies if it was actually Nance, Diane, Heather or Aafke - blame it on chemo-brain!)  Either way, it has been a God-send. The latest and most irritating side effect of chemo has been what it is doing to my gums. I swear, it is like some ancient form of torture just brushing my teeth because my gums are so sore...and flossing? Forget it, I lose a pint of blood every time I try.  So  NOW, my mouth and throat are frozen and IT IS AWESOME. 
Today I went on the road with Chantelle to Prince Albert, my hometown.  And let me just say, that the perfect commentary on our drive could be summed up below:

What can I say, it's a good way to pass the time...

So Chantelle dropped me off at the hospital to see my Grandma while she was doing her first call. Wow. It has been 7 months since I last saw her and to be honest, when I walked in the room I thought I was in the wrong place. My sweet little Granny was almost unrecognizable to me, she has grown so thin and tiny.  Unfortunately, she slept the entire time I was there and I just didn't have the heart to wake her. She is suffering from advanced dementia and often doesn't recognize family these days anyway, so maybe it was a good thing.  

Then my chauffeur dropped me off at my Auntie Margaret's house for a visit with some of my favorite people on the planet.

My uncle is ALWAYS at the ready with a WILDLY inappropriate joke, so we had some good laughs and a great visit.  They have a resident woodpecker who spends a lot of his time in the tree right outside their kitchen window... and wouldn't you know it? My uncle had a woodpecker joke in his comedy arsenal. Unfortunately, even at the BEST of times, I'm terrible at remembering jokes and NOW I am utterly useless.  But I did have enough forethought to throw the camera in the bag this morning and I'm glad I did:

I also got to see my big brother Lorne today, first time since before my surgery. I had no idea how much I had missed him until the bear hugs began. He really is one of my favorite people in the world, but HELL'S BELLS do I ever look pasty white next to him! Man, time for a little more rouge I think...or a spray tan. Yikers.

 
The last order of business for me was a stop at one of the local car dealerships in P.A. where not one, but TWO of my cousins work these days. I was lucky enough to surprise Glen in the service department before meeting Joe in the showroom. I am pretty sure  found my next car, thanks to Joe - he had exactly what I was looking for - a 2010 Mazda 3 with low kilometers. It's the perfect combination of fuel economy and highway zip for me.

The last big highlight of my day was the fact that my dear, sweet Uncle Tony popped by the dealership for a visit as soon as he found out I was in town.  SO, today was a very happy, productive, family-filled day for me. And man oh man, am I tired! I'm used to two naps per day, so this full-day-on-the-road stuff is tiring.  And since the Xylocaine is wearing off, it's time for me to say good night. Until next time...

It's Going to be a Good Day!

I started my day with a phone call to Tim who was driving Riley to daycare. And when Riley heard me on speakerphone, he said "Daddd-dy, I want Barbie to stay at ours house."  Too sweet and TOTALLY made my day.
I just rented a car for Thursday and Friday, so I can go test drive a few vehicles. Then, I spoke to my cousin who just started working at a dealership in my hometown and he just happens to have a few used Mazda-3's on the lot, which is exactly what I want! Great gas mileage and quite zippy.  I feel like there are good things in store this week. I'll keep you all posted!

Checking In...

Just a quick note to let everyone know I am okay. It's been a typical week post-chemo, laying low and avoiding doing too much at all.

Just Ducky...

Gah! I did it again. I had a very nice day but forgot the darn camera at home. Kristie brought Sophie and Rosco for a walk today, and we had a great time. There seem to be a lot of mallards nesting in the creeks and lakes around my house and Sophie got a huge kick out of all the "buiddies". Then we went to the playground and played on the slide - she especially loved it when I put Bailey on my lap and slid down behind her. The ONLY problem about the walk from my point of view was the crazy cold sensitivity I am having with my face. The finger tips are one thing, but the mouth is quite another.  By the end of the walk, my face, I swear, looked like I had just had dental surgery. The entire left side of my mouth and lips were drooping like a stroke victim (or Elvis). And my speech at that point sounded like a cross between Sly Stallone, Mike Tyson, and a deaf person.  It only lasts as long as I am cold though - 5 minutes of being in the house and warming up and it goes away. My oncology nurse thinks it is a pretty serious side effect, but the good thing is I only have 4 more cycles of Oxaliplatin, the drug which I think is causing it.  The bad news is I made the mistake for calling Olson after my walk yesterday, unaware of how it had affected my speech until I started leaving a voice mail message, and by then it was too late to stop talking because I was afraid she would think I had a stroke. Aaaaand, NOW she has a recording of it, and if I know Nance, this is not the last I will be hearing that little message. In fact, she is likely to figure out a way to record it and forward it everyone I know who has any interest in busting my hump. How do I know this? She still has a voice mail message saved from THREE YEARS ago that have made the rounds and she still listens to it periodically. It is affectionately referred to as the Kermit message.

And it all started the weekend of the matching Elmo shirts. We had a Sesame Street theme going and didn't even know it!

This afternoon I had a very nice coffee date with my old colleague Brent Kwon. He picked me up at the house and had a great visit at Tim Horton's - (I chased my green tea with a fruit explosion muffin for extra calories) and it was so good to see him. We haven't sat down together for a visit since last September, before this whole thing started so it was great to see him and get caught up.

It was a long day, with lots going on and no nap, so now I am exhausted. Hoping I have a better night than the last, when I woke up every hour on the hour. Good night all, and take care out there...

Chemo #8

I just got home from Chemo #8 - 2/3rds done! That means I have 66.6% of my first stage of treatment behind me. It was my first time out in the Chemo Bay today so I was in the middle of all the action. It actually wasn't all that bad - Kris and I just had to keep our gossip and cussing to ourselves. I was a little "off' and they had to give me more anti-nausea meds halfway through, but I am feeling better now.  I can barely keep my eyes open though, so this is going to be a short one...

My good friend Cam, who just happened to be my mentor when I first became a pharma rep at JOI came to chemo for a visit today. SO good to see him - I have missed him and his affection for the occasional beer at the Yard and Flagon and the lunches we used to have at Szechuan Kitchen. He was good enough to offer to be my chauffeur this week if I need him, but more than that, it was just great to see him.

Nasher, BJ and Maier

Thanks again to Kristie for being my chemo buddy today - looking forward to a nice long walk with you tomorrow! So tired..time to catch a lot of zzzz's.