Busy Wednesday

Whose idea was it to schedule an 8:00 am doctor appointment? It was hard to get going this morning! I apologize to all you responsible, early people. I'm out of practice with being early. Doctor Garley says my blood test numbers are a little low, but not anything to worry about. I'm doing fine and producing all my own cells. She says I need to worry about germs for another couple of months. I have another doctor appointment Friday in San Francisco. I'll know more about my health status after I see Doctor Wolf.

Since I got such an early start this morning, and I was feeling pretty good, I went to quilting at church. I stitched one 15 inch line. My stitches looked ok, especially since I have numb fingertips due to neuropathy. I didn't want to over-do, and I figure I can do two lines next week. I drove back home and helped Jessie carve pumpkins. We have three pumpkins and put a different quilt square on each one.

Now that I'm done with that awful cold I'm feeling better. Neuropathy is still giving me grief. I increased the medication yesterday, so today I have less pain, but more numbness. I pray that I have temporary neuropathy and that it will go away in the next two months. Thank you, friends, for keeping me in your prayers. I know they're heard.

Somehow I managed to catch a cold a few weeks ago. It was the knock you off your feet and put you in bed kind of cold. Fortunately, it wasn't Swine Flu, but it had many unpleasant symptoms. I couldn't bear the look of food, much less eat it. This cold lasted two weeks. Now I'm feeling better. I've also become rather germ-phobic. I don't want to go through that again!

I went to church on Sunday. It was sure good to see some of the people who have been supporting me through prayer, food, quilts, and cards. I enjoyed singing and realized my singing muscles are a little out of shape! I tried to not shake hands to avoid germs, but it was hard to break the habit. Everyone was very understanding. I hope to stay healthy so I can attend next week.

Dye n a Cold

Last week we dyed moms peach fuz.
Before:After: Not a HUGE difference but now the really light hairs cant all hide. We might try again now that I know the dye won't stain her scalp a funny color!

Mom got a cold last weekend and hasn't had much fun with it. At least she knows she's not the only one in the valley with her symptoms because SaveMart was all out of the recommended over the counter stuff. While misery loves company, this sort of company wasn't so much appreciated because she wanted those meds. Meh. We found some a little later.

One perk to this cold has been that previously if asked how she was doing she would NEVER say better. She couldn't see how she was improving daily the way that all her friends and family could. NOW she realises that she was in fact doing better.

Her blood counts seem to have met the approval of her doctor. Her hair is slowly getting longer. She is down to one ativan a day. The nausea is still lingering. The doctor says that at this point it is no longer a direct result of the chemo but more her body clinging to the nausea. She had nausea for the full 9 months of both of her pregnancies and then from chemo. Her body/brain is sort of holding onto the memory/action/experience. The doctor wasn't too concerned, but this isn't something mom really enjoys lingering.

The other thing that sort of has her down in the dumps is her neuropathy. (Her nerves are telling her brain her feet are numb and cold, her brain also receives pain signals.) This hasn't gone away since her FIRST chemo treatment and the doctor says there is a chance it might not go away. Mom has decided that neuropathy staying just wont do so she is bumping up the exercise in hopes of kicking it to the curb. (There's a chance it might have to do with circulation) Pre-cold she walked fairly regularly (4 days.) Things were looking up then the cold sort of slowed her down. I think now that she has gotten meds from the doctor and the cold has seemed to wan she'll be up to walking again. Give her a call if you have time to be a walking buddy for even 20 min. She really values the time to talk with friends, and at the moment she needs all the circulation improvement/endorphins she can get!

A Cup of Tea

Normally I drink a cup of tea every morning before I head off to work. Since the Stem Cell Transplant, that has not been my desire. I've tried different flavors with little interest. Today I tried Earl Grey and it was good! I had two mugs full. What do you know. These things happen at different times. I measure progress by day and weekend. I still have some nausea and neuropathy is in full force. If anyone knows how to get rid of the vile side effect, I would be most grateful. Currently I am taking B vitamins and walking daily.

I visit the local doctor weekly. I go to our church's cancer support group every Tuesday. I'm looking for walking partners.

Thank you to those of you who read George's Blog. It is a good way to keep up to date. I'm not a great writer, so I'm counting on him.

Thanks so much to all my prayer partners.

Going to Watch A Movie

Today mom is mostly a two year old. However she’s still my mom. One of the hardest parts of this Multiple Myeloma journey is maintaining a mother daughter relationship (and even a father daughter relationship) when the daughter becomes a caretaker. Mom wanted a shower today. Well, first she kept telling me she was going to watch a movie as she was waking away from the room with the DVD player. Once we established that she was in fact going to take a shower, she didn’t want my help doing anything. I just stood within rescue reach as she unsteadily climbed into the shower. She made a couple exclamations when the water was colder than she had anticipated, or she couldn’t quite transfer the water from the bath spout to the shower head. I asked if she wanted help, but she boldly declared that, no, she didn’t want any help. I got her clothes out and ready. The water stopped. She had her own towel and didn’t want help getting it. As she stood there, cold, wet, contemplating stepping over the tub ledge with her unsteady limbs she finally let me help. We got her dressed and into bed and everyone was more comfortable. She is contentedly listening to an audio book in bed now. She has her moon boot down slippers on to keep her feet warm. The neuropathy is still causing weird sensations in her legs and feet. Her meds are leaving her pretty dazed and confused.

Ps. Mom's phone got doused in grape juice somewhere between when she left for the mountains at 1 on Friday, and Sunday. Should you wish to get ahold of her today you can call her on my phone.

Forward

For updates on Sue's condition, please visit George's blog.

http://www.themywifehascancerblog.blogspot.com/

Sue will resume blogging when her energy picks up a bit.

Good News, Bad News

Not about my condition! Good: moved to a private room-more space, more quiet. Bad: My cell phone doesn't get a good signal. So call my room number: 415-514-5320. Feel free to call - It makes my moment!
I've done the significant part of my job here. I had the super chemo, then a day of rest, then my harvested stem cells were defrosted and put into me. Now I have about two weeks to get over my nausea and gain some immunity. Hopefully I'll be germ free and, not have many side effects. My blood clot seems to be taking care of itself. The swelling is gone.
For more colorful information, I hope you're checking out George's blog. Thanks to anonymous who wrote the great poem as a comment to the last post. I like it, expecially the personalization. I wish I knew who you are!