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I didn't have a very pleasant sleep. I had been up until 0130 frantically looking for my requisition sheet & also the little card with the time of my appointment on it. No luck. I couldn't find it anywhere! I looked through all my papers, my binders, appointment books, books I was reading (in case I'd used it as a bookmark!), the car, everywhere! I finally resigned to the fact that it was gone. Of course, as soon as I laid my head on the pillow, I had the 'flash' in my mind that Mom had it. She did. It was in a pile of papers in her office. (From 2 weeks ago!) ARGH!
Naturally, after I finally decided to go to bed, I couldn't fall asleep. My feet were FREEZING! I don't like to wear socks to bed, as I get too hot. But tonight was an exception. I turned on the light & put on a pair of fuzzy socks. Ahh, much better.
As I laid in bed, trying my best to get the most out of the 5.5 hrs I had left before I had to wake up, I hear this little 'Brrzzzzzzz' noise. It's a mosquito. ARGH! I turn on the light & try to find the pesky little critter. I find him, but I can't reach him. So, I spray him with my room freshener. Apparently they don't like lavender or peppermint (so Yahoo! News tells me) which is perfect because my spray has both of those in it. Sure enough, he disappears. I don't know if it's the heavy coating of spray on his wings or the smell, but either way, I can peacefully go back to bed. I turn out the lights & settle back in, warm under the covers. I'm starting to get sleepy, very sleepy, when... BRRZZZZZZZ... AGAIN!!! Another pesky mosquito, or the other one dried off! Lights back on & spray in hand, I find him. I douse him in more room freshener, cursing with every spritz! Ahhh... Silence. NOW I can finally get some rest. I turn on the fan to deter them from landing anywhere near me. Yes, I'm still freezing cold, but rather cold than bitten. Priorities, you know?
I finally fall asleep, only to wake up half an hour later dripping with sweat. Yes, dripping. Running down my back, shirt soaked sweat. Gross. Is this what menopause looks like? Have I hit the chemo induced menopause? Great. Apparently night sweats are one of the symptoms of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but why would I START getting them after I have started treatment? Whatever the case may be, I'm not excited about that! (Yes, I took the socks off after that!)
Now you understand why I wasn't tickled to hear the alarm! Regardless, I get up & into the shower, dressed & out the door, only a 1/2 hour late! We made it to the hospital in record time - 45 minutes - and we even took 16th Ave! It's shaping up to be a great day!
I head straight for the lab, nervous that I'm going to get the same 'Fisherman' to take my blood today. Luckily it's a gal & she was great! I only waited about 10-15 minutes today. They're getting better!
I headed for the Outpatient Area & waited with Mom. About 5 minutes after we sat down, the Nurse came & took us to the appointment room. Iny (eenee) came & took my height, weight, blood pressure & oxygen saturation. I find it funny that they take my height, as if I'm going to have a growth spurt half way through my treatment! I always wanted to be 5'10". Sigh. I somehow managed to lose 1.5 lbs in the past 2 weeks. I would have sworn I had gained at least 10 lbs. Things are feeling slightly out of place these days!
Dr. Daly wasn't at the hospital yet & my bloodwork wasn't back yet, so Mom & I waited. While we were waiting, I thought I better jot down what I needed to ask him about. At the top of the list was Michael Buble. I have tickets to his concert & it falls on chemo day, so I wanted to know if I could bump my chemo by a day. I told the Nurse, Michael & Dr. Daly both give me 'fever', but it a very different way... :o) I was asking Mom what else I needed to ask (don't worry, I had other priorities besides Michael!) & Mom mentioned the tongue thing. After my last round, I had this bizarre sensation at the back of my tongue. Every thing I drank or ate made my tongue pucker. Much like I'd been eating a lemon. It was really strange. I hadn't been able to accurately describe it up until now. I rattled off about 6 adjectives of what it was like. I said I'd better write it down or I'll forget. I grabbed my notepad & said to Mom, 'Now, what did I say?' She couldn't remember. Nor could I! I was mad she wasn't listening & I was even more made that my brain let me down! I went to the car to get my iPod & use the thesaurus (why is it named something like a dinosaur, btw?). I don't have a thesaurus on my iPod. So I dig out my laptop. Not much help. Tingling was the only other word I could find besides the puckering & pins & needles words I was able to remember! ARGH! (I still haven't thought of them 24 hrs later!)
Dr. Daly finally came in & we had a chat. He liked the haircut. I told him 'You guys are onto something. Now, can I keep it?' He just smiled. I asked a few of my questions & then, with a knock at the door, my blood work is delivered. My Neutrophils are 0.7. They need to be 1.4. No treatment today. WHAT?! But what about the shots? They were for nothing? I got eColi for nothing?!? ARGH! So, we wait another week. I asked Dr. Daly if this would affect my success & he said there haven't been any studies done on it. Hmm. That was very vague & nonspecific. Great. Oh well... I've kicked butt this long... Why not a little longer!? :o)
So, we had the day off! Actually, the week off! It kind of messes things up, as now I'll be picking Jaco up the day after treatment & now it will put me finishing treatment on the 15th of December (Merry Christmas to me!), Sylvia is visiting next week & well, I guess Chemo would pretty much cramp anyone's style! :o) So, I'll just roll with it!
We headed over to Chestermere to visit Mom's friend. We stayed for an hour or so & then decided to head home. While we were leaving, Mom commented that she felt like a drumstick. I said, 'Gross!' She replied, 'No, not the chicken kind, the ice cream kind.' I still said gross. There was a Cold Stone Creamery inside the Tim Horton's, so I told her to stop there & I would treat her to an ice cream cone. We both got waffle cones with French Vanilla & Key Lime. Away we go...
And then... It was a near death experience. Thanks to the ice cream cone. Mom wolfs down her cone & I'm slowly enjoying every creamy, cool spoonful of mine. She's gnawing away on the cone when she turns to me & says, 'Remember when I used to tell you kids to never eat the bottom out of your ice cream cone?'
'Yes' (truthfully no, but anyhow...)
'Well, look what I just did!'
Great Mom, do you want a gold star? I said that in my mind, not out loud. What's the big deal about eating your cone upside down? And then I found out.
'Oh crap!' Mom exclaims, as ice cream drips on her chest, somehow hitting her skin & not her necklace, seatbelt or shirt.
Then she realizes she needs to lick quick. Both hands are on the cone/wheel, mix in a spoon, napkin & plenty of oncoming traffic on a very narrow road in the industrial area (think Mack trucks) and it was one scary experience! I nearly died in a head-on handsfree dairy collision! This will officially be the last time I treat Mom to an ice cream cone! Additionally, lest we forget the decision to use the other lane, without realizing it ends & we're nearly sandwiched between to big trucks! It was close!
I often lament about my mother's driving & she jokes by saying she always asks her Angels to keep her safe. I told Jenn about it one day & then shortly after, Mom was driving her cargo trailer on the #2 to Nanton when the trailer came unhitched. It was a 7 minute freebie fix & she was back in action. Jenn said she must have a thousand Angels keeping her safe. Today was no exception to the 'Thousand Angel Rule'!!!
SAFELY back at home, I managed to catch Jaco on Skype before he went to bed & then I had a nap. I woke up to Mom slamming the doors & then the car driving away. She had a meeting in town, so I was home alone. I chatted with a few friends (5 messages during my 2 hour nap!) and played with the dogs. Mom came home & we tried & tried & tried to get Oceana to play with the laser pointer. Nope. Nada. She wasn't the least bit interested in it. I thought maybe she was colour blind? Anyhow, I let Valentina out of my room to chase the laser & it was like letting a barrel horse into the arena - she went crazy! She runs so fast! Pretty soon her tongue was hanging out & it was time to call it quits. What a girl.
And what a day. Here's to a smooth, timely remainder to my treatments. Let's just get on with it!
Lekker slaap!
Maria & Valentina
xxxxxxx
Adios & the deer have a stand off. Seriously! They walked circles around each other for a good 20 minutes.
Lazy way to exercise the dog!
My 'Bright Light' Psychopath!
