What a Craptastic Day

Damn.  If there is truly something to the Monday curse, I found it today.  Everything I touched turned to crap.  Some of it was my fault, and some was just plain bad luck, wrong place-wrong time, or the mistake of someone else.

Natalie asked my dad if he'd take her to get her permit today.  He said he would, which took a load off us, and I made arrangements for the school to allow her to check out after first hour.  At that point, I waited to hear if she passed or not.  The next thing I know, she's trying to call me, but I was on my work phone.

The short version is that they got to the next town over for the test, and were told they needed her birth certificate.  DUH!  I knew that.  Well, I knew it two years ago, when Monica got hers.  I completely forgot to make sure she had the documents she needed.  I told her where she could find it, but she had NO idea what she was looking for, and wound up taking the hospital one, instead of the official one.

They found this out when they got to the next town over for the second time, and they still wouldn't let her take the test.  By this time, my dad is probably quite hacked off (and rightfully so) and Natalie is in tears.  Later, I found out that she also needs a bill or something to prove residency.  Remember, all of this is just a PART of the horrible Monday.

I got to radiation, and they got me back there right away.  Monday is Xray day, so I knew it would take a bit longer than other days.  No biggie.  When I lie down on that table, I am on my back, and I have to put my left arm behind my head, hanging onto this handle thing.  I must lie VERY still.  They reposition me the way they need me by pulling the sheet that I'm on, pushing me over, moving the table, etc.  I am NOT to "help" them move me in any way.  They even say, "Lay heavy" quite often.  It usually takes a couple of minutes to get me where they want me.  No biggie.

Today, it took them at LEAST 15 minutes to get me positioned properly, and they still didn't seem pleased with how things were going.  They kept moving me, moving the table, reading numbers to each other, moving me again, etc.  Finally, they took the Xrays, and then they moved me a bit more.  Finally, they did the radiation treatment.  I was lying perfectly still for 30 minutes instead of the typical 10.  When they announced I was done, my arm was dead weight.  Sound asleep.  So asleep that I had trouble getting dressed.

It woke up on the way back to work.  It woke up with an excruciating amount of pain.  My shoulder actually still hurts, but the rest of my arm is finally better.  They told me that they made a 5mm adjustment, and would take a couple more Xrays tomorrow, but that it is all normal and that is why they take them every week.  Umm, OK.  5mm seems like a LOT of adjustment for shooting radiation into my body, near my internal organs, but I'll trust the medical professionals.

Work didn't really go much better.  I know how to handle busy season, but I was filling in for someone else who was sick, plus trying to do my stuff, plus cleaning up several messes.  I got it done, but it sure made me crabby.  Those around me were having a similar day, so we all just did our best and powered through.  Tomorrow will be better.  I'm sure of it, and I plan to take that attitude in with me.

Now, if Natalie and my dad forgive me, I'm past the most bothersome part of my day.  The rest is just stuff.

Keepin' On

After tomorrow morning's treatment, I'll be 1/3 of the way through radiation.  I keep making little milestones like so it'll go faster.  It seems to be working.  I feel like this leg of my treatment is moving along more quickly.  It helps that I don't feel like crap for a week out of every two.  I often leave work, get half undressed, get radiated, get dressed, and get back to work, all within an hour.  The most it takes is an hour and 15 minutes.

I'm still not liking my radiology oncologist very well, but I'm hoping I'll change my mind about him.  I wait for 10 minutes for him to spend 30 seconds with me.  I had to find out online that I shouldn't wear deodorant, and when I asked his nurse about it, she confirmed that I should not.  Thanks.  That would have been good to know.  I can wear the organic stuff, though, so I bought some of that.

I have a little irritation on that side, but it feels more like the top of my rib cage than it does my skin.  I'll ask about that on Wednesday, but I don't expect him to have much to say about it.  He certainly doesn't spend the time and ask the questions like my medical oncologist does.  She even asks about my mental state and how I'm doing with working during treatment, etc.  Maybe she's spoiled me.

I get my port out on November 8.  I thought that was the day after my last treatment, but now that I'm checking the calendar, it's the Thursday before.  After I get it out, I have 4 more treatments.  They'll take it out during my office visit.  I find that odd.  I'll be glad to have rid of it, even though it really hasn't caused me any real problems.  It sometimes irritates me a bit, but from some horror stories I've heard, I've been quite fortunate.

I haven't gotten sick, even though I have no white cells fighting for me.  I've been pretty strict about avoiding sick people.  I noticed today that my eye was irritated, and by afternoon, it felt like I was getting a stye.  By the time we got home from mom's, the bump had developed.  Yup.  I have a stye.  I'm a bit concerned, since that's an infection, so I'll call my doctor's office tomorrow and ask them if I should just let it go (which I've always done in the past...styes take care of themselves in a few days) or if they want me to take antibiotic.

It was a good weekend, all in all.  I was happy to get to hang out at Dad's, see aunt Rena, and even visit a bit with a couple of uncles that I rarely see.  I've avoided Mom and Dad's place for two weeks, because Dad and aunt Rena had been sick.  They got better, so we got back to our weekend routine of going out there.

I feel pretty good, and from what I've heard and read, I'll keep getting better, bit by bit.  Although I'm really tired at the end of each day, and exhausted at the end of the week, it still beats the heck out of chemo.  There are times I feel almost normal.  My hair is slowly starting to grow, too.  it's just barely there right now, and it doesn't have any color yet, but I hope it will speed up soon.  I am also curious to see what color it is when the color returns.  I'm a walking science experiment.

You Just Gotta Laugh

I have fewer "good days" on this drug, and they hit this weekend. Granted, my good days now feel a lot like days when I had the flu, pre-cancer, but I can function.  I got tickled about something on Saturday night and laughed so hard that the girls thought I was crying.

Sunday morning, it happened again. Both girls and I laughed so hard that I nearly hurt myself. I realized, after all had calmed down, that I hadn't laughed that hard in over a month.  Later yesterday, Kevin and the girls were gone, so I went to see Mom and Dad.  As is typical for visiting them, there were quite a few laughs.

The past few days have made me realize that uninhibited, hard, tear-inducing laughter is something that cancer/chemo has stolen from me, and I think I miss it more than I miss my hair. I have two more days before my next round of chemo, and I plan to laugh every chance I get.

Having only four good days out of 14 will wake a person up to what is lacking.  Laughter has been seriously lacking around here.  I'll have to see what I can do about that.  This goof ball usually helps in that department, even when demanding my attention that is being directed at blogging.

The End of the Weekend

This is the time of year in which card companies get a lot of money from my family.  My parent's anniversary is June 14.  My dad's birthday is June 16.  My own anniversary (Happy 17th, Kevin!) is June 17th, and Father's Day is always right in there somewhere.  Wow.  I think Dad wins out over everyone, netting three of those special days.  LOL

I didn't post yesterday.  I'd been warned about the "crash" and that it would probably be Saturday.  Yup.  The next time I'm hard up for something to post about, I'll share.  Plus, I get to experience it 7 more times.  Yippee!  I still claim to be "lucky" when it comes to side effects.  I'm just not ready to relive yesterday yet.

Today, I received a visit from three lovely friends who came with arms full of food.  I have been SO blessed by people feeding my family.  When I feel like crap, I can just grab something to quickly toss in the oven without having to feel like my kids are being slighted by my lack of enthusiasm in the food department.

After that, my dad had to visit ME on father's day.  LOL  I was worn out (way better than yesterday, but still sluggish) and it was mid 90s outside.  As I was sending Mom a message to please let Dad know I'd stop by tomorrow, they called to ask if they could drop by!  I was thrilled.  I hadn't seen them since they got home from vacation four days ago.

Now, I'm melted into the recliner (big shock, I know) and thinking it's going to be an early night for me.  The project that I'd wanted to work on at home didn't work out, and I'd like to get in as early as possible tomorrow and clear that up.  If I'm awake super-early, I'll go on in.   I'll knock that project out in a couple of hours, and then work on regular work.

My goal this week is 40 hours.  If I can maintain 40 on the non-chemo weeks, I'll be pleased.  I'm certain I can do it, barring any new or worsening side effects.  And we're not going to have any of THOSE, now ARE we???  Nope.

Happy Birthday, Dad

Let's shove that whiny post down a bit with something more upbeat, shall we?

Happy birthday to my Dad!  The superman in my life who has always been able to do anything, anywhere.  He can fix anything, with nothing.  He can teach you more than you can fathom, because he never stops learning.  He is SO much better than YOUR dad.

I'm just sayin'.

I love you, Dad.

Losing a Drain

Yesterday was my appointment with the surgeon that did the mastectomy.  I actually told him that I've been calling him the "demo doctor."  He thought it was pretty funny.  I don't have to see him again for 6 months.  People poured into the room while I was there, too.  He was joined by his nurse practitioner, another nurse, a lady who remembered me from my biopsy and wanted to come say "hi" etc etc.  It was crowded in there, but I'm important like that.

My plastic surgeon's nurse had told me that, if I came upon someone who would/could remove drain one any time after Monday, I could ask.  Otherwise, I could go have her do it.  She's all the way over in Leawood, KS, so I asked yesterday.  They pulled it!  It was the one not causing any issues, but it's still kinda nice to only have to deal with one.

I slept in my bed last night, and it was very comfortable, but I paid for it this morning.  I guess I am destined to sleep in the recliner for a while longer.  Oh well.  I'm having a teary kind of day, so I ran to Lexington with Mom and Dad to see how much money I could blow at Dollar General.  $47, if you wondered.  Kevin's Monster drinks are cheaper there, so a lot of that was for those.

It was an early-out for the girls, so Natalie is here to keep me company now, and Monica will be home from softball practice when it's time for Natalie to go to track practice, so I should have someone with me the rest of the afternoon.  Uncle Phil and Aunt Faye are stopping by this afternoon, too, so I will have company all afternoon for sure!

Today's the Day

I'm showered and ready to go two hours before we need to leave, but I didn't sleep very well anyway, so I figured it best to quit fighting it and just get up.

The girls are going to school, since it'll be after 4 before I'm out of recovery, anyway.  After school, they'll go to Mom and Dad's and the four of them will head up to see me.  The girls are freaked out, but we all are.  Maybe school will be a distraction for them, if nothing else.

We are to be there to check in at 8:30.  I don't want Kevin to have to make a ton of updates, so the plan is for him to tell my Mom, my workmate Michelle, anyone in his family that he feels like calling, and update Facebook.  The Facebook think will cover it pretty well.  Most everyone is on there.  If he writes it on my wall, anyone who hasn't blocked him should be able to see it.

I sure wish I could put on deodorant.

Artwork

The 30 Day Photo Challenge keeps getting tougher for me.  Today's word is "artwork," and I am no artist.  I don't have an "eye for art" and I don't have that artistic side.  I thought about posting some of my children's artwork from school days of old, but then I sat back and asked myself, "What is artwork in YOUR world?"

My dad took a rust bucket and turned it into artwork, in my opinion.  It amazes me.  Rust to beauty.

Inspiring Person

Today's topic for the 30 Day Photo Challenge is "Inspiring Person."  No problem.

Dude can fix ANYTHING with NOTHING.