Snow Day!

As Regan said yesterday.."why do we get all this snow on a weekend. We will never get a snow day!" She is so right if this would have happened on Thursday they surely would have had Friday off! Oh well it is certainly beautiful out there this morning. Noah spent most of yesterday afternoon outside playing in the snow. It wasn't too cold and he even got his sister to join him outside. Well I did end up having chemo on Friday, but I had to fight the Dr. to make it happen. I can't believe I fought for chemo! My absolute neutrophil count was only .7 and I have the beginnings of cellulitis, an infection in the skin. Dr. Rabe wanted to send me home and wait a week. I guess I threw a little fit. She and I had a discussion about this and I made it clear I had a life to live and waiting until next Friday would disrupt what little I have been able to plan and it was unacceptable. She agreed to give me the chemo but I have to come in next week to get a shot of a drug called neulasta. This is supposed to boost my white blood cell count. We had discussed this during my last chemo treatment because my counts were low then so I was a little upset that we didn't do it then. It turns out this one shot costs $6,400.00! That is why we did not do it last week. Can you believe that! This is so obscene I think I will write my congressman about the need for health care reform in this country. What do people without insurance do when presented with the need for this shot! What is this liquid gold??? Anyway I think I threw such a fit because everything has been out of my control for so long I just wanted one thing my way! Well I got my wish and feel like *@#$! Serves me right I guess. I am very shaky and already have mouth sores. I didn't eat much yesterday but I haven't gotten sick yet so that is a plus. The kids are doing great. Alex is enjoying soccer and Regan is gearing up for state. She has had a pinched nerve in her back but has been seeing a chiropractor for it. Noah was supposed to have his first soccer game yesterday but it was snowed out. His first track meet is next weekend and he is very excited! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Chemo Tomorrow

Well tomorrow is my last bad chemo. I am already sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Hopefully it won't be as bad as last time. I felt terrible for over a week. My eyelashes and eyebrows are beginning to fall out, even with the brow and lash gel. Maybe I will be lucky and they won't fall out completely. Alex played her first soccer game this week. It was fun to watch. Noah is supposed to have a game Saturday but I doubt they will have them play in the snow! Regan is getting ready for State and is finally up to 80% on her work outs. She told me tonight how tired she was at the end of her floor routine. Funny how quickly they lose stamina when they are out with an injury. James is busy, busy at work lately and unfortunately I am not helping matters. I think he feels he should spend more time at home which puts him even farther behind. He has been such a huge help throughout this. I know he is looking forward to my parents arriving so he can get more done. I tried hard to finish my remodel project in the bathroom before chemo, but I gave up. I just don't have the energy to work a full day so I only get a little at a time done. Oh well, it will be there when I feel better. Have a great weekend!

Counts way down

As expected my counts are extremely low. My absolute neutophil count is down to .3. So far that is the lowest it has been. I need to be back up to at least a 1.0 by next week to proceed with chemo. Keep me in your prayers this week. What this means is that I am grounded for the weekend. I have to avoid people, public places, fresh fruits and vegetables...pretty much all fun! Hopefully the weather will be nice so I can at least get outside. At least with the tournament there is something worth watching on TV! Go Jayhawks!!! Regan has a pinched nerve in her back so she has been unable to work out at gymnastics. She is seeing a chiropractor and he thinks he can get her back to 100% prior to the State Meet. Alex has her first soccer game this weekend. We are looking forward to watching some fun games. I have missed watching soccer. We will get a double dose this year as Noah is playing too. Noah had his first track practice this week. I think he is going to love this sport. He runs all the time. Have a great weekend everyone...GO KU!

Counts are up

Good news, my counts are up this week. After starting very low at the time of chemo my counts have rebounded nicely. I am up to 1.4 for my absolute neutrophils. This puts me out of danger for the week. Unfortunately they can tell that my counts are beginning to fall because the baby white blood cells, monocytes, are very low, 1.6. I just have to make sure my white blood cell count remains above a 1.0. I don't want my next chemo to be delayed. I am feeling pretty good this week. The nausea comes in waves, usually in the afternoon. So I try to stay busy to keep my mind off it. I have started a remodeling project in the 1/2 bath off the kitchen. I am stripping wallpaper, repainting, installing a new sink, countertop and backsplash and maybe refinishing the cabinet. Of course the wallpaper came off in tiny strips because the previous owners put wallpaper on bare sheetrock! Now I have to repair some areas of the wall. I am learning how to do some of the work myself by watching the DIY network. Daytime TV leaves a lot to be desired. If I can handle this project I have another larger project I would like to tackle. James is less than enthusiastic about this. Oh well, it gives me something to do. The kids are on spring vacation this week so hopefully we will have some good weather. Regan does have a small gymnastic meet in town next Friday night if anyone would like to come watch. Let me know if you are interested and I can forward the details. Have a great weekend!

Spring Fever

OK, What happened to the warm weather? Chemo went pretty well last week. I did get sick during the infusion but that was the first time. I am still pretty sick to my stomach but at least it only comes in waves. Mom went home today but it has been wonderful having her here to take care of everything. She and my sister Debbie have been in charge since last week. My house has never been so clean and organized. I saw the plastic surgeon on Monday and he put me on antibiotics. He was suspicious that I have a slight infection developing in the skin. He wouldn't fill the implants until he knows I am not running an infection. I saw the allergist today to help me with my cough. Don't you just love when the Dr. says..."we never see this." I guess I have a very high number of allergy cells in my nose which is causing me to cough. They aren't sure how to treat me because they would prefer to give me steroids but my oncologist does not think that is a good idea right now. They have started me on a nasal spray to see if this helps and they put me on prilosec. I guess heartburn can cause coughing and the chemo gives me heartburn. I am exhausted today but I think if I got out more that would not be as bad. Noah has been home sick all week too but he is finally feeling better. We are looking forward to the 8th grade play tonight. Oh and by the way, Alex made the soccer team! I hope it warms up for the games!

Chemo today

The kids asked me last week what I was giving up for Lent. I decided chemo would be a good thing to give up. Unfortunately I guess I will have to pick something else. I am headed to chemo today....yuck! One bright spot is that my mom came to visit. Yeah! She plans to stay through next Wednesday to help me out. For those of you in town, next Wednesday at 7 pm, at Prince of Peace, Regan is in the 8th grade play. It is a take-off of the Pirates of Penzance. Should be fun, so feel free to join us. For Regan this means she is one step closer to graduation. She just has a few more weeks at Prince of Peace! We are loving this warm weather, especially Noah who wanted to take the day off school today to maximize his outdoor play time! Regan is off to St. Louis tomorrow for another gym meet. One of her teammates has agreed to take her as I don't think I will feel up to it. Thanks Sherri & Ashlynn! Alex has one more day of tryouts for soccer and hopefully she will make the team. They made some cuts last night and Alex survived the first round. Hopefully things will go well for her today and she will make the team! We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We are going to try to get outside and enjoy the weather!

Alex turns 16!

It's hard to believe but Alex is now 16! She has turned into such a wonderful young lady. We took her to dinner Friday night at the Melting Pot and enjoyed a wonderful evening as a family! We did have a little mishap that day when her friend ran into her car in our driveway. The damage is just to the rear quarter panel and shouldn't take too much to fix. Having cancer really puts the small stuff into perspective. Her friend was very upset but I told her as a teenager you are going to have an accident. This counts as hers and nobody got hurt which is the important thing. Her father was a little more upset but I reassured her we were not. Alex was upset at first until I pointed out that 10 years from now when she and Andrea are together reliving old times they will laugh about her 16th birthday! Saturday Alex had a cheer competition and Regan had a gymnastic meet in Columbia. The timing worked out perfectly. I was able to watch Alex and then make it home to go with James, Noah and Regan to Columbia. Alex' team got a 2 at this competition and Regan did well at her meet. She did forget the ending to her floor routine which was kind of funny. Noah had a basketball party today. His team was undefeated this season! They played great but now he is looking forward to soccer. I have not been feeling that great today. My cough is back and my head hurts. It is probably from the cold I have been fighting for the past week. It didn't help that yesterday I left the house at 6:30 am and didn't get back until 11pm. I took a long nap today and am hoping tomorrow is a better day. I have chemo this next Friday so hopefully I start to feel better. My mom is coming to visit this week and we are all looking forward to seeing her.