And So it began

"ONCE UPON A TIME"....there came along this little lump...insignificant really when you compare it to the entire world of lumps. That is, right up to the point that it wasn't...insignificant I mean............... and so began my journey.

A NEWER SHADE OF PINK...now I more then SURVIVE...I am learning to THRIVE...

OF COURSE... we all know things are bound to get a little crazy with a surprise around most every corner...not to mention an assortment of bumps and bruises along the way...but I am ever thankful for them all...they have all made me who I am. So buckle up, hold on tight and enjoy the ride thru what I lovingly refer to as LIFE


Monday, March 25, 2013

NOT AGAIN....
 
 
 
      So here I sit....realizing that time seems to be rushing by & I am still not very consistently posting...not that I think I have lots of earth shattering stuff to say....it is just that when I think I am all ready to be more consistent with posting...I have an incredibly tired week and barely make it thru the things that HAVE to be done... forget trying to do anything beyond that.
 
     On the upside....I only have 7 radiation treatments left....break out that happy dance!!!! They sure didn't exaggerate when they warn you you're gonna burn.  I of course assumed it would be a serious burn but in a concentrated area...WRONG!!!  My burn goes from the middle of my breast bone across to my side and from my collar bone down past my last rib.  I actually had to go buy a soft BIG night shirt to live in for the next 5 weeks because they don't want anything touching the burn...DUH!!! As if they didn't come to that conclusion on my own.  I am sore and radiating heat off me like I was an electric space heater....but I am NOT blistered....YET.
 
     Other then the daily trips to the hospital for treatments....which...can I just say....is VERY bothersome since I had hibernated all winter and didn't go anywhere....now I am up and dressed everyday...bummer really...I have developed sort of a friendship with my pjs....LOL!!!  What these trips have done is to get me reconnected with some dear friends I have known for 30 yrs and just lost track of.  They have stepped up and really taken great care of me and driven me to all my appointments without being asked...they just jumped in and took over not waiting for me to ask for help...definitely a "tender mercy". 
 
     Now with  some wedding plans beginning...my mind is racing with "all things wedding".  What a GREAT distraction for me and bonding time with Random Wisdom.  We had the first dress fitting this week ....what a special and fun thing for us to share.  I am truly blessed with a great relationship with all my children.  

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

 
....continued...

     Well.....after 13 days off radiation....I am finally back at it and hopefully with no more delays....my final treatment is APRIL 4th!!!!!

     Life has been pretty mellow....which I guess comes with a persistent (on again off again) fever, cough and general "YUCKY" feeling.  After a few trips back and forth between the surgeon (having to drain the boccie ball) and the radiation doc (before he cleared me for more treatments) and finally getting put on some powerful antibiotics to "see if that would make a difference" with the cough and tightness in my chest....I am feeling pretty "cancer normal".  If only I was one of those normal people that get sick and actually have tests that come back with indication of what is wrong...instead of just an elevated white count...we may have gotten on these "power drugs" sooner and not missed all this "zapping" time....but then again...normal is sooooo over rated!!

     VoR drove across the country with Random Wisdom who has moved home to save some money (and take care of me) before her wedding.  I am enjoying having her home and being able to spend this last bit of "just her time" before we send her off to her new life....her perspective may be a little different...LOL!!!  She is frantically looking for a job to stash some money away.  Between finishing radiation and starting to do some serious wedding planning so things around here are bound to get WAY more exciting.

HELLO SPRING!!!!
(FYI...Spring always starts on my birthday...just sayin)

Sunday, March 3, 2013

 
 
As you can see by the picture....I am still not feeling great.  I just thought I would give you the quick "readers digest" version of what's been going on.
 
     Last Thurs (Feb. 22nd) I started to feel chills so I went to bed to try to warm up.  2hrs later I had a fever of 38.5.  Now when you are doing the chemo part of your treatment they tell you if you get a sustained temp of 28..come into emerg so they can see what's causing it.  Now having 6 wks (ish) past chemo I didn't know if the same guidelines applied.  I have been getting to the hospital and by the time I get there (20 min drive) I end up getting there and being symptom free more times they I can shake a fist at SOOOO...I was going nowhere until it was WELL established and I felt pretty sure that it would still be there when I arrived. Now I must mention that my boob incision had started to "pink up" from the radiation but this was nuts.  It was sooooo inflamed that I looked like I had a boccee ball stuck to the front of me.  It was so swollen, hot, stretched and almost purple the burn looked so red.  My scar was stretched so much that you couldn't tell it was a scar, it just felt line smooth normal skin.  I  discovered about 2am that suddenly could not put any weight on my right arm without the "curling iron" searing pain going beyond that 1-10 scale...sounds fun right??   (I am sleeping in the living room again as the radiation burn is making it uncomfortable to sleep) Now picture me reaching for a phone (lucky it was on my bed) soI could  phoning VoR (sound asleep) upstairs to come down and help me roll over and eventually get up for a potty break.  This hurt WAY worse the the actual surgery...not impressed to say the least!!! So as the night went on my fever finally spiked at 40.1 (104)...but I insisted that we still hang around at home...undecided as to whether I wanted to do that emergency merry-go-round again...but in the end decided to go in and my fever just sat at 39.9 for the next few hours but all my blood work, chest xray came back clear with only an elevated white blood count of 12.2 (10 is high normal) so the consensis was that I am fighting some infection but no one know what and they refuse to put me on antibiotics until someone can figure out the cause.  I spent the rest of the that weekend with a fever and just feeling more or less yucky....lucky me it has continued on everyday since with a few hours of fever and then it's gone.....now  I have successfully added a deep cough to the mix just for fun. Okay....this is more detailed then I planned but now I am POOPED and coughing soooooo.....
 
TO BE CONTINUED...