Cancer was not boring this week

Well, there’s been a blip in the easy chemo route and Cancer has definitely not been boring this week.

After a great Easter Weekend with Friday seafood buffet at the Yacht Club and Easter Sunday Brunch with my church group at Meadowbrook Golf Course, I had my 5th Chemo on Monday.

Nancy Kennedy and Judy Baerg accompanied me. Judy brought along the most beautiful yarn for Nancy and me and attempted to teach us to knit. We got really good at the “pulling out stitches” part. Our scarves were supposed to have 20 stitches across. By the end of our session, I had 27! It did keep us, other patients and nurses thoroughly entertained. Chemo went fast that day.

We went to “Indochine “ in UP for lunch and laughed a lot. I came home and took a nap. I had noticed that I was tiring more after treatments, which I had been warned would happen.

Tuesday I took a long walk uphill with my walking buddy, Carolyn Hudson and went into Oncology for my white blood cell shot. That night my son, Georg, and I played cards until 11PM.

Wednesday, I could hardly stand up. Did manage to get my make up on, get dressed (there are priorities!) and get into a chair before my traveling nurse showed up. I was running a slight temperature and she convinced me to go into Oncology, where they gave me intravenous fluids to re-hydrate me and sent me home. Felt much better but went to sleep early. Started getting chills and the shakes during the night.

Mike took me into the hospital with a temperature of 104.4. They ran tests on me in the ER and admitted me. My teeth were chattering so much, I couldn’t breathe. As my temperature reached 104.9, they told me I had to remove all blankets and they were going to put an ice blanket on me.

I told them they were out of their minds.

Luckily the massive antibiotics kicked in and my temperature went down. There was a blip on my lungs which I worried was cancer and was relieved to find out was only pneumonia.Now the fun began and they had to figure out what I had.

I had E Coli sepsis bacteria that had invaded my blood stream and was running rampant. They couldn’t find the source. I had two blood transfusions on Saturday. After getting slightly better, I got worse.

On Sunday, they decided that my port was infected. The surgeon wanted to wait to Monday to operate because my platelet level was 60. I told him if he waited until Monday, it would be lower as that was usually my nadir. I got a platelet transfusion. He operated.

I felt instantly better and planned to go home on Monday. after another CT and chest XRay.Three of my Doctors signed me out but I waited all day for my Intensive Medicine Doctor, who showed up at 6 PM. Mike had packed my bags and we were ready to escape.

She told me she had just come across my ECHO test and I had blip on my right heartvalve. I would have to remain in the hospital for more tests and would be on intravenous antibiotics for the next 6 weeks. As the implications sunk in, I was devastated. Did this mean the cancer had metastasized?

After she left the room, Mike asked me when I had taken the ECHO test. I said I knew I had one in January. Perhaps that was the one to which she was referring. But she had mentioned it was the day I was admitted. I remember very little of that day. Mike said he was with me that whole day and he didn’t remember that test.

He went out to talk to her.It turned out she was reading 3 charts of different patients, at the same time. The test in question was done on another patient, not me.

I was home free and we ran out of the hospital, not even waiting for the customary wheelchair.

New instructions given me are that I can do no gardening, eat no raw veggies or fruit, can’t have fresh flowers in the house, can’t eat nuts with shells or cheese with mold etc. Also I am not to go to buffets...

Feel fine but have very low white blood cells and low platelets. Therefore I'm lying low and seeing no visitors this week until my counts are up. You can always call me or e-mail me. It's great to be home. Will love having this chemo over but next and last session may be rescheduled.

Thanks for your calls and support and those wonderful hospital visits. My first Friday Lunch group sent me beautiful flowers from Blitz. However they weren’t allowed on the floor so they were delivered to the house. Mike took pictures of them and printed them on an 8x10 sheet and put them on an easel in my hospital room. Now the picture sits atop my piano and reminds me of my dear friends.

Thank you all.

Mom's in the Hospital

She's available via cell. Apparently she had some complications from her last chemo. Her temp got up to 105, but it's down now. She will be in the hospital until Monday.

She says she's bored. So if you have any TomKat gossip, she's all ears. And she's on so many meds you could tell her the same piece of gossip three times and she'll always think it's new.

I'm sending virtual hugs, so give her an extra squeeze for me if you acually get to see her.

Mom still hasn't learned to post her own entries...

Dear Daughters and Sisters,

I met with my radiation doctor today.

He gave me an ok to attend the Ford-Moore nuptials . We will arrive late Thursday evening and leave late Sunday so I only miss one day of radiation. We are staying at a B&B that Mike recommended for Tara's wedding. We stayed there with the Victorsons. There is only one other couple registered that weekend in the Honeymoon suite. Mike, Is that you?

We are really looking forward to a weekend away since life has been confining since December. I'm also loving seeing Mike's kids again. They have been so welcoming to us.

My radiation doctor emphasized once again that my sisters and daughters and (possibly my nieces) have mamagrams and inform their doctors what is happening to me and our family's history. He feels this is very important as they enter their 30's and 40's.

We are delighted with Tara's news. How exciting. I guess with all the pregnancies occuring, this was the way to steal the show.

Good timing , Tara!

All is well. The boys are here tonight and Jen, Josef's girl, arrives tomorrow and drives down to Pendleton with him.

Wishing you a great Easter.

Much love,Susie

A letter from mom...

Ten days ago was my 4th Chemo.

I am over the halfway point. My good friends, Ann Bailey and Carolyn Modarelli Adams accompanied me . The weekend before, we and our husbands went to the dueling piano bars, “Chopsticks”. We, women, had a great time. Our elderly husbands are claiming eardrum damage! Fortunately, we still had plenty to talk about during treatment. I brought cards and we played a new game.

Time passed quickly.

They took me to a late birthday lunch at “Stanley & Seaforts”. We still had plenty of things to talk about... the advantage of husbands and kids.

Carolyn had made up a special “Harper’s Bazaar”, which featured the 3 of us in our black cowboy hats in wonderfully sexy poses and clothes. I will bring it to the next luncheon of the ladies. The magazine has a permanent spot on my coffee table.

I have many brave friends who go to chemo by themselves and have no doubt, I could do the same. Having my friends accompany me has made a difficult day fun. When I look back on the past 4 visits, it is not what they have done to me or what news and treatments they have discussed, It is always the memories of my good spirited friends, that I take away with me.

Thank you, all!

Definite patterns are developing in my routines. The 3 days following chemo, I am on heavy doses and shots of drugs. Except for the first session, the side effects are under control. However, last week, I was very fatigued by the weekend, more so than previous treatments. Also by the 2nd week, my white blood cell count was very low and I was susceptible to germs, virus,etc. I was warned to stay away from anybody sick and avoid crowds. They give me a shot following treatment to increase new white blood cells but it apparently doesn’t kick in for a week. By the time of my next session, it should be in the normal stage.

Last week, I also got swelling all over my body and especially in my left arm, where they took out 19 nodes. We were worried that Lymphadema had started. (Something, I had been warned about, that could occur at any time in my future.) So...I was sent into the hospital for another MUGGA test to see if my heart has been affected by my dosages. I haven’t heard the results, which were due 2 days ago, so I assume “no news is good news”.

Every Thursday, I go to physical therapy, where the therapist works on my arms and scar tissue to break it up. That can often be painful. She keeps me talking to distract me from what she is doing. ...again husband and children provide lots to talk about...

Mike and I saw “Wonderful Town” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Robe” in the past weeks. Both were fun and entertaining. They were in Seattle so we made a day of both productions. Chico stock goes up on the days I’m in the big city. We’ve also driven to Bellingham to look at boats. I think we’re in the boat buying mood again. It would be nice for Mike to have a hobby other than me!

Since we are rather confined to the immediate area, a boat would be a good diversion to our regular Dr. visits.I’m trying to walk daily if weather permits. I’ve found some friends who have come over to play cards once a week and I read a lot.

Joe and Georg will be home next week and liven things up on the homefront. The pace is slow but LIFE is good.

Thanks for checking up on me.----Susie.