Good Thing I'm Not a Real Writer with a Deadline - I'd be Jobless!

  Well, in all honesty, it wasn't just the party, it may have had something to do with having had a port inserted Friday morning under general anesthetic.  Because I have a high tolerance to medications, the doctor and I decided conscious sedation wasn't the safe way to do the procedure because if I "came too" while he was inserting the wire guide for the tubing and moved when he was near my lung, he could potentially puncture my lung. I was only in surgery for about 35 minutes and then in recovery for -- well, I really don't know how long.  Anyway, now I am less susceptible to infection than I am with the PPIC line and the port can remain in place until I'm cured.  Seems to me I may have told you the last part before but I'm not sure.

Matt, Joelle, her sister Julene, Brian and I all rode up to Maddy's birthday party together.  That was fun in and of itself.  We all have similar senses of humor so there was a whole lot of laughing going on round trip! 

The party was wonderful.  It was a Princess Tiana theme (Maddy's current favorite) and you should have seen the beautiful Princess Tiana cake Megan made for her.  Everybody assumed she bought it.  Scott was there to attest that he ate all of the cake she cut off to make the skirt and all of the extra frosting!

Maddy's two best friends from pre-school were there and her friends from two of the families that were in Scott's Guard Unit when they went to Iraq.  Poor Justin, even though his Mom told him it was going to be a "princess" party, he still wanted to be there - until after the lunch, cake and ice cream that is!  Fortunately, Jenny is a very wise Mom and had brought some of his books, coloring and sticker books along so he just went in the kitchen and did that while the girls did their thing.

Maddy was so cute as she was opening her presents.  Megan and Scott had gotten several gifts and they were all wrapped in the same paper.  The first several she opened were toys; all things she wanted.  Then she opened a box with two really cute dresses and she said "Oh clothes!" and dropped them on the floor to open the next present hoping it wasn't another set of clothes!  When she was all done, she went around the room and gave everyone a hug and said "Thank You."  And I do mean everyone!  What a sweetie pie.

Today I'm pretty sure I overdid it.  I finally cleaned the full bath upstairs.  It was driving me crazy and since I feel good now and have energy, I figured I'd better make hay while the sun was shining!  Well, I also dusted all of the furniture up here as well.  The bathroom probably took an hour - well, maybe it just seemed that long?????  After having Matt spend a number of nights here while working in the Cedar Rapids location so he could get more hours, the sink and mirror area were a disaster!  I teased him and asked if he stood straight up and spit out his toothpaste with great vigor when he was done brushing.  Good grief, there was "stuff" half way up the mirrorand it's at least four or five feet tall above the back splash on the counter top.  He told me it was his hair product.  I decided to go with that one - it didn't gross me out quite as much!  I must admit, some of the low-lying stuff could have been mine because I'm a flosser and somethings little things like sesame seeds will fly out so I can't blame it all on him - well, I could because I don't think he reads my blogs!!!!!

Tuesday I will see Dr. B again.  They will draw labs and then I'll meet with her.  Megan is graciously coming down because I think this could be an important appointment.  Dr. B seemed a bit concerned about things when I was there last time.  My little visit to the hospital for heart monitoring didn't make her happy and the fact that my neutrophils were still below 1000 was concerning as well.  In the grand scheme of things, by protocol, I NEED to start chemo again on Tuesday and it is scheduled.  I probably have shared this as well, but she doesn't think I'll be able to withstand the full 10 days of chemo because my numbers will go down quickly.  The way I'm feeling, I hope that isn't the case.  Problem is, I can tell when my platelets are low because of bruising and I can tell when my hemoglobin is low because I feel like cah-cah but I have no sense of what those darn neurtrophils are doing. 

I am at the point now where my hair is thinning.  It isn't coming out in clumps like it would with heavy duty chemo, but it is really getting thin.  So, the next project I need to accomplish before I get too run down from chemo is to get a wig.  I want to start wearing it now so Maddy gets used to it because I don't want her to be afraid of me once I do lose my hair.  I'll wear the wig whenever she is around. 

Well, dear family and friends, I continue to need your prayers as I am having an hour or so of a bit of pessimism occasionally.  I had a long talk with God today and feel better about a lot of things but your prayers are truly important right now.  I need to stay positive and fight this stupid Myleodysplastic Syndrome, stare it down and beat it!

I am actually hungry - which doesn't happen very often - so I'm going down now to fix something to eat.

I hope you had a great weekend and may our Loving Lord bless you as you begin a bright new week tomorrow.

Carol