Back to Normal

In more ways than one.

 

My youngest sister arrived Monday and went with me to my appointment with Dr. Powell Tuesday morning (more on that later). My younger sister (the middle one of the three of us) arrived late Tuesday, swinging past my dad's to bring him down here as well. It was a delightful visit ... we learned (from my youngest sister) how to cook salmon properly. Even DH enjoyed it, which is saying a lot as he was definitely not a fan of salmon (they really don't know how to cook salmon properly here in the Midwest). We also watched our Cardinals sweep the Cubs.

Kay, the middle sister, me (complete with my post-chemo steroid flush), and Lisa, the youngest sister.

 

They returned home last night ... perfect timing on this trip because those post-chemo steroids meant another sleepless night, so I'm too tired today to have been much of a hostess. Ha!

 

Now, as promised: I got a phone call from Dr. Powell's nurse Monday evening with the report that my ANC and WBC were low. He wanted me to go over to Siteman early for a draw Tuesday morning hoping that my counts would bounce back high enough for chemo Tuesday afternoon. But alas, my counts were still too low, and since they've been trending lower each week, it was quite likely that we'd be facing this for the remaining chemos as well. But he had a Plan B to give me the Neulasta on-body injector (to increase production of white blood cells) which would allow me to receive the entire last cycle of chemo that afternoon instead of over the normal 3-week period. Lisa had planned to head back to my house anyway because DH would be able to keep me company during what would have been a 3-hour session (now a 5-hour session because of the increased chemo), so once I started the pre-chemo meds, she headed back. I texted DD who was in class ... her immediate response was that she'd be right there. Granted she had at most only an hour of her 5-hour class session remaining, but she didn't care ... she wasn't going to miss me ringing the bell! I have to tell you, that brought tears to this mama's eyes!

 

I am to get my blood drawn next week like normal to see how my ANC and WBC are (hopefully back to normal or very close). I'll see Dr. Powell at the end of July, after I have my ct scan. Please be praying that the scan comes back clear. My cancer marker continues to decrease ... down to 8 now. There's no specific goal we're hoping for as the change in the marker is what Dr. Powell is looking for. If the marker decreases or stabilizes in the normal range, that means the chemo is working/has worked. If the marker starts to increase fairly significantly (such as doubling), then that may mean that the cancer is active. Notice I say "may mean" ... the marker is but one tool he will use to monitor me. He will also order periodic scans and keep an eye on any symptoms that may indicate cancer activity. Unfortunately the type of ovarian cancer that I have starts as microscopic seeds that may not be visible even on a scan ... so if scans come back clear and my cancer marker stabilizes and I don't have any symptoms, I'll be considered in remission - with no evidence of disease (NED) - hopefully for a good long time. I told DH that I'm hoping to have another man in my life - Ned (NED). Ha!

 

I spent Sunday afternoon in the sewing room, where I finished up all my flying geese. Needless to say, with my sisters here, I didn't spend any time in the sewing room until this morning. I cut the center squares for my sawtooth stars and sewed one flying goose unit to each square. I really wanted to get the stars assembled today, but I ran out of energy. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good, restful night's sleep tonight so I can have a more productive day in the sewing room tomorrow.

 

We picked our first tomato Monday morning ... off our beefsteak plant. There are 3-4 more about the same size,that haven't ripened up yet. Beefsteak tomatoes are supposed to produce nice big tomatoes ... I'm hoping we didn't get a mis-tagged plant. :-o

There will be no BLTs with this tomato! Ha!

 

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy ... have a great day!

Kathy