Deb’s Update: January 31, 2007 12:30 PM PST
Hi all,
I wanted to give you an update since today is a great day! Yesterday was my last chemo/radiation so chapter one is over... It feels really good to know that I am done with that combination therapy! I didn't guess that it would have made me so happy, but it obviously has!!! I guess I don't need to keep saying I'm happy to be done all that :-)
My blood counts are low still on WBC and RBC but not so bad that they need to treat it... but hopefully the 4 to 5 weeks off of Temodar should help those blood cells "grow up" :-)
I went to a neurologist today just to make sure that I am neurologically "normal"... What do you guys think? Dr. Murthy labeled me as 'normal' so that's a good thing! I will be having a baseline EEG next week and will visit him every 3 months. He will be the one that will keep me on the right amount of Keppra which is the anti-seizure medication that I'm taking so that's a good thing... he's wonderful and doesn't need to see me for 3 months... Of course if I start to have my sensory partial seizures again, I will go back and be evaluated. My fingers are crossed on that one... I obviously don't want to smell pine trees anymore while I'm out here in CA!
Today I was lucky enough to drive my Honda Element (obviously local)!!! Of course I didn't wear the Crocs (although I could have since it's been raining/cloudy for 4 days now!) but I wore my Dansko Clogs so I guess that's close enough. It felt great to drive and my sister and Meredith weren't even nervous .... at least they didn't say they were! I made them go to Denny's for breakfast this morning since I was driving, so I guess the last visitors are happy that they were the drivers when they were here!
Amy D's visit was great... it flew by but she sure did do a lot.... Painting a few small things, putting up a new mailbox and putting up a few mirrors... of course she brought me on a few errands and carried the heavy stuff for me :-) I sure can't wait to lift up heavy stuff... last Saturday Amy D left and my sister Amy and Meredith arrived.
My sister has done a lot lately. She is a major cleaning person so she has done lots and lots of that stuff! I never figured out that I cleaned deep and well either until I saw what she did and how long it takes... no wonder it takes an entire day to clean a whole house. So, she is doing it piece by piece..... it's looking awesome. Of course she likes to cook as well, so I can still keep Joann's meals in the freezer for when I'm here alone and can't cook.
Nala is helping take care of Meredith. If my sister and I are busy together, Nala and Meredith play! Of course both Nala and Joey are getting lots of treats from Meredith so they both love her! Meredith is also having a good time feeding a snack to my neighbor's horse ... she even got to ride on Slim (the horse's name) one day with my neighbor... of course the driveway was enough for her, but she was excited! Tomorrow we hope to head to Disney just for the easy rides/kids rides... obviously it's okay for me to ride the kids rides or the easy adult ones.
I am still hoping to do that vaccine study with the dendritic cells but haven't been screened yet. I was hoping to screen this Friday but I have not been called by Anne and Dr. Yu... maybe it's an IRB thing and the consent form hasn't been approved yet. Hopefully that'll be soon. Stay tuned on that one. My friend Antonietta, her brother and her dog/puppy are coming on Friday and will stay here through Monday.
I am also still trying to figure out when I can go back to work... I have to make sure that I have the energy to work plus take care of myself, my house, my pets, etc... I should hopefully know after the first two major cycles of Temodar how I will feel on that dose... it's dosing for 5 days and then there are a few weeks off so I just have to see how I feel and how my blood cell counts are. I will know more details on that whole thing as it starts to happen!
That's it for now...
-"Dahling" Debbie ( I couldn't resist... I still would like to know who said that...)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Deb’s Update: January 25, 2006 12:30 PM PST
Hi all,
Just a quick update.... I know I always say that but I just wanted to make myself do just a quick update this time.
I have 4 days left of Chemo/Radiation... YIPPEE! The doctor still thinks I'm doing amazingly well which is a positive thing. I am getting more tired but hey, you all know that I love to sleep don't you? So, I just head to bed a few hours earlier than I used to and don't nap. It seems to be working well.
I met my medical oncologist yesterday and guess what? She used to work at City of Hope which is where I used to work... interesting, huh? She was kind of busy so I'm not sure that I learned as much as I wanted to learn that day... I will be seeing her again before Cycle 1 which is a much bigger dose of the Temodar. I am also hoping that she will discuss how I will be followed beyond the once per month that she stated.... how often do I need an MRI of my brain, how often do I need labs drawn, how often do I need to rest and be in bed post the larger dose of chemo, how much time would I need to recover from that large dose? As you can see, I didn't get all of the answers.... stay tuned.
I am learning more information in regards to the out of work disability (long term, short term, state, etc...) In a nutshell, there is a lot to learn and figure out! The toughest part is that there isn't only one person to talk to .... there are lots and lots since they all know different things. The tough part, I don't really have the energy to dig through all of the details which I HAVE TO KNOW. Thankfully Joann and Amy M are helping me there.
Joann left this morning but let me tell you, she CAN COOK! Wow, you would be amazed at how much she cooked for me. There are so many sweets and dinners that she has put in the freezer that I think all the next visitors are lucky! She also dusted and vacuumed which was needed... Of course I did something for her- I painted her nails with a lovely OPI color! I love that stuff and I have always helped her with her nails so it's the least I could do for her...
Amy D has come yesterday afternoon and will be staying until Saturday. She has already asked me "what's on the list?". So, she has of course started things.... she is painting and she also helped me put the organic lawn fertilizer on the lawn! I couldn't lift the 40 lb bag (I so would have been in trouble for that weight lifting!) so she did that but I couldn't help myself to use the spreader to put it on the lawn...
I am still amazed and happy for all of the help from family, friends, co-workers and the Feng Shui lady! You guys are helping me keep my positive attitude, that's for sure...
I talked to the Briard Rescue woman the other day and it is confirmed that Mom and I can pick up Radar on Saturday or Sunday (Feb 10th or 11th) so I am soooo excited! I will bring Nala with us and I'm sure they will both be excited too... THANKS MOM!!!! (It means a whole lot to help me with that... of course you know that, you were the one who had to drive him to AZ!) My fingers are crossed that his coat will be okay... I would love to see his coat continuing to grow long! But, if it's not great after the kennel, it'll grow eventually I guess :-)
I'll try to get a new picture done today since it's a great day here... So, keep watching for that! Maybe I should have Joe in the picture instead of Nala... stay tuned.
Would you call this brief??? :-)
-Debbie
Monday, January 22, 2007
Deb's Update: January 21, 2006 9:00 PM P.S.T.
Hi All,
Just wanted to write a quick blog message to give you an update on what's going on. I couldn't stop laughing about the "collection" of the last comments that were written for my last message... The good thing is, I know who writes everything :-)
Last week's radiation therapy changed a bit. They are now radiating the area where the exact tumor was. Previously they were radiating an area that was also around the tumor area for the "spider legs" that the glioblastoma tumors have. I also found out that I am actually going to have SEVEN weeks (35 days of treatment) when I was told 6.5 weeks a few weeks ago. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just getting treated more since I am still with a "normal amount of energy" (according to my Rad. Onc. doc). Of course, for me it's not normal but he obviously doesn't know the amount of energy I usually have! You guys know that :-)
I have an appointment with a local oncologist this Wednesday. She will be the one that follows me for the chemo cycles that I will have this year. I also found out that I will be getting more than the standard 6 cycles... I keep getting told that when you're young and healthy, you get the MAX amount of treatment... Bring it on!
Oh, I did have the discussion with the Rad. Onc. doc AGAIN to talk about driving and he said that local driving is okay after the chem/radiation treatment is done on Jan 30th! Yippee... Element, here I come :-)
I have a new plan with getting Radar! My mom decided to come out on Feb 9th and we will drive out there on Feb 10th to get my boy.... I CAN'T WAIT! It's a big thank you to my mom! I guess I should call the Briard Rescue Club/Kennel to make sure that someone will be there to give him back to me... stay tuned.
Carrie's visit was great! She did a great job on the cleaning most definitely. She finished the warm water with lemon cleaning for the remainder of my cabinets and drawers... plus she couldn't help herself so she keep cleaning even more of the kitchen.... the counters! They look great. She also helped me with the recycling stuff in the garage to make sure that area gets clean too! Of course I made her drive me to a dog show in Ventura since I am hooked on that and I wanted to meet some Briards out here. She was hooked too! It was also good that I had to explain how it all works when there are non-champions being shown to get their championship... I am obviously hoping to finish Radar eventually :-) She left on Saturday morning and we did try to get a picture to post but we couldn't figure out how to get my digital camera to take our picture... I guess 5 minutes is not enough time to figure out how to use the timer on my camera :-) Joann arrived on Saturday evening...
On Saturday night, Kimmie came to make Joann and me a home cooked meal - PIZZA. That's obviously what I've been interested in and Kim is a great cook! We were all stuffed but happy after eating the pizza. Kimmie also brought "The Devil Wears Prada" movie for us to watch... we all enjoyed it since none of us had seen it before. Kim left this morning and I made Joann take me back to the dog show in Ventura... I couldn't help but wanting to go AGAIN. It's not that much energy that I have to use since I just sit and watch it :-) Thank you to Joann for allowing me to stay there longer than she would have! But, for those of you who know I need to 'rest' or nap, I laid low when I got home. Joann is also a great cook and she went grocery shopping for our meals this week while I took a quick nap. Amy (DiRico) is coming on Wednesday late afternoon... stay tuned for the remainder of Joann's visit and Amy's visit. My sister Amy is actually coming with Meredith right before Amy D leaves... So, even if I'm having name finding difficulties towards the end of this chemo/radiation treatment, at least I can say the same name :-) I guess I should call Amy Manning on the phone that week too!!!! (I can't help myself with saying all that)
Hopefully I'll write again this week. Come on comments, come on...
-Debbie
Hi All,
Just wanted to write a quick blog message to give you an update on what's going on. I couldn't stop laughing about the "collection" of the last comments that were written for my last message... The good thing is, I know who writes everything :-)
Last week's radiation therapy changed a bit. They are now radiating the area where the exact tumor was. Previously they were radiating an area that was also around the tumor area for the "spider legs" that the glioblastoma tumors have. I also found out that I am actually going to have SEVEN weeks (35 days of treatment) when I was told 6.5 weeks a few weeks ago. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just getting treated more since I am still with a "normal amount of energy" (according to my Rad. Onc. doc). Of course, for me it's not normal but he obviously doesn't know the amount of energy I usually have! You guys know that :-)
I have an appointment with a local oncologist this Wednesday. She will be the one that follows me for the chemo cycles that I will have this year. I also found out that I will be getting more than the standard 6 cycles... I keep getting told that when you're young and healthy, you get the MAX amount of treatment... Bring it on!
Oh, I did have the discussion with the Rad. Onc. doc AGAIN to talk about driving and he said that local driving is okay after the chem/radiation treatment is done on Jan 30th! Yippee... Element, here I come :-)
I have a new plan with getting Radar! My mom decided to come out on Feb 9th and we will drive out there on Feb 10th to get my boy.... I CAN'T WAIT! It's a big thank you to my mom! I guess I should call the Briard Rescue Club/Kennel to make sure that someone will be there to give him back to me... stay tuned.
Carrie's visit was great! She did a great job on the cleaning most definitely. She finished the warm water with lemon cleaning for the remainder of my cabinets and drawers... plus she couldn't help herself so she keep cleaning even more of the kitchen.... the counters! They look great. She also helped me with the recycling stuff in the garage to make sure that area gets clean too! Of course I made her drive me to a dog show in Ventura since I am hooked on that and I wanted to meet some Briards out here. She was hooked too! It was also good that I had to explain how it all works when there are non-champions being shown to get their championship... I am obviously hoping to finish Radar eventually :-) She left on Saturday morning and we did try to get a picture to post but we couldn't figure out how to get my digital camera to take our picture... I guess 5 minutes is not enough time to figure out how to use the timer on my camera :-) Joann arrived on Saturday evening...
On Saturday night, Kimmie came to make Joann and me a home cooked meal - PIZZA. That's obviously what I've been interested in and Kim is a great cook! We were all stuffed but happy after eating the pizza. Kimmie also brought "The Devil Wears Prada" movie for us to watch... we all enjoyed it since none of us had seen it before. Kim left this morning and I made Joann take me back to the dog show in Ventura... I couldn't help but wanting to go AGAIN. It's not that much energy that I have to use since I just sit and watch it :-) Thank you to Joann for allowing me to stay there longer than she would have! But, for those of you who know I need to 'rest' or nap, I laid low when I got home. Joann is also a great cook and she went grocery shopping for our meals this week while I took a quick nap. Amy (DiRico) is coming on Wednesday late afternoon... stay tuned for the remainder of Joann's visit and Amy's visit. My sister Amy is actually coming with Meredith right before Amy D leaves... So, even if I'm having name finding difficulties towards the end of this chemo/radiation treatment, at least I can say the same name :-) I guess I should call Amy Manning on the phone that week too!!!! (I can't help myself with saying all that)
Hopefully I'll write again this week. Come on comments, come on...
-Debbie
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Deb's Update: January 17, 2007, 9 AM P.S.T.
Hi everyone... I'm finally into week 6 of my radiation & chemo. I have to finish the rest of this week and then all of next week... then I'm DONE (for now). I think that each week does get a little tougher in terms of the treatments but I usually don't feel awful, just a little more tired.
I spoke with Dr. Yu and Anne (nurse practitioner) yesterday in terms of the vaccine study that I am interested in doing. They have to wait for new IRB approved Informed Consent Document before I can sign it and make sure that I meet the subject criteria. They are actually hoping that I can screen the first or second week of February. I have a good feeling about this study, so I'm very interested in participating! As you can imagine, I decided to ask Dr. Yu about the DMV driving issues... He basically said that physicians do send info to the DMV when people should not drive for 6 months post seizures. The person it relates to is usually informed at the same time. So, the guess is that nobody has told anything to the DMV about my sensory partial-seizures (My fingers are still crossed!) I will be talking to my Radiation doc today about that just to make sure he hasn't told the DMV either! As you can tell, I want to drive again (at least locally) after these treatments are done next week.
I have also made my first appointments with an Oncologist and Neurologist here in Thousand Oaks so that I don't have to ALWAYS go back to Cedars-Sinai hospital (it's about an hour away and when I can't drive..... you know how tough that is!). Of course the driving thing is on my list, but I'm guessing that local driving will be okay :-)
I am really trying to figure out when I can get Radar back from Arizona. My friend Kimmie said she would help me and drive me out there if I needed her to. I'm guessing it'll be a long drive so we could stay out in AZ the day we get him and drive home the next day. Of course I would bring Nala with us too since she probably can't wait to see him! I cannot wait to get him back... Not sure if Joey will be excited to have him back, but maybe they'll play too! My wonderful next door neighbors also said they would absolutely drive me out to AZ to get Radar back... thank goodness I live in a pet friendly neighborhood!!!
Lisa left yesterday morning and Carrie arrived yesterday afternoon. It's not uncommon to just talk for the first day people are here because I'm so excited that they're here to visit and to help. So, of course Lisa was here on the first weekend that I didn't take my chemo so it was like I wasn't being treated anymore! Of course this wasn't true... we did stuff on Saturday (mostly errands) but I decided that we should stay home on Sunday to do stuff around the house. Lisa did the cleaning of the inside and outside of the cabinets & drawers with lemon and warm water. There are tons of cabinets so it was great that she decided to tackle that one! Of course she wanted to cook for me so we had a tasty Italian meal - Pasta with her sauce on Monday night!!! On Sunday she put together some furniture.... So, the living room looks great and is DONE now since she put the coffee table together. Carrie and I will be discussing the "LIST" of what to do after I write this blog update!
Thank you all for the positive thoughts and comments on this site! I love to go to the blog site several times a day to see what people wrote... As you can tell, I sometimes write comments on YOUR comments :-)
-Debbie
Hi everyone... I'm finally into week 6 of my radiation & chemo. I have to finish the rest of this week and then all of next week... then I'm DONE (for now). I think that each week does get a little tougher in terms of the treatments but I usually don't feel awful, just a little more tired.
I spoke with Dr. Yu and Anne (nurse practitioner) yesterday in terms of the vaccine study that I am interested in doing. They have to wait for new IRB approved Informed Consent Document before I can sign it and make sure that I meet the subject criteria. They are actually hoping that I can screen the first or second week of February. I have a good feeling about this study, so I'm very interested in participating! As you can imagine, I decided to ask Dr. Yu about the DMV driving issues... He basically said that physicians do send info to the DMV when people should not drive for 6 months post seizures. The person it relates to is usually informed at the same time. So, the guess is that nobody has told anything to the DMV about my sensory partial-seizures (My fingers are still crossed!) I will be talking to my Radiation doc today about that just to make sure he hasn't told the DMV either! As you can tell, I want to drive again (at least locally) after these treatments are done next week.
I have also made my first appointments with an Oncologist and Neurologist here in Thousand Oaks so that I don't have to ALWAYS go back to Cedars-Sinai hospital (it's about an hour away and when I can't drive..... you know how tough that is!). Of course the driving thing is on my list, but I'm guessing that local driving will be okay :-)
I am really trying to figure out when I can get Radar back from Arizona. My friend Kimmie said she would help me and drive me out there if I needed her to. I'm guessing it'll be a long drive so we could stay out in AZ the day we get him and drive home the next day. Of course I would bring Nala with us too since she probably can't wait to see him! I cannot wait to get him back... Not sure if Joey will be excited to have him back, but maybe they'll play too! My wonderful next door neighbors also said they would absolutely drive me out to AZ to get Radar back... thank goodness I live in a pet friendly neighborhood!!!
Lisa left yesterday morning and Carrie arrived yesterday afternoon. It's not uncommon to just talk for the first day people are here because I'm so excited that they're here to visit and to help. So, of course Lisa was here on the first weekend that I didn't take my chemo so it was like I wasn't being treated anymore! Of course this wasn't true... we did stuff on Saturday (mostly errands) but I decided that we should stay home on Sunday to do stuff around the house. Lisa did the cleaning of the inside and outside of the cabinets & drawers with lemon and warm water. There are tons of cabinets so it was great that she decided to tackle that one! Of course she wanted to cook for me so we had a tasty Italian meal - Pasta with her sauce on Monday night!!! On Sunday she put together some furniture.... So, the living room looks great and is DONE now since she put the coffee table together. Carrie and I will be discussing the "LIST" of what to do after I write this blog update!
Thank you all for the positive thoughts and comments on this site! I love to go to the blog site several times a day to see what people wrote... As you can tell, I sometimes write comments on YOUR comments :-)
-Debbie
Friday, January 12, 2007
Deb’s Update; January 12, 2007: 11:30 P.S.T.
Hi all,
This week has been great! No nausea or vomiting since last Saturday. I decided to go back on the Kytril so maybe that's why? I have just started to NOT try to figure it out, but just to be happy I'm not feeling sick! I have had an easy radiation week as well or so it seems. My skin that has been very itchy and sore seems to be a bit better which is a great thing! I will be ending the combo of radiation and chemo two weeks from today... after that, it's study subject time for me and of course I will continue the chemo for the year but at least it won't be daily.
My house is starting to be organized since Anita is an organizing, cleaning, building, moving, maniac! Of course she's not unlike me, so maybe that's why I'm having such a good week.... I have someone to do exactly what I would do: start EVERYTHING on the same day!!! But, of course a cook may be a good visitor next time :-)
Lisa will be coming today and Anita leaves tonight. It's interesting for me to 'train' the visitors since everyone is different. I have to keep reminding myself to give driving directions to all of the visitors that don't know the area.... I forget that one since I am just always a passenger now! Interestingly enough, they are all enjoying driving the Element (so far anyway... stay tuned)!
Since Anita had never been to CA, we went to Malibu to watch a sunset yesterday which was beautiful. Even though it was cloudy, we could see the sun below the clouds and it was spectacular... she took lots of pictures too since she had never seen a sunset on the Pacific Ocean before!
That's it for now... I'll write more next week. I'm hoping that I still feel good this weekend since I am not taking the chemo on Saturday and Sunday. Oh, and by the way, napping isn't going to continue since it actually made me wake up in the middle of the night, then at 4 AM, 5 AM, etc... So, I'm just relaxing instead. If I fall asleep when I'm on the couch, then I'm meant to nap, but otherwise, it's just two hour relax time!
-Debbie
Hi all,
This week has been great! No nausea or vomiting since last Saturday. I decided to go back on the Kytril so maybe that's why? I have just started to NOT try to figure it out, but just to be happy I'm not feeling sick! I have had an easy radiation week as well or so it seems. My skin that has been very itchy and sore seems to be a bit better which is a great thing! I will be ending the combo of radiation and chemo two weeks from today... after that, it's study subject time for me and of course I will continue the chemo for the year but at least it won't be daily.
My house is starting to be organized since Anita is an organizing, cleaning, building, moving, maniac! Of course she's not unlike me, so maybe that's why I'm having such a good week.... I have someone to do exactly what I would do: start EVERYTHING on the same day!!! But, of course a cook may be a good visitor next time :-)
Lisa will be coming today and Anita leaves tonight. It's interesting for me to 'train' the visitors since everyone is different. I have to keep reminding myself to give driving directions to all of the visitors that don't know the area.... I forget that one since I am just always a passenger now! Interestingly enough, they are all enjoying driving the Element (so far anyway... stay tuned)!
Since Anita had never been to CA, we went to Malibu to watch a sunset yesterday which was beautiful. Even though it was cloudy, we could see the sun below the clouds and it was spectacular... she took lots of pictures too since she had never seen a sunset on the Pacific Ocean before!
That's it for now... I'll write more next week. I'm hoping that I still feel good this weekend since I am not taking the chemo on Saturday and Sunday. Oh, and by the way, napping isn't going to continue since it actually made me wake up in the middle of the night, then at 4 AM, 5 AM, etc... So, I'm just relaxing instead. If I fall asleep when I'm on the couch, then I'm meant to nap, but otherwise, it's just two hour relax time!
-Debbie
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Deb's Update: January 8, 2007 9:00 PM PST.
Hi All,
Can you believe I am updating the site this soon? Lots to say so I think it's a good thing...
Today I had the first day of Radiation for the 5th week. I also met with my Radiation Oncologist (always once per week) to give him an update on how I'm feeling and to discuss my lab results, side effects, etc... He basically thinks I'm doing well but doesn't want me to crash during the next two and a half weeks. So, I'm sure you can guess what he suggested: I have to relax a bit more..... NAPPING! I actually am trying to plan on what part of the day I will nap and will put it on the schedule so it HAS to be done! Dr. Ahn also told me that I am getting more radiation than the 'normal' amount due to my age and health. One bad thing is that I really do have to go six and a half weeks.... my thought on that was that he was adding the skipped Mondays (Christmas and New Years) to the sixth week and calling it six and a half weeks. But, he is basically adding 3 extra days so in my mind, it is 7 weeks on a calendar. BUT, I am technically over half-way done!!! In addition, he doesn't want my WBC (White Blood Cell count) to go down low enough so that I have to stop the radiation and chemo treatments in the next few weeks. So, he told me to not take the Temodar on Saturdays and Sundays but I will still take it during the week until I am done with the radiation.
Now to tell you about my Neurologist visit at Cedars-Sinai last Friday... definitely not fun! It was one of the toughest days since I had to ride in car while I was nauseous. Those of you who know my car sickness history will understand this... I actually had to throw up in the car garage before heading into the doctor's office! YUCK... but, of course I'm always prepared...... I had a plastic bag in my purse which I could use so at least it didn't make a major puke mess near another car or in the elevator! I'm sure you can imagine that I was hoping that I would thoroughly enjoy meeting this doctor, but that wasn't exactly what happened. Okay, so my first question to him was, "When can I drive my Honda Element?" and the second question was, "Can I take my Allegra for my allergies?". I basically got no real answers so I wasn't thrilled. He said that Allegra would be okay to take with the anti-seizure drug but I should ask the oncologist if it is okay with the Temodar. Now for the driving part........ He was very adamant about not driving for 6 months post a seizure. Of course I had done my research on the DMV rules and my type of seizure stuff before our 'meeting'. So, basically if you have a partial seizure (that was me with the tumor and/or swelling in my head) and NO loss of consciousness you could get a note from your doctor and could drive 3 months after your seizure (which for me is the pine smelling, 'sensory partial seizure') or whenever they thought you were doing okay. He was a bit annoyed with all of the facts that I told him the partial seizure driving stuff! But, I couldn't help myself... the ELEMENT IS WAITING! Thankfully I backed it up in the driveway today which was a little helpful :-)
Jodi left yesterday morning. It was a great visit that wasn't too different from our usual visits together at my house. The only different things were that she drove me around, cleaned my house, waited on me for lots of snack things and put the hydrocortisone on the side of my face and scalp (redness and itchiness is from the radiation therapy). More than half the time Jodi was here I had nausea and sometimes even vomiting. So, of course she stayed by my side when I wasn't feeling well and kept me company which was great. She and Anita both helped tremendously when the Feng Shui lady came to finish fixing my house on Sunday.
The house feels "homey" now!!! It has even helped the pets which is what Patti (the Feng Shui woman) has always said it would do. Apparently whoever is in this house would feel relaxed but also energized and happy... Here are the interesting Feng Shui facts for my pets now that it's finished: Joey (my 10 and a half year old cat) and Nala (my 4 and a half year old cattle dog mix) have started to play with each other!!! Happy Days definitely.... for the 4 years that I've had Nala, Joey would never come out of his cat tree or walk around. Now he walks wherever he feels like going, she barely chases him again (unless they are playing and he runs away because he's finished!) and they can sit next to each other to get treats too! I am so excited. Of course since Radar (my 3 year old Briard) is in Arizona still right now, I hope it helps him too... I told Patti what I would like Radar to get in terms of behavior changes and she said that once he moves back home, he should feel so much better and should behave! My fingers are crossed.....
Because Anita was here since last Friday night, she was here on the Feng Shui Sunday day too! She didn't know too much about Feng Shui and even thought she would take the dog out for a walk since Nala is not allowed inside during Patti's visit. But, once she met Patti she realized that she had to move furniture and help put up art! In a nutshell, I think she's hooked on Feng Shui now :-) She realizes that my house feels different now and we ALL learned so many basic Feng Shui tips that day. Here are just a few: Toilet lids should always be closed after being used, the toilet should also have a plant above it either on the wall behind it (which can be a picture of plants, flowers, trees, etc...) or on top of the tank (but if it can't be real it needs to be silk, not dead!), and you should never have ANY dead plants or flowers in your house...... NONE! So, those of you that have some decorations that are dried flowers, throw them out!!! Interestingly enough, I happened to have a book that she always recommended to people.
Anita has done so much outdoor stuff since she has been here last Friday night! I'm guessing it's because the weather has been beautiful and she likes to spend her time outside in the warm weather... but of course it could be because her "to do" list has grown since Patti was here on Sunday!!! Maybe it's a combination, or maybe it's because this is her first visit to California! So far she has finished painting the furniture for my bedroom (outside of course!), has trimmed two ficus trees in my front yard, cleaned the front porch and today she will be cleaning the inside and outside of all the windows... Per Patti, they need to be clean so that the light can come in from outside! I hope that Anita will take a break one day so that we can drive to the beach...I'm thinking that Venice Beach will be interesting for her!!! I am hoping that I feel good the day of her "break" so I can go with her... If not, I thankfully have the Tom Tom navigation system in the car that can get her there. Stay tuned for the rest of her week.
Again, thank-you so much for all of your support, help and positive thoughts! Keep the 'comments' coming on the blog website...
Debbie
Hi All,
Can you believe I am updating the site this soon? Lots to say so I think it's a good thing...
Today I had the first day of Radiation for the 5th week. I also met with my Radiation Oncologist (always once per week) to give him an update on how I'm feeling and to discuss my lab results, side effects, etc... He basically thinks I'm doing well but doesn't want me to crash during the next two and a half weeks. So, I'm sure you can guess what he suggested: I have to relax a bit more..... NAPPING! I actually am trying to plan on what part of the day I will nap and will put it on the schedule so it HAS to be done! Dr. Ahn also told me that I am getting more radiation than the 'normal' amount due to my age and health. One bad thing is that I really do have to go six and a half weeks.... my thought on that was that he was adding the skipped Mondays (Christmas and New Years) to the sixth week and calling it six and a half weeks. But, he is basically adding 3 extra days so in my mind, it is 7 weeks on a calendar. BUT, I am technically over half-way done!!! In addition, he doesn't want my WBC (White Blood Cell count) to go down low enough so that I have to stop the radiation and chemo treatments in the next few weeks. So, he told me to not take the Temodar on Saturdays and Sundays but I will still take it during the week until I am done with the radiation.
Now to tell you about my Neurologist visit at Cedars-Sinai last Friday... definitely not fun! It was one of the toughest days since I had to ride in car while I was nauseous. Those of you who know my car sickness history will understand this... I actually had to throw up in the car garage before heading into the doctor's office! YUCK... but, of course I'm always prepared...... I had a plastic bag in my purse which I could use so at least it didn't make a major puke mess near another car or in the elevator! I'm sure you can imagine that I was hoping that I would thoroughly enjoy meeting this doctor, but that wasn't exactly what happened. Okay, so my first question to him was, "When can I drive my Honda Element?" and the second question was, "Can I take my Allegra for my allergies?". I basically got no real answers so I wasn't thrilled. He said that Allegra would be okay to take with the anti-seizure drug but I should ask the oncologist if it is okay with the Temodar. Now for the driving part........ He was very adamant about not driving for 6 months post a seizure. Of course I had done my research on the DMV rules and my type of seizure stuff before our 'meeting'. So, basically if you have a partial seizure (that was me with the tumor and/or swelling in my head) and NO loss of consciousness you could get a note from your doctor and could drive 3 months after your seizure (which for me is the pine smelling, 'sensory partial seizure') or whenever they thought you were doing okay. He was a bit annoyed with all of the facts that I told him the partial seizure driving stuff! But, I couldn't help myself... the ELEMENT IS WAITING! Thankfully I backed it up in the driveway today which was a little helpful :-)
Jodi left yesterday morning. It was a great visit that wasn't too different from our usual visits together at my house. The only different things were that she drove me around, cleaned my house, waited on me for lots of snack things and put the hydrocortisone on the side of my face and scalp (redness and itchiness is from the radiation therapy). More than half the time Jodi was here I had nausea and sometimes even vomiting. So, of course she stayed by my side when I wasn't feeling well and kept me company which was great. She and Anita both helped tremendously when the Feng Shui lady came to finish fixing my house on Sunday.
The house feels "homey" now!!! It has even helped the pets which is what Patti (the Feng Shui woman) has always said it would do. Apparently whoever is in this house would feel relaxed but also energized and happy... Here are the interesting Feng Shui facts for my pets now that it's finished: Joey (my 10 and a half year old cat) and Nala (my 4 and a half year old cattle dog mix) have started to play with each other!!! Happy Days definitely.... for the 4 years that I've had Nala, Joey would never come out of his cat tree or walk around. Now he walks wherever he feels like going, she barely chases him again (unless they are playing and he runs away because he's finished!) and they can sit next to each other to get treats too! I am so excited. Of course since Radar (my 3 year old Briard) is in Arizona still right now, I hope it helps him too... I told Patti what I would like Radar to get in terms of behavior changes and she said that once he moves back home, he should feel so much better and should behave! My fingers are crossed.....
Because Anita was here since last Friday night, she was here on the Feng Shui Sunday day too! She didn't know too much about Feng Shui and even thought she would take the dog out for a walk since Nala is not allowed inside during Patti's visit. But, once she met Patti she realized that she had to move furniture and help put up art! In a nutshell, I think she's hooked on Feng Shui now :-) She realizes that my house feels different now and we ALL learned so many basic Feng Shui tips that day. Here are just a few: Toilet lids should always be closed after being used, the toilet should also have a plant above it either on the wall behind it (which can be a picture of plants, flowers, trees, etc...) or on top of the tank (but if it can't be real it needs to be silk, not dead!), and you should never have ANY dead plants or flowers in your house...... NONE! So, those of you that have some decorations that are dried flowers, throw them out!!! Interestingly enough, I happened to have a book that she always recommended to people.
Anita has done so much outdoor stuff since she has been here last Friday night! I'm guessing it's because the weather has been beautiful and she likes to spend her time outside in the warm weather... but of course it could be because her "to do" list has grown since Patti was here on Sunday!!! Maybe it's a combination, or maybe it's because this is her first visit to California! So far she has finished painting the furniture for my bedroom (outside of course!), has trimmed two ficus trees in my front yard, cleaned the front porch and today she will be cleaning the inside and outside of all the windows... Per Patti, they need to be clean so that the light can come in from outside! I hope that Anita will take a break one day so that we can drive to the beach...I'm thinking that Venice Beach will be interesting for her!!! I am hoping that I feel good the day of her "break" so I can go with her... If not, I thankfully have the Tom Tom navigation system in the car that can get her there. Stay tuned for the rest of her week.
Again, thank-you so much for all of your support, help and positive thoughts! Keep the 'comments' coming on the blog website...
Debbie
Friday, January 05, 2007
Deb's Update: January 4, 2007 8 PM P.S.T.
Happy 2007 everyone! It seems like I haven't written in a long time, but I guess technically it's only been a week... obviously I've done a lot this past week! I think I'll try to type several times per week since I am feeling better, my word finding is getting better and I always want to read "comments" from you folks :-) I always log on daily to see what you guys say too!!!! I know several of you thought either Mohawk or mullet would be my next hair style, but I'm hopeful that it won't be... I actually have lots of hair loss areas but thankfully they are covered by the other hair- THANKFULLY! Also, thank you so much for the sympathy for my Gram's passing on...
I'm on week 4 of chemo and radiation... I counted the number of days that I have left this morning since I am getting antsy to get back into my normal routine (and of course I can't wait to go get Radar from the Briard Rescue place in AZ). So, there are 13 days of radiation left (Thank God, I really need to keep more hair!) and 19 days of this chemo dose left....BUT, chemo will continue for a full year. It will be dosed for 5 days then I'll have 25 days off ...... the one tough thing is that it's a double type dose! Every now and then I still get nausea and occasionally I have to vomit once a day. It's not something that I now know how to prevent, but I'm sure it's just to slow me down and make me lay on the couch, get some rest, or nap!!! Obviously my energy seems to be coming back (not sure why, but I'll take it!). I think it's a little shocking for the doctors, but I definitely make them laugh and smile so its not a bad thing I guess :-)
Tomorrow I have to go and see a Neurologist (Dr. Chow) at Cedar Sinai... I think it's since I am still on the anti-seizure medication Keppra. As you can imagine, I am hoping to get a few positive answers to my questions... (1) I want to know if I can drive my Honda Element again even though I am on an anti-seizure medication!!! Don't be jealous that I have that (okay, I know that nobody likes the Honda Element but I couldn't resist to say that!!!)! (2) plus I want to know if I can get back onto my Allegra for my allergies... East Coasters: don't be jealous that flowers, grass and outside plants still bloom in California during the winter!
Yesterday evening, Al went back home to CT. Al's visit was great! He has done so much that was on "the list" like painting my bedroom furniture, putting up the new door for the master bathroom, and putting the guestroom headboard furniture together. Of course he did the usual which is driving me everywhere I need to go (including the Cedar Sinai hospital an hour away!), getting me take-out food that I crave, cleaning the bathroom which is always important every week, etc... He certainly always made sure that I wasn't lifting more than 5 lbs which is not a hospital/surgery rule that I have to follow (I think I pretended that I couldn't remember that one...). Yesterday morning Al thankfully went to LAX to pick up my next house guest- Jodi.
During Al's visit, I had the energy and excitement to head to Disney for New Years Eve. I was excited because my step-brother Cliff and his wife Christina wanted to come as well... The 4 of us realized that getting a New Years Eve Disneyland tickets would be a miracle! Apparently we would have to get there by 10 AM to get a ticket and pretty much stay in the park all day! Obviously I'm not that energetic at this point so that wasn't an option. We decided to get there around 5:30 PM to get that miracle.... it didn't happen! Apparently, even the people with tickets that left the park mid-day couldn't get back in that evening/night because the park was PACKED!!! Can you believe it? So, we spent several hours walking through the Downtown Disney area which is free and right next to Disneyland. It's full of Disney type stores, bars, restaurants and lots of outdoor musicians so it was interesting. We realized that it would be a nice "rest" (most likely for me I'm guessing...) to go to the movies while we were in there. We ended up seeing the Night in the Museum movie with Ben Stiller.... it was easy to watch and made me laugh (always a good thing!).
Jodi and I are back to our usual stuff! She came yesterday morning and we talked for hours and planned what we would do while she's here... okay, I mean, we planned on what Jodi could do for me! But, Jodi is so surprised and happy that I am acting like I usually do except that I can't drive my own car... Or, I don't usually need to go to a doctor every day..... But, I like to eat out, I like to walk around the mall, I like to talk, and I like to organize stuff in the house! Of course she knows my rules (I'm guessing Al told her during her ride here from LAX...) of no lifting more and 5 lbs and no bending over and putting my head down low. Interestingly enough, Jodi needed a nap yesterday afternoon but of course I did stuff around the house during that nap of hers... I think I was just so happy to have her here for her visit so I was wide awake with energy!
Stay tuned for the details on the remainder of Jodi's visit. My friend Anita will get here tomorrow and will be staying here for a week.... hhhhhm, I wonder what will be on her "to-do" list???
Love,
Deb
Happy 2007 everyone! It seems like I haven't written in a long time, but I guess technically it's only been a week... obviously I've done a lot this past week! I think I'll try to type several times per week since I am feeling better, my word finding is getting better and I always want to read "comments" from you folks :-) I always log on daily to see what you guys say too!!!! I know several of you thought either Mohawk or mullet would be my next hair style, but I'm hopeful that it won't be... I actually have lots of hair loss areas but thankfully they are covered by the other hair- THANKFULLY! Also, thank you so much for the sympathy for my Gram's passing on...
I'm on week 4 of chemo and radiation... I counted the number of days that I have left this morning since I am getting antsy to get back into my normal routine (and of course I can't wait to go get Radar from the Briard Rescue place in AZ). So, there are 13 days of radiation left (Thank God, I really need to keep more hair!) and 19 days of this chemo dose left....BUT, chemo will continue for a full year. It will be dosed for 5 days then I'll have 25 days off ...... the one tough thing is that it's a double type dose! Every now and then I still get nausea and occasionally I have to vomit once a day. It's not something that I now know how to prevent, but I'm sure it's just to slow me down and make me lay on the couch, get some rest, or nap!!! Obviously my energy seems to be coming back (not sure why, but I'll take it!). I think it's a little shocking for the doctors, but I definitely make them laugh and smile so its not a bad thing I guess :-)
Tomorrow I have to go and see a Neurologist (Dr. Chow) at Cedar Sinai... I think it's since I am still on the anti-seizure medication Keppra. As you can imagine, I am hoping to get a few positive answers to my questions... (1) I want to know if I can drive my Honda Element again even though I am on an anti-seizure medication!!! Don't be jealous that I have that (okay, I know that nobody likes the Honda Element but I couldn't resist to say that!!!)! (2) plus I want to know if I can get back onto my Allegra for my allergies... East Coasters: don't be jealous that flowers, grass and outside plants still bloom in California during the winter!
Yesterday evening, Al went back home to CT. Al's visit was great! He has done so much that was on "the list" like painting my bedroom furniture, putting up the new door for the master bathroom, and putting the guestroom headboard furniture together. Of course he did the usual which is driving me everywhere I need to go (including the Cedar Sinai hospital an hour away!), getting me take-out food that I crave, cleaning the bathroom which is always important every week, etc... He certainly always made sure that I wasn't lifting more than 5 lbs which is not a hospital/surgery rule that I have to follow (I think I pretended that I couldn't remember that one...). Yesterday morning Al thankfully went to LAX to pick up my next house guest- Jodi.
During Al's visit, I had the energy and excitement to head to Disney for New Years Eve. I was excited because my step-brother Cliff and his wife Christina wanted to come as well... The 4 of us realized that getting a New Years Eve Disneyland tickets would be a miracle! Apparently we would have to get there by 10 AM to get a ticket and pretty much stay in the park all day! Obviously I'm not that energetic at this point so that wasn't an option. We decided to get there around 5:30 PM to get that miracle.... it didn't happen! Apparently, even the people with tickets that left the park mid-day couldn't get back in that evening/night because the park was PACKED!!! Can you believe it? So, we spent several hours walking through the Downtown Disney area which is free and right next to Disneyland. It's full of Disney type stores, bars, restaurants and lots of outdoor musicians so it was interesting. We realized that it would be a nice "rest" (most likely for me I'm guessing...) to go to the movies while we were in there. We ended up seeing the Night in the Museum movie with Ben Stiller.... it was easy to watch and made me laugh (always a good thing!).
Jodi and I are back to our usual stuff! She came yesterday morning and we talked for hours and planned what we would do while she's here... okay, I mean, we planned on what Jodi could do for me! But, Jodi is so surprised and happy that I am acting like I usually do except that I can't drive my own car... Or, I don't usually need to go to a doctor every day..... But, I like to eat out, I like to walk around the mall, I like to talk, and I like to organize stuff in the house! Of course she knows my rules (I'm guessing Al told her during her ride here from LAX...) of no lifting more and 5 lbs and no bending over and putting my head down low. Interestingly enough, Jodi needed a nap yesterday afternoon but of course I did stuff around the house during that nap of hers... I think I was just so happy to have her here for her visit so I was wide awake with energy!
Stay tuned for the details on the remainder of Jodi's visit. My friend Anita will get here tomorrow and will be staying here for a week.... hhhhhm, I wonder what will be on her "to-do" list???
Love,
Deb
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