Sunday, November 30, 2008
Oh, Man, My Sister and I Do Have Way Too Much Time
Here's what my sister visiting + kids napping + cold weather + nothing on TV =
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thoughts on a Saturday...
Good Morning, friends.
I'm just sitting here on the computer on a cool Saturday morning. Jon has taken the kids to his sister's house for breakfast so that I could sleep in. Sadly, since I go to work at 5 am, 7:40 IS sleeping in. So, I'm up sitting on the computer and catching up on my reading that I have ignored for the past two months.
I can't believe how time has flown by. We would just go week to week with this chemo thing. Week one, chemo in hospital/doctor's office. This was immediately followed by nights of vomiting and waking up every two hours for diaper changes. Week two, Eva crashes. Maybe another hospital stay/transfusion, maybe not. Week three. Normalcy. That week went by fast. Then, back again to chemo and start over.
Meanwhile, trying to maintain my work and Jack. Pretty much all free time was at home with family and in bed by 8. As it should be, I guess.
We made leaf piles, went to the State Fair, baked cupcakes, rode bikes, played hide and seek, had dance parties.... Now that I think about it, maybe it was not so bad, after all. I mean, except for the vomiting, weakness, hair loss, extreme diaper rash and hospitalizations, maybe having a Fall at home was ok.
Back to today. I have nothing planned for today at all. It has been so long since I've been faced with a Saturday with NO plans. No soccer, no birthday parties, nothing. My work email is even down for the next two days due to maintenance. I can't even do that!
As a matter of fact, my biggest decision that I have to make right now is whether or not to eat the awesome stuffing my husband made for Thanksgiving for breakfast cold or hot. Oh, and sweet potatoes, they are like hash browns, right? Anyone want to weigh in?
I'm just sitting here on the computer on a cool Saturday morning. Jon has taken the kids to his sister's house for breakfast so that I could sleep in. Sadly, since I go to work at 5 am, 7:40 IS sleeping in. So, I'm up sitting on the computer and catching up on my reading that I have ignored for the past two months.
I can't believe how time has flown by. We would just go week to week with this chemo thing. Week one, chemo in hospital/doctor's office. This was immediately followed by nights of vomiting and waking up every two hours for diaper changes. Week two, Eva crashes. Maybe another hospital stay/transfusion, maybe not. Week three. Normalcy. That week went by fast. Then, back again to chemo and start over.
Meanwhile, trying to maintain my work and Jack. Pretty much all free time was at home with family and in bed by 8. As it should be, I guess.
We made leaf piles, went to the State Fair, baked cupcakes, rode bikes, played hide and seek, had dance parties.... Now that I think about it, maybe it was not so bad, after all. I mean, except for the vomiting, weakness, hair loss, extreme diaper rash and hospitalizations, maybe having a Fall at home was ok.
Back to today. I have nothing planned for today at all. It has been so long since I've been faced with a Saturday with NO plans. No soccer, no birthday parties, nothing. My work email is even down for the next two days due to maintenance. I can't even do that!
As a matter of fact, my biggest decision that I have to make right now is whether or not to eat the awesome stuffing my husband made for Thanksgiving for breakfast cold or hot. Oh, and sweet potatoes, they are like hash browns, right? Anyone want to weigh in?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Happy End of Chemo Day!
Just some shots of tonight's celebration. Thank you so much to my father-in-law who made the MOST incredible meal! All my favorites: Oyster loaf, BBQ shrimp, gumbo, shrimp and crab salad.... ahh... This was followed by the No More Chemo Celebration!
My Blog Type
My BFF, Jana, over at PoetMom had this link and I went ahead to check my blog type.
ESFP - The Performers
The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.
I gotta say, just as Jana says, I am my blog. Maybe minus the plan ahead part, two kids, you gotta stay ahead of things. But I sure am exhausted.
ESFP - The Performers
The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.
I gotta say, just as Jana says, I am my blog. Maybe minus the plan ahead part, two kids, you gotta stay ahead of things. But I sure am exhausted.
No More Medicine!
Here's a shot of Eva today at the doctor's office. Today was day 3 of Round 4 or THE LAST DAY OF CHEMO!!!!!!
Today, when the nurse de-accessed her port, Eva looked at her and said, "No more medicine?" I said, "NO! NO MORE MEDICINE!!"
Now, I know how these things go. We may be right back here doing chemo again in January but for now, we are finished for the foreseeable future and that is worth celebrating!!!!
Break out the champagne!
Way to go Super Eva!!!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Back from the Great Unknown
Well, here I am sitting in the doctor's office. Eva is asleep in the crib next to me. We are on Day 1 of our fourth round of chemo. If all goes well, this will be the last round we'll ever need. Obviously, someone up above has his own plans but here's to hoping!
It has been so long since I've updated my blog on a regular basis. To be honest, I'm just exhausted. I go to work at this insane hour, work 11 hr days five days per week, and then go to bed around 8pm every night. I've also had family in town for Eva so when I am home and up late, I'm just with them. Excuses, excuses, I guess. Time to get back on the train.
Also, since my Dyda passed away, I've just not been feeling very creative. I miss him terribly. That week was such a blur with Eva in the hospital with an infected port. I figured out that I slept in seven different beds in 10 days. When I got back from Virginia from the funeral, that first night, I freaked out when Jon came to bed. I thought I was in a hotel room by myself and had no idea why this MAN was climbing into bed!!! YIKES!!!
As Jon wrote last week, Eva is doing great. She is just the funniest and happiest person you can meet. Today, we're here and SAVED by my dear cousins who sent Eva her very own Imagination Movers DVD that they taped from the television. We're all Movers all the time and having 10 episodes at our disposal makes quite the happy child. THANK YOU BROWDERS!
Jack is also fine. Just his usual hyper, hilarious, outgoing self. Nothing really to write about him.
Anyway, that's the quick update on us. I've also finally gotten our house wireless so Jon and I can BOTH work at the same time (YEAH) and not have to work in the kitchen attached to the wall. That alone was a drain on creativity!
I hope you are all well. More to come. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers!
It has been so long since I've updated my blog on a regular basis. To be honest, I'm just exhausted. I go to work at this insane hour, work 11 hr days five days per week, and then go to bed around 8pm every night. I've also had family in town for Eva so when I am home and up late, I'm just with them. Excuses, excuses, I guess. Time to get back on the train.
Also, since my Dyda passed away, I've just not been feeling very creative. I miss him terribly. That week was such a blur with Eva in the hospital with an infected port. I figured out that I slept in seven different beds in 10 days. When I got back from Virginia from the funeral, that first night, I freaked out when Jon came to bed. I thought I was in a hotel room by myself and had no idea why this MAN was climbing into bed!!! YIKES!!!
As Jon wrote last week, Eva is doing great. She is just the funniest and happiest person you can meet. Today, we're here and SAVED by my dear cousins who sent Eva her very own Imagination Movers DVD that they taped from the television. We're all Movers all the time and having 10 episodes at our disposal makes quite the happy child. THANK YOU BROWDERS!
Jack is also fine. Just his usual hyper, hilarious, outgoing self. Nothing really to write about him.
Anyway, that's the quick update on us. I've also finally gotten our house wireless so Jon and I can BOTH work at the same time (YEAH) and not have to work in the kitchen attached to the wall. That alone was a drain on creativity!
I hope you are all well. More to come. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
A Note from Jon
This was sent from my hubby yesterday. Thought it summed things up nicely.
Eva had a “check under the hood” appointment today, and all is well. Her blood counts are excellent, and she’s even gaining weight, hitting 28.2 lbs. We are good to go for Round 4 of chemo starting Monday. It will be 3 days of chemo, then 3 weeks of recovery. In mid-December, we will do an MRI to assess the tumor and our next steps. Options include:
1. More chemo
2. Surgery to remove the tumor
3. Nothing (MRIs every so often to watch and see)
I must say the farther we go, the more I am impressed by how damn tough Eva is becoming. When they stabbed her to take blood today, she didn’t cry, wince, jerk her hand, nothing. Stone cold face, watching intensely as the blood drops went into the vial. Man, maybe others would say, “so what, that’s normal”, but it gets me every time.
Eva had a “check under the hood” appointment today, and all is well. Her blood counts are excellent, and she’s even gaining weight, hitting 28.2 lbs. We are good to go for Round 4 of chemo starting Monday. It will be 3 days of chemo, then 3 weeks of recovery. In mid-December, we will do an MRI to assess the tumor and our next steps. Options include:
1. More chemo
2. Surgery to remove the tumor
3. Nothing (MRIs every so often to watch and see)
I must say the farther we go, the more I am impressed by how damn tough Eva is becoming. When they stabbed her to take blood today, she didn’t cry, wince, jerk her hand, nothing. Stone cold face, watching intensely as the blood drops went into the vial. Man, maybe others would say, “so what, that’s normal”, but it gets me every time.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Ahhhhh!!!
I can't believe that a week has gone by since last I posted! I have so much to write but just no time or energy to do it. I promise that tonight, I'll go to bed early and get some rest so that tomorrow night, I can do a proper post.
THAT SAID!
Here's where we are:
Had round 3 of chemo last week. Finally saw the pictures of the MRI. The tumor that was four inches long has been reduced to one inch!!!! The other tumor is GONE! This is just after two rounds of chemo. We have two more!
Got through all the vomiting with this round. All went well. Her counts are up so we're coasting a bit for the next two weeks (hopefully...please God?) and then the final round the week of Thanksgiving.
Ok, have to run, I'm fading FAST. These 5am work days are tough!
THAT SAID!
Here's where we are:
Had round 3 of chemo last week. Finally saw the pictures of the MRI. The tumor that was four inches long has been reduced to one inch!!!! The other tumor is GONE! This is just after two rounds of chemo. We have two more!
Got through all the vomiting with this round. All went well. Her counts are up so we're coasting a bit for the next two weeks (hopefully...please God?) and then the final round the week of Thanksgiving.
Ok, have to run, I'm fading FAST. These 5am work days are tough!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Markedly Decreased
Well, I'm pretty sure that when you see the words "markedly decreased" on an MRI report, it is good news!!! YIPPEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Neither the doctor nor we have seen the actual pictures yet. We won't see them until Thursday but the doctor says that he very rarely sees those words on a radiology report.
So, we're proceeding as planned to finish this chemo!!! This is the best possible news that we could have ever hoped for.
Jon and I have one of the child life specialists coming to watch Eva while we go vote for a bit. But we are just flying high....
Neither the doctor nor we have seen the actual pictures yet. We won't see them until Thursday but the doctor says that he very rarely sees those words on a radiology report.
So, we're proceeding as planned to finish this chemo!!! This is the best possible news that we could have ever hoped for.
Jon and I have one of the child life specialists coming to watch Eva while we go vote for a bit. But we are just flying high....
Monday, November 03, 2008
Round 3
Greetings, again, from our home away from home, Medical City, also known as the chocolate thunder cake lovefest. We're here for our third round of chemo until Wednesday.
It has been quite a ten days. When I have time tomorrow, I'll write a confession to try to summarize.
The big news for us is that Eva just had an MRI to determine if the chemo is working. If it is, we'll keep plugging along. If not, well, I don't know what we'll do. We'll find out the results tomorrow. I can only hope for the best but to be honest, it is a bit nerve racking to have all the MRI techs look at you with their cocked heads and furrowed brows and say, "Oooh, best of luck to you. She's on our prayer list." That can't be good.
Oh, and in other news, they cultured Eva's port on Friday and it grew something again! She seems perfectly healthy so they think it might be contaminated. Here's to hoping.
Longer post tomorrow when I get back after voting!!!!
It has been quite a ten days. When I have time tomorrow, I'll write a confession to try to summarize.
The big news for us is that Eva just had an MRI to determine if the chemo is working. If it is, we'll keep plugging along. If not, well, I don't know what we'll do. We'll find out the results tomorrow. I can only hope for the best but to be honest, it is a bit nerve racking to have all the MRI techs look at you with their cocked heads and furrowed brows and say, "Oooh, best of luck to you. She's on our prayer list." That can't be good.
Oh, and in other news, they cultured Eva's port on Friday and it grew something again! She seems perfectly healthy so they think it might be contaminated. Here's to hoping.
Longer post tomorrow when I get back after voting!!!!
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