Cold... COLD!

I am SUCH a wimp when it comes to cold.  And tonight's low should be around 32.  My sisters went through the farmland wrapping up the produce.  I would hate to see my artichokes freeze to death before I could even eat one. :)  And I really, really want that red cabbage to survive!

Tomorrow I have a meeting and I want to be there in person, so I am going to head in to the plant, and then have lunch with my friend Annette at the cafeteria.  You know, I couldn't do this without my trusty scooter.  Mine is an older version than the one pictured, but you get the idea.  The battery weighs more than any other part of the vehicle.  Thank goodness I have that lift on the back of the Equinox.. oh and thank you, too, General Motors!

Today was wonderful, despite the cold.  I got quite a bit accomplished at work, and it's SO good to be stretching those little grey cells, as Poirot would call them.  It just felt so GOOD to interact with people in a way that not only challenges my brain, but delights my gregarious nature.

On the Cancer front, tomorrow morning is this round's last bunch of Xeloda, but not the last bunch forever.  My hands are happy, though, that they get a break for a week.  I'm going broke on hand lotion. :D

I almost forgot my Arixtra shot again, so I put a reminder on my calendar at work.  Shoot up at 1PM. :)  That might raise a few eyebrows.  Hehehe.

Does the weather have anything to do with the pain in my leg?  Yes, I had it in the summer, but I wonder if the cold weather exacerbates it.  I go to bed with a heating pad on it, but tonight I just might have to hit the Vicodin.  I can do it, if I sleep after I take it.  And just one doesn't seem to make me barf, but any more than that and it's good-bye to my stomach contents.

Yes, I am so happy to be working again.  I have this silly smile plastered to my face, even when it hurts to get up from a sit, I'm still happy.  I may grimace, but the smile comes right back.

Take care, everyone... keep warm, and be safe!

A New Week Begins

Today, I have a noon appointment to get my clotting factor measured.  I hope Dr. R. gets me set up at the Coumadin Clinic at Banner Baywood soon.  I'm almost out of veins to be tapped.


Tomorrow I'll see Dr. Fastenberg and we'll decide if I am well enough to return to my chemos.  Plus I want to see the final CT result for myself.  I'm so happy about the shrinkage of my adrenal gland tumor, and thankful for some good news for a change. :)


Nancy and I are going to make three-bean turkey chili for dinner tonight.  We're using black beans, kidneys and great northern beans.  Jane had made a bunch of sauteed veggies yesterday:  Asparagus, red onion, orange, yellow and red bell peppers and jalapenos.  We'll finish them off tonight.  Actually, I think they'd be great as a topper for the chili.


The turkey chili is a slow-cooker thing so we'll get that put together when we get home from the blood-letting.  It will make the house smell so good!


I'm feeling strong enough to take my walker to the lab today, rather than my scooter.  Even with the Handicapped parking space, their actual location withing the building they occupy is about as far in as you can get. :D  But I'm looking forward to walking on my own two feet.  Keep those blood clots at bay!!


Speaking of walking, I'm off to take a gander at my back garden.  It's nice and cool this morning, so I must take advantage of the temperature.


Love and hugs to all!

Phew!

Well, I feel like I just did 45 minutes on my NuStep, but in actuality, it was FIVE minutes.  You know, it took me almost two years to work up from seven minutes on no resistance, to 45 minutes at level three resistance.  With only 38% lung function, I was really doing very well.


Alas, during the heavy-duty chemo and radiation, it was hard enough to get out of bed most days, and so the NuStep got a little dusty.  But I don't want to let it STAY dusty.  I credit my NuStep with making me strong enough that I survived my chemo and radiation.  And now, I will just have to start building up my endurance again.  Yes, that last bout with bronchitis certainly didn't help.  


On the exciting news front, my scooter lift is going to be installed on Tuesday of next week!  Even better than that, GM has a program that reimburses you for adaptive and mobility devices installed on their cars, up to $1000.  THANK YOU, General Motors!  A friend once told me that somehow, any time she needed money for something important, she always found a way to get it.  This program through General Motors could not have come at a better time.


Despite the fact that we have already had our first 100 degree day, this week is supposed to be rather lovely.  But the wind was blowing and there was a fire in our neighborhood, and I had bit of an asthma episode.  Spring is really springing around here.  Although I am not allergic to orange blossoms, the things to which I *am* allergic seem to bloom at the same time as those orange blossoms...and thus, itchy eyes, and lots of wheezing.  Let's hear it for the ability to nebulize at home. :)


So, I shall try to work up to ... oh... ten minutes on the NuStep by the end of the month.  A woman's got to have goals.  Sweet dreams, all. :)

No Place Like....?

"There's no place like home!" says Dorothy Gayle in the "Wizard of Oz." Of course, most of us would agree. But I would also add that there's no place more engaging and invigorating than my place of work.

Yes, I worked at the plant today, and it made me very, VERY happy. There's a buzzing excitement everywhere you turn. We're making amazing, awesome products, and we're proud of them! The business is running incredibly well, and we're even more proud of that. We work hard, but we have fun because we have a business culture that makes it easy to voice opinions, share concepts and ideas, and not be afraid of being shot down.

It's funny because my doctors say people in my situation go on disability, or retire or just generally stop working. They find it amazing that I am fighting so hard to keep working. But how could I give up something that makes me so happy; something that buoys my spirit and invigorates me? Something that makes me feel productive! Something that challenges my brain and makes me feel alive.

Yeah, so I'm pretty giddy at the moment. I really needed to go to work today, and get charged up after yesterday's debacle. I took my scooter, and the ride over to Medical, at 6ish in the morning, was beautiful. Sunrise in the desert is a gift of nature. The colors were spectacular and the boat-tailed grackles were in full-on courtship mode, the male fluffing himself up and strutting about in front of his enamored female audience.

Of course, now that I have spent all day at work, I am exhausted. All that excitement, while enjoyable and wonderful, just wears me out. Tomorrow I'll telecommute and rest up. I'm one happy, lucky woman.

Live long and prosper, all! :)

Pet Scan Number Two.... Strike Two

UGH!  So, I have no idea what the heck happened today.  I got up, checked my glucose, which was 136.. not great, but nowhere NEAR 200, so I'm thinking we're in like Flynn.  


Alas, I get to Ironwood, and the tech takes my reading and we both gasp.  His meter reads 212.  WHAT THE ... FLOCK?  He says, we'll wait five minutes, and then test your other hand because... things happen.  I drink water and read my book.


Second reading, 220.  Is the stress of this whole situation making my glucose rise, because let me tell you, this whole enterprise is making me crazy:  it's demoralizing and frustrating as hell.  I have watched my glucose obsessively.  It's been fantastic since I got off the prednisone!  One last try, the tech says... we'll wait 15 minutes.


Third reading, 215... sorry, no scan for you today.  Ok, now I am so upset.  I make my sister drive me to Walgreens where I buy a new glucose meter.  I get home, prime it, and take a reading... 150.  Again, WTF?  So, I get out my regular meter, and test again.... 148.  This is driving me mad.  I don't know what to do!  My meters are fine; I use the control solution to check 'em out.  My test strips don't expire until 2012, so they are fine.  Apparently, my blood does not want another PET Scan.  But, I do, and so... we'll wait a week and try again.  And try again if that fails and if it does... then we'll keep trying.  


If I were laissez faire about compliance, then I would understand, but I am not.  (Insert very tired sigh here.)


But tomorrow, I am going in to the plant to work!  We've got my scooter all charged up and ready to hit the road.  I've got my Chevy guy working on getting me a class three hitch so that Mobility Center can install a lift for my scooter and then... the world is my oyster!  I'll be able to go anywhere BY MYSELF!  Muahahahahah.  But tomorrow, Nancy and Jane are driving me to work so that they can get the scooter out of my car for me.  Then they'll come get me after work.  Hopefully, this will be the only time they have to do this.


Must remember that I am supposed to report to Medical before I can actually go do some work.  I will show them that I am, once again... STRONG LIKE BULL!