L.C. plays with the camera lens.

After the last post the kitties have only gotten one more mouse (that we know of.) L.C. has learned to open the cabinet under the kitchen sink. She can go in at willl to wait for a dumb mouse to come out.

The week is winding down and chemo is on Wednesday. I saw Dr. Kozuh this he and told him that during the last chemo I was on the verge of vomiting and was having a really tough time getting through the infusion. This week they will give me Ativan as part of the infusion which should effectively knock me out. I am also adding an additional anti-nausea drug and breathing cinnamon oil in a mask. I WILL make it through two more chemo treatments.

My fingernails are worse this week - with three of them on the verge of coming off. They are almost separated from the nail bed all the way down. Ow!

Last night I went over to the bistro with a bottle of Champagne. I didn't want to spend another eveing just sitting at home. Sharon came out of the kitchen and joined me for bubbly and onion soup then went back to work. This short evening out was good - did not tire me too much and it got me out of the pattern of work, home, work, home.

Two more chemo sessions and we will stop pumping poison into my body.

Two mice in one night! Our mousers were busy last night. They got one around 1:00am and the next around 6:00am. I took care of the early one, while I was in the bathroom L.C. brought the mouse in to show me. It was done by then. When I tried to take it from her she picked it up and headed to the dining room. I had to hold her to get the mouse.

Sharon took care of the 6:00am mouse. It was still going when she scooped it up in Tupperware and took it outside.

Because Sharon still has a cold we slept in separate bedrooms again. No fun! Both of us had sleep issues (other than mice.) The cats are happy because they now have their choice of occupied beds.

I went to work Friday and made it almost two hours. I felt a need to be there to check in a cigar shipment. Also, inventory is on Sunday and I wanted to get some preliminaries taken care of. I will be there on Sunday for inventory. I am so dedicated!

I am feeling pretty well today. Minimal nausea, a bit of fatigue, and tender fingernails are my major complaints. I've had much worse this round, so these symptoms are good in comparison.

The view out the back door - where I want to be - outdoors. Today is better than the past two. I am dressed and ready to go to work, though here I sit still in the house. Sharon is sick now with a cold. We slept in separate rooms last night because she does not want to share her cold with me.

Lee and Pat came over yesterday and put up some storm windows and insulated a door for us. Good peeps! Now I need to enlist him to help with getting snow tires on the Miata.

Shelby enjoying the warmth of the radiator. I wish I could have relaxed like that today - though I did nap a couple of times.

Chemo was tough today - the anti-nausea drugs today was not enough to overcome the chemicals pumped into my body. Last week was bad because I went into chemo feeling bad, and I struggled with tastes and smells during the infusion, but today was over the top. I was breathing through a tissue to try to avoid smells, but there is little to do about the tastes. I almost lost it more than once during the infusion and then a couple of times on the way home. This is a red box day.

Have I explained red box days? We keep a calender of this experience, trying to make sense of it. Days that were hard get red boxes. Thus, today is a red box day. I would rather have no cares like Shelby.

Yesterday I visited with Dr. Kozuh. I told him I was having a harder time with chemo and did not want to keep going. He said I was 80% through, only had three sessions to go, and studies show that when doctors listen to patients and hold back on treatment, outcomes are worse. So, I continue for three more sessions of pumping poison into my body.

Because Dr. Kozuh is shutting down his practice mid-December he has recommended a number of doctors for followup. I asked him, if it was him who would he go to. I could not pin him down on a single doctor. he did lean toward the ones at what I call the "Cancer Factory" (look back to the early posts if you want to know how they got that name.) I just have to pick someone and set an appointment. I can expect followup scans every six months for the next five years. Odd though that Kozuh said PET-CT scans because he said that false positives were fairly common with Hodgkin's patients after the first couple of scans.

Today I am feeling pretty good, though it is early! My biggest problem the past couple of days has been fatigue. Last night I had a bad taste in my mouth and was tired, but other than that felt well (well enough to have a small cigar and a glass of cognac.) Sharon brought home halibut from Dan McCowan's seafood shop and some beurre blanc from the Bistro. Those items with rice makes for a tasty dinner.

I suppose I am getting used to my dry, senseless hands and my tender nails. I so want them back to normal. I have adapted in many ways. I keep thinking about my mother and how she had to deal with slowly losing the use of her left arm and having to do everything with one hand and I don't feel so sorry for myself and I admire her more for what she was able to accomplish.

An Arboretum picture for today. Our dry October has really hurt the fall colors. Many of the oak trees are simply drying out and dropping leaves - brown and dry. The maples are showing reds and yellows but not the oaks.

New chemo side effects - dizziness and vision issues. The dizziness and perhaps the vision both are related to the neuropathy. Damage to nerve cells has extended to my optic nerve and my inner ear. I'll talk to Dr. Kozuh about this on Wednesday.

Chemo this week was the pits. I didn't feel good going in, I felt worse going out. Wednesday was a red box day all the way around. Nausea was an issue all day and I was only comfortable when I was asleep.

Thursday morning's high point was constipation. Arghhhhh! I did go to work from noon until after 4, I don't know how I did it. Sheer determination I suppose. Sharon had a worse day than I did. She is so frustrated by this process she does not know what to do. Lee and Peg dropped by to pick Sharon up for a trip to an assisted living facility with the the dogs. Sharon had a good time with them - I think she needed out! I do too, but it takes a lot out of me.

Friday - the neuropathy in my hands is even worse than before. How can I have less feeling in my fingers and palms? How long will it take for my hands to recover? How long will it take all of me to recover? This just keeps getting harder and harder. This is another red box day between the nausea and the problems at the other end. Top and bottom!