More Wind

It is Tuesday and the Chinook winds are blowing downslope once more. We have 20-30mph winds again with gusts over 40mph. The winds contributed to Sharon's bad day yesterday. Yes, she had a very bad travel day.

I dropped Sharon off at the Denver airport at 6:00 a.m. on Monday. They boarded her plane late because of bad winds. Then when they finally left, they turned around and came back to the gate because one of the engines was not idling correctly. After hours of excuses and work, Sharon said they unloaded bags from the plane and rebooked her on a 5:00 a.m. Tuesday flight. She got it changed to a 2:15 p.m. flight Monday, but that was delayed as well. Last night at 8:25 p.m. she texted me from Milwaukee. They were diverted. She finally made it to Chicago at about 10:00 p.m. and stayed at the airport Hilton. Bad, bad day. She should have been in Norfolk, Virginia by at least 4:00 p.m. on Monday. She is just arriving there as I write this Tuesday morning. Her bag is on its way to LaGuardia and won't be in Norfolk until this evening.

I on the other hand did little or nothing all day long after taking Sharon to the airport. My body told me to lay low and I listened. The chemo is slowing me down, though I do not feel fatigued, just slow. I'm thinking I will be able to do more today. The only thing on my list though is shower, dishes, pick up the house, and income taxes.

I feel a need to update on chemo symptoms. Except for the incident Sunday evening when I got lightheaded and suddenly hot, I have had not other issues the past couple of days. Dr. Kamdar cut ack on Vincristine this last cycle, and I have had no noticeable worsening of neuropathy. That is a big deal. My appetite continues to be good and my taste buds are mostly there. Food is appealing and I am eating. My energy level is low but as I said above, I am not fatigued. Overall, halfway through this chemo I feel I am still tolerating it very well.

Yesterday the wind blew all of the seeds out of our bird feeder. And, with the winds blowing again today I will not refill it. The red wing blackbirds are not happy. They have been hanging around, waiting.

 

 

Windy Monday

The Longmont weather forecast for today calls for 25-25 mph winds with gust to 40. I believe it! I drove Sharon to the airport this morning and on the return trip, driving north on I-25, there was debris blowing across the road, big trucks were weaving, and many cars seemed to have a hard time going in a straight line. The Camaro handled it well. That thing is planted on four huge tires.

John sent me a picture last night, we shaved his head and looks pretty darn good. I think I've got more hair than he does now, and I need a shave.

 

Yesterday was a good day - mostly. Sharon and I went to breakfast at City Cafe and then hit the Home Depot for some yard items. When we got home I was tired and took at nap then chilled for a while. We made a trip to Safeway for a prescription renewal and some dinner items, then back home. I laid down on the couch and caught another short nap. Chris and Amanda came over for dinner. Chris brought and prepared a vegetable dish, Sharon made a nice salad and a loaf of bread and I made polenta and baked two branzini on the grill. Everything was delicious. We did put Chris to work filleting and serving the branzini. He can't come over without us putting him to work in the kitchen. About the end of dinner I had to go upstairs and lay down. I suddenly got very warm, started sweating, and got light headed. Perhaps the wine and not enough water? I felt better later and am feeling fine today. I suppose I just need to learn to take everything more slowly. 

 

A Beautiful Weekend

The sunrise yesterday morning was beautiful and the day progressed to beings mostly clear blue skies with a few clouds for interest. We got up to 70º here in Longmont which made for a good time to be outside and driving with the top down. In the morning Sharon pulled weeds in the back yard and I watered plants and fiddled with the pond. Somewhere in the piping between the pond skimmer and the falls there is a leak, I could not easily find it yesterday, but will investigate more today.

Last night we had neighbors Jerry and LEslie over for dinner. We had flounder, salad, and bread that were each delicious. We bought two whole flounders at Whole Foods and had them filet them. We took home the carcass and Sharon made some lovely fish stock! I cooked the flounder filets on the gas grill on the flat top and seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper. That was all they needed and they were delicious. 

On the chemo report for this weekend, I am tolerating this week's treatment very well. Very little bone pain from the Neulasta and minor abdomen soreness from the chemo. My energy level was good until about 2:00 or so yesterday then I kinda crashed. I slept well last night, put was on the pee run all night long again. Two nights in a row on the 1/2 hour to hour pee schedule. I believe it is my body getting rid of the liters of chemo pumped in this week. My hair is falling out, but slowly, except for the side of my head I usually sleep on.

A Coke Afternoon

Losing It 

Shelby's Rough Life

Key Holder Project

Morning Cafe Con Leche

 

Cycle 2 Day 3

It is the morning of day three and I am feeling pretty darn well. Yesterday was tough but by the evening and after having a comfortable meal of chuck roast and mashed potatoes, thanks to Sharon's excellent culinary skills, I slept well and woke up feeling great. I have been busy this morning puttering around on different projects. We will head for the hospital this afternoon for another dose of Cyclophosphamide. Goody, goody!

 

Day 3 continued...

 

It went well, and we were in and out pretty quickly - about 2 1/2 hours. The only hitch was with the IV that they inserted Tuesday and left in. It was fine on Wednesday but the nurse could not get a good blood return on Thursday.  That meant starting another IV, no big deal but it did slow us down some. During the infusion I noticed short white hairs on my black t-shirt. My hair is beginning to fall out but slowly so far. I was moving slower after my session today, and peeing more. A little nausea when I got home but I have drugs. We picked up some dinner from Whole Foods and brought it home and I ate well - even had some ice cream for dessert. Last night I slept well except for having to pee every hour.

 

Sharon has pointed out the I was getting Etoposide today. I was confused. I am not getting straight R-CHOP but R-CHOEP or R-CHOP Plus Etoposide. CHOEP: Cyclophosphamide, Hydroxydaunorubicin, Oncovin, Etoposide, Prednisone. Throw in some Rituximab and you've got it.

Cycle 2 Day 2

Quirky Birds

 

One page of my watercolor bird experiments. I am finding my watercolor style, and it does seem to be somewhat quirky. I'll see what develops over time.

 

Last night was rough one, I was sleepy and tired but couldn't sleep. My left hip was aching and I could not get comfortable. I have had this off and on for quite a while but normally when my hip hurts, two or three ibuprofen do the trick. My chemo team does not want me taking ibuprofens but rather acetaminophen which does not do as good a job on muscle and joint aches and pains. I tossed and turned an sometimes slept for a few minutes and then was up walking around. I tried Salonpas which helped for a while, then pain relief cannabis cream which helped for a while. I didn't want an Ativan because that seemed to be too much. I kept watching the clock until 5:00 - my target. I was soon downstairs drinking apple juice and cafe con leche. Don't you love reading this stuff? It does me good to get it out.

 

Chemo was at 7:40 this morning and we left the house at about 6:30 for a very uneventful drive - I drove today because I wanted something to do! In yesterday's blog entry I said today would be an easy day, and it would have been if I wasn't so wiped from having so little sleep. The infusion itself went well but I was done in by the end of it and hit a wall walking to the car - shortness of breath and no energy. I have been out of sorts this afternoon but I have gotten a couple of naps in. My side effects today are and increase in neuropathy in my fingers, a bit of nausea, and generally not feeling great. Drugs are available for all of those. Sharon was most amused when I was watching Rachel Maddow on my iPad and she heard it play about 5 times. She looking at me at the dining room table with my head hanging down and sound asleep. I don't think I caught any of Rachel. I got out of the house for a few today, riding with Sharon to the gas station and the car wash. Riding home in the snow yesterday afternoon really trashed the Jeep. Months ago we signed up for unlimited car washes and have not regretted the decision.

 

Time to paint.

Chemo Round Two

Not a good night last night as I am still suffering the aches and pains from the joint and muscle issues from the weekend. I am feeling better now - but 7 1/2 hours in the infusion chair didn't help. I need to move around and being hooked up to an IV is not terribly conducive to movement.

Today was day one of cycle two of the R-CHOP chemo. Except for the above mentioned aches and pains I am doing OK. Our 7 1/2 hour day in the chair include two hours round trip commute time driving the 50 miles each way to the hospital. It went really quickly for me this morning because I slept most of the way. Luckily Sharon was driving. About half of our drive home was in snow along 470, pretty much from when we got on 470 until we got off. I wasn't bad but was sticking on the roadway. Sharon and the Jeep took it in stride. Definitely not Camaro weather.  Notice all the hair on my arm! It hasn't taken it yet, though you can see on my head where it is slowly disappearing.

Tomorrow we start at 7:40 AM and should only be done in about 2 1/2 hours. Cyclophosphamide. An easy day.

Ouch!

Yes ouch! I have had a tough and painful few days. Friday I was just in general malaise, not feeling right. But during the night into Saturday morning I started hurting. First it was my fingers, then my wrists, and when I woke it moved to my elbows and then my shoulders. I was hurting and IBUs and Tylenols did little to help. By the evening it had moved to my hips and my knees. Sharon made chicken soup for me but I couldn't eat. I just wanted to lay on my back in bed and that is what I did. I was able to sleep off and on and at 12:30 AM I hit the serious drugs and took an Ativan. That allowed me to sleep, but I could not turn over or do much moving at all, on my back was about the only solution. I woke up and took another Ativan at 6:30 AM and got a little more sleep in. Sharon and I reasoned that the pain was caused by inflammation and perhaps histamines and I doubled and tripled down on anti inflammatory drugs. Allegra, Claritin, and finally 100mg of Prednisone. These combined with IBUs and Tylenols made the day bearable but I was in pain. My shoulders were the worst and on a pain scale of 1-10 I gave them an 8. By Sunday night I was moving better but not normally. I was able to sleep Sunday night and roll onto my side - a big improvement. But Monday morning revealed that the pain had moved from my joints to my muscles. Arms, legs, fingers etc. All were experiencing muscle pain. I really slowed me down, but I found that movement helped and that is what I did - move around.

We drove to Aurora today for blood test and a visit with Dr. Kamdar. My blood test all looked to and I am a "go" for chemo tomorrow. She was not concerned with my pains and felt they were a normal but a delayed reaction to the chemo. I was lectured about taking the prednisone - I shouldn't have done that. In the future I am to call the hot line and talk to a nurse practitioner. She will cut back on the vincristine by 25% because I am having neuropathy symptoms. Thanks for that. I got the feeling that the next three rounds of chemo could be worse, but I am still positive and hoping for the best.