February 20, 3009

Hi everyone, I have really neglected my blogging this week. As my life begins to return to a semi-normal state between treatments the rest of this year, my updates may become less frequent but as a minimum I will try to update weekly. On the plus side I made it back in my military uniform which was was the most concerned about!

Here are my Lab Updates from Tuesday, today's as you can see are still pending:
Date------Day----WBC----ANC--------Hgb--------PLT---- Transfusions
30 Jan---150-----2.8----1000---------10.4----------85------------N/A
2 Feb---153-----36.4----31700--------10.6---------131------------N/A
4 Feb---155-----3.9-----????---------9.9----------160------------N/A
6 Feb---157-----3.2-----1500---------10.0---------190------------N/A
9 Feb---160-----6.0-----4000---------11.8---------262------------N/A
12 Feb---163-----3.1----1810---------10.3---------257------------N/A
17 Feb---168-----2.3----1400----------9.4---------246------------N/A
20 Feb---171-----Pending

My (ANC) or neutraphil count is dropping along with my white blood cells. Aahh the timing of the drop sucks! Brandon has a little cough & runny/stuffy nose & the sneezes going on. I started feeling a little tickle in the back of my throat last night & I have been sneezing a little bit but not to bad. I did stop & get some cough drops on the way into the base today because Marc was really getting on me to do it. My head is a little achy & my throat is slightly sore but I still don't feel too bad. I went ahead & made Brandon wear a mask when we got home & I put on one as well. I am scared to death to get sick again. I asked Brandon if he was sick the other day & he said no, today when I picked them up from school he said he felt terrible & he is sick, but he still made me take him to practice & he has every intention to wrestle this weekend at the district tournament. I think it is a bad idea & I told him he was going to be to weak & get stomped he said he does not care, he is still going. Teenagers, you cannot tell them anything! (I would have never admitted this when I was a teenager)

This is a good picture of Katie & Paige. Katie's drwaing books she ordered finally arrived & the Sims game Sara ordered her arrived this week as well so she could not be happier. She pokes her head out of her room every now & then for food & when we call her, I expect she will be engrossed in these for a few weeks & it is going to be like pulling teeth to get her away from them to socialize LOL. Paige is still having some trouble; she got a detention this week for not participating in gym 3 times (dress cuts) & a few other things. Again I say teenagers when my hair does come back in I swear it is going to be all grey.

There was maybe one decent weather day last weekend & Zack could not stand being cooped up anymore so he made a beak for the trampoline. He thinks he is a tough guy to, just like his Bubby!

I survived a whole week working at the base. I completed all of My EMT re-certification paperwork & I have my new CPR card so I am good for a couple more years. It was a pretty small class so I had the time to sit & talk with my classmates & make new friendships. Although I will miss them I am glad I don't have to worry about my CPR & EMT anymore & that the week is over. The hardest part was getting up in the mornings. I really struggled with that. I am not normally a morning person anyway but it was even tougher than normal to get up out of bed however once I was up & had time to adjust I was fine. My evenings were not to bad either. I seemed to have a little more energy than normal at night but it was pretty short lived, as I would find myself in bed quite early for me.

I also noticed during the week that my brain capacity & function seems to be much improved. In the last 3 months I really was suffering from chemo brain quite frequently & could not process information in my normal way. This week there was a noticeable improvement; I even got a 100% on my EMT Exam. I could not even recall some of the basic EMT info a couple of months ago so I surprised myself.

Thank you Aunt Sue & Uncle David I got you card in the mail today. I continue to be so grateful for your very generous Chemo fund donations. You have donated so much already & we are very grateful. As everyone knows my treatment is not cheap & in January I unexpectedly became ill & was hospitalized for an additional 8 days that we had not anticipated, every donation helps so much.

I want to send a shout out to Debra Beck, look me up in face book & send me your e-mail. For that matter if anyone is trying to get a hold of you & me don’t have my e-mail face book is another good way to contact me. Debra used to be in the 445 AES with me, she found me again through the Buckeye Flyer, the WPAFB 445 Airlift Wings monthly newspaper. They did a wonderful article on me for the Blood drive my unit was sponsoring back at the beginning of the month & it also listed my Blog address.

I will try to update my Blog again on Monday, if my lab results come back before then I will post them sooner. I hope everyone enjoys the weekend & Thank you all for your continued support.