It was a dark and stormy morning....

Monday night, the coolest thing happened.

My brother, who was somehow required to drive his estranged wife and her kids from Chicagoland to Texas to tour a college campus (why her boyfriend or her parents couldn't do it, I have no clue), stopped by for a short visit.

By short, I mean an hour.

He finally got to see our house and meet our cats.  I got to take his new car for a test drive.

I just wish it could have been longer, and in the daylight, and that we could have had some time to show him around town a bit, like we have gotten to do with my sister and brother in law.

I've been up since 4-something this morning, but at least the steroids let me sleep for about 5 consecutive hours last night.

(The night of treatment, I slept for about 6 hours, in 2 blocks of 3 hours each, so it's going better with the lower dose of steroids.)

If I hadn't given up and gotten out of bed at 6 this morning, the thunder would have wakened me.

We are in for thunderstorms today, and they have already begun.  Thanks to the stupid time change, it isn't even light out yet.

I love the storms, though!!  Well, as long as the power stays on, of course.

A nice, rainy day lies ahead, with a pot of soup to make, and guitars to be played, and coloring to be done.  Sounds perfect!

Saw the doctor when I had my treatment on Friday, and he seemed very optimistic.

I have two more weekly treatments yet to go, and then the week after that, on April 1st, I will have my scan and results day.

When I had my "last" treatment in November, I had to wait a little over 2 weeks for scan day.  I am pleased that the wait this time is only a week.

The thing that excites me the most about the April 1st day, however, is that he wrote "Re-staging" on the paperwork.

Re-staging.

I would have noticed if that was on the paperwork in November, and it was not.

I have wondered all along if a person designated as stage 4 retains that status for ever.

Does it get changed from a stage to "remission" when treatment is 100% successful, or does it just get a new number, like Stage 1?

We will find out on April 1st.

Having my eyes on the prize (again), these next two weeks will be easier, no matter how bad the steroids hit me, no matter how bad the Abraxane side effects get, no matter if my eyelashes fall out.

Speaking of that, I am down to almost no eyebrows again, and half of the eyelashes are gone off of my left eye.  Sigh.

Not bothering to draw the brows on most days, since the newer glasses that I got in November sit right in front of them.

This, too, shall pass.

But I'm back to not liking to look at myself in the mirror again.

15 months of chemo has really effected how my skin looks, too.  Not just my face, but all over.  Probably from chronic dehydration.

I do my best to try to drink that recommended 64 oz of water a day, but when you're working, it's a damned pain the ass to have to get up and pee every 20 minutes all freaking day long.  As a result, I do not often succeed at reaching that 64 oz goal.

I'm hopeful that the further I get past the chemo finish line, the better I will start to look as well as feel.

Also, checked with the doc about continuing to take bone building supplements while also being treated long term with Zometa (the anti-osteoporosis drug that also cures bone cancer).  He said yes, so I will do so.

OH, and I FINALLY FINISHED the Game of Thrones books about a week ago!  I started reading them the weekend of my first treatment in January of 2015.  4750 pages... quite an accomplishment!

That's about it for this Sunday.  I think I will try to take a nap later.