Negative

 I finally tested negative for covid on Friday.  I will do another test today, as recommended in the test kit literature, to be sure I am truly clear of the virus.

Dave has stayed well, and is out of danger at this point. From me, anyway.

The other thing that came up negative for any indication of injury was the shoulder-blade-area ultrasound that I had on Thursday.

SO.  SOMETHING happened in there that caused me to have excruciating pain and internal blood loss, but, so far, we still don't know WHAT.

The big swelling is completely gone, now, the bruises are mostly gone, and most of the pain is gone as well.  It's just a bit sore, and gets weirdly uncomfortable if I do too much with my right arm, and after a full week of sitting at my desk, using my mouse.

Tonight will mark three weeks since the popping sound.

My nurse said that we might do a CT, or an MRI, if it gets bad again... Ugh.

Maybe my routine CT, to see if the chemo is working, will find something...anything... to explain what happened, so maybe it won't happen again!

We had some more lovely rain this past week, and the back yard weeds are going crazy!  I pulled some out of my gardening barrels yesterday (very careful not to hurt myself).  The soil was moist and loose, so they came out very easily.

I'm starting to think about what I want to do in the yard this year, and some of it involves possibly renting a roto-tiller.... or asking if our occasional yard guy can do it for us.

My wildflower mound, which was completely taken over by lambs quarters last year, needs to be cleared out, tilled, and re seeded....SOON.  We shall see.

Plans are coming together for a trip to Chicago next month to see my family, and to meet my Great Niece.

My doc has re arranged my treatment plan by one week so that we can be in Chicagoland at the same time as our dear friend, Cathy.  Hoping to arrange some time with her, though our schedules only match up for one full day.

Today is mostly about me finishing my weekly chores, maybe doing some spiritual work, and, hopefully, spending some time outdoors.

My next treatment is this coming Wednesday, so I will get my labs drawn on Tuesday.  Will be checking out the new-to-me walk in lab.

I'll also ask doc about when we need to do a scan, and when he wants me to go for my every-three-months echo cardiogram. 

Have a good week!

Addendum... NEGATIVE! 

Isolation, revisited

I've been sick all week, and...yep.... the 'Rona finally got into our house.

Thankfully, we are fully vaccinated, and my experience has not been severe.

It's just been like an enhanced, super-nasty head cold, with a headache, low grade fever, congestion, sore throat, a dry, hacking cough, and LOTS of earthquake sneezing.

Oh, and marked fatigue.

It started Monday night.

I thought I was just super fatigued because of the long day at work, followed by sitting in my car for two hours (I came out from my office day at work to find I had a flat tire, and it took for EVER for roadside assistance to show up).

Nope. It wasn't just fatigue.

Woke up in the night, feeling "that feeling" of coming down with something.

Tuesday was rough....but I worked through the day. Being able to work from home the rest of the week was DEFINITELY a plus.

Wednesday, too.... I did the test Wednesday, and BAM...there it was. Positive.

I think that allowed me to just say "SCREW THEIR RULES," and take a sick day to rest, so I took Thursday off.

I think I slept better during the day Thursday, than either of the previous nights. I used grocery delivery to bring me canned chicken noodle soup, and powerade, not wanting Dave to go out, either. It was cold and rainy...like, REALLY rainy.

The fever broke Thursday night, with the full body sweats. After that, I slept SO well, for about 3 hours!!

Worked through the day Friday, and was SO glad to clock out, knowing that I have the weekend to continue getting better.

Because of the positive test, I had to cancel two appointments this past week: my follow up chemo, for the missing medication (that I've gone without TWICE, now, because of supply issues)... and for ultrasound to investigate that injury around my ribs/right shoulder blade.

The ultrasound was supposed to be Friday, which was 12 days after the injury.

I've rescheduled the appointment, and now it will be 18 days.

The area where whatever happened-happened- is still stiff and sore, but I am pretty sure the hematoma will be completely gone by then.

The hematoma was the reason for the ultrasound, but I am hoping they can see what tore, and determine if it is healing properly.

Yay. I just hope surgery won't be recommended.

So... March has SUCKED for me, so far!!!

The good news is that Dave is FINE. If he is still fine tomorrow, he will have dodged the bullet.

And we can tell you, it's difficult to isolate in such a small house!

Oh, and a word of advice: don't let your phlebotomist hug you (over and over) if she isn't wearing a mask.

...and then, when she tells you, AFTER the hugging, that she's not vaccinated, you really should SAY SOMETHING.

(yes, I was masked, but I only had a procedure mask with me that day, and when those words came out of her mouth, my "stomach dropped" to the floor......UGH!! How can you be in that line of work, going LITERALLY face to face with people who have compromised health, and not be vaccinated? Or, at the VERY least, not wear a KN95 -or better- mask?)

I won't be seeing her again, as the walk-in lab location (that I have been going to for years) is closing. That was why she was hugging me.

That encounter is the only thing I can think of, in terms of where I picked up the virus, because we have been careful when out in public, doing errands, at work, etc.

In a way, I am glad to have gotten this over with. I figured it was inevitable, and now it's done.

Sure, I was anxious, however, I am impressed by my body's resilience. By its capability to process an "alien invasion," as a friend so accurately put it.

I am beyond grateful that the claims that the vaccine keeps patients out of the hospital were accurate, in my case.

I have been taking it really easy this weekend, so far. Slept until after 8 both mornings, and am feeling SO MUCH better.

I did some of my weekly chores yesterday, and rested after each one, and then cooked for the first time all week last night. It was tiring, but felt good to do. I'll finish the chores today, and will cook again tonight.

Took a 90 minute nap in the afternoon yesterday... which is almost unheard of, so I know I still have recovering to do.

This morning, there was no sore throat at all for the first time since Tuesday. Still no fever since it broke Thursday night.

I'm thinking that I will work from home tomorrow, and ask Dave to go get my work at the end of the day, again, like we did when I thought I had a broken rib. It's probably best to not go to the office so soon after being down with Covid.

Not sure what the office rules are on that, if there are any. Surely, there are-since there are rules about everything else.

It was 20 degrees this morning, and my daffodils are frozen. They did really well this year, though, so I am grateful to have been able to enjoy them before this happened.

Some of you may recognize most of this post from "the other place," if we are FB friends. It was easier for me to copy/paste/update that post that to write one from scratch.

Everyone have a good week, stay well, and welcome Spring!

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

This has been an.... interesting.... week.

We managed to re-do our taxes, and Dave found one tiny typographical error, in a letter code, and that changed the entire scenario.

We no longer owe more than we already pay, and will be getting a refund!

  

Hopefully, it will be enough to pay for a plumbing improvement that Dave has been wanting to do for the house.

In other news, last Sunday night, I rolled over in bed, and heard something pop in my rib cage.  It didn't really hurt at the time, but when I moved an hour or so later, there was excruciating pain in my ribs, right below my right shoulder blade.

I decided to work from home on Monday, because the pain was scary, and I was getting a bit of a swelling in the area.  

I messaged my nurse, and she ordered a walk-in x ray for me at the nearest hospital imaging center, so that I would not have to spend the day in the E/R.

I worked a half day, and then went to wait for the xray.  The good news was that there was no rib fracture! 

I made arrangements with my supervisor for Dave to go pick up my work on Monday afternoon, and I worked from home all week.

As the week went along, the swelling got bigger, and I started to feel a bit woozy, here and there.  I was vigilant with the ice pack, and with resting my right arm as much as possible.

I'd been having lots of soft tissue pain in the right shoulder blade area for weeks (more than usual), and had been working on it myself, using stretching, tennis balls, a foam roller, and a back hook....I'd been working it consistently, gently, and with success.  I was able to give myself relief. 

The only reason I could think of something going "pop" in there was that I had hurt myself somehow, or that some old surgical scar tissue had "let go."

The pain has gradually decreased, as has the swelling, at this point, but when I was at the clinic on Thursday for my treatment, my doctor was alarmed at the drop in my hemoglobin count.

He asked if I had been having nose bleeds, or had any other blood loss.... that was when I took off my shirt and showed him the swelling, and bruises, on my side!  

He called my nurse to come in, and they both examined me.  Yeah, there is probably a hematoma in there...and he estimated that I lost at least one pint of blood, possibly closer to two.

We had talked about the pain I'd had, and the x ray not showing anything....but then, the hemoglobin blood test result brought the topic up again!

He ordered an ultrasound at the same imaging center I had gone to for the xray on Monday. 

By the end of the day Friday, however, the order still wasn't in their system, so I am still waiting.

I've given up trying to figure out what happened in there, and will wait for the ultrasound results....and try not to worry.  

In the meantime, I am feeling a LOT better, and have not had any more wooziness.  I am relatively certain that any bleeding has stopped, but I am still taking it easy, using the ice pack, and have started taking some iron supplements.   We also had steak for dinner last night.

Hopefully, I will be able to get in for the ultrasound early in the week.

Once this is all healed up, Doc is going to refer me for physical therapy, as I have had shoulder issues since the surgery, and this past little while, they've just been getting worse.

In other news, the bone building medication for my treatment still wasn't in, so I have gone without it twice now.  

The treatment room nurse said she'd call me when it comes in, so I can go get hooked up for it as soon as possible.

Fortunately, that is a small i.v. bag, and only takes about 15 minutes to infuse.

But, I work full time, and the new management culture has shifted us back to full-on micro-management, and the new director has given other people literal grief over being off work for illness.

Having the x ray last Monday, and now having to go for an ultra sound, and an additional infusion this coming week...and eventually going to physical therapy... well.... I kind of dread the "talking to" I might get.  

Mostly, I dread what I might SAY, if I get a "talking to."  I pray the Gods to hold my tongue!  I need to keep this job until I can retire!

This new micro-management is a highly negative trend, and morale is plummeting.  

We thought we had escaped from that when all of the old guard left, and we literally saved the company from dying.

Not so much, I guess.  It's been very aggravating.  This kind of back pedaling was NOT expected, and is certainly not beneficial.  

They've re-issued the "time off rules," and they're worse than the previous ones.  Far more detailed, in terms of you can do this, but not that, and you can do that, but not until this. It's SO stupid.

Oh, and now we have MONTHLY performance reviews.  Are you serious? Ugh.

Anyway.... we had a bit more rain this past week, and my daffodils are in full bloom!  The back yard is mounded up with henbit, purple dead nettle, and veronica.  It's pretty, and I have seen a couple of honey bees out there!

Yesterday, it was 80 degrees, and last night it was 36. I had REALLY wanted to get into the hot tub last night, but the weather change started earlier than expected, with cold, 40 mile per hour winds.  That canceled getting into the hot tub!

 We will have some chilly weather this week, but no bad storms, or deep freezes.  The roller coaster continues.

Dave is off to Costco today, and I will work on my course.  Planning to go to the office tomorrow, as I doubt that the ultrasound will be scheduled for Monday.

Have a good week!

Spring today, winter... next weekend

 It's really quite amazing, the extreme changes in Oklahoma weather.  

Frankly, I am pretty tired of it, HAHA!

The good thing, though, is that we had about an hour of rain this past week, and might see more next week, before the really cold weather comes back. 

It's a gorgeous weekend, and we are hoping to get out into nature today.  Might even go for a long drive to get to a state park.

Everywhere we go will be crowded, though, which it aggravating.  Too many people equals too much noise, and trash, and not enough peace and quiet.

But, it is what it is, and I need to get out there!

My foot is doing much better, and I will put my "medical inserts" into my hiking shoes, and, hopefully, off we will go!

We still haven't satisfactorily completed our taxes.  We both think there's a mistake somewhere that needs to be fixed, because there is really no reasonable way we should still owe $2,000 after both having extra taken out of every pay check toward taxes!

So, we hope to get that re-done today, as well.

This coming week, I have my blood draw, and then my next treatment.  

I've been having some new pains, which worry me quite a lot.  I think I must have hurt myself in trying to do self therapy on some muscular pain I was having.

It's been going on for a week now, and there is some swelling. It's on my back, near my shoulder blade, where I had been having a lot of muscle pain for a few weeks.  No massage in over a year, and I always carry my stress in my shoulders.

So, I bought a new self therapy tool, and was making use of my tennis ball and foam roller, to try to loosen up those knots.

It makes sense that I might have hurt myself, because I was really focusing on that area, and the pain came on suddenly.  Did I crack a rib?  Yikes....

But, of course, as a long term cancer patient, I can't help for freak out about the - other -possibilities.

So, doc may order an x ray, or my next scan.  We'll see.

Not much else to report.  

Have a good week!