Three Day Weekend, again

Had my bone infusion done last week, and my nurse sent two big vials of blood off for testing.

Those results will be back in about three weeks. 

Lots of appointments coming up for me. Ugh.  I have my dental cleaning on the 31st, the cardiologist on the 6th, my scans on the 7th, and the oncologist on the 12th.  After that, I am assuming a treatment of some kind, about a month from this past week. 

Another one of my long time co workers left the company.  There are mixed stories circulating as to if she quit or was fired.

Now there are only three of us left who have been there longer than a few years.

Yesterday was a good day to get errands and chores done.  

This morning, we got up early and went to the woods... I needed it BADLY, as we had not been out to walk in nature since we were in Illinois!

That was very good for me, and it was BEAUTIFUL out, with a delightful, cool breeze.  There was one deer who allowed herself to be seen. 

This spring has been remarkably gentle here.  No horrific storms, and it hasn't gotten too hot to go outside yet, which is unusual by the end of May.

Especially after last year's record breaking number of days over 90 degrees, many of them over 100 degrees, along with the drought.

I mowed the back yard while Dave ran to Costco, so we have definitely gotten our steps in already! 

Be that as it may, we are heading out soon to a favorite arts festival, and then, when we get back, Dave will do some work with the weed whacker, while I continue to try to clean a piece of cast iron that we bought at a flea market yesterday.

The rust on this Dutch oven is very, very stubborn, but so am I.

Tomorrow, we are going to do some more fire pit cooking, with our friend Lori coming to join us.

I will work at the office on Tuesday, since we are off tomorrow.

Have a good week!

Perfection

 It is a VERY rare thing that we have perfect weather in Oklahoma.

This weekend, however, is a prime example.  It's been sunny, with calm winds, and temperatures in the low 70s.  Absolutely splendid!

I started on my new meds, and my blood pressure dropped dangerously low, just as I had suspected it would. 

They did not believe me when I told them that the anxiety I was feeling during my appointment was impacting my blood pressure, and that they should take it at the END of the appointment.  I told them that my normal is usually on the low side, but they did not seem to hear me.

So, I almost passed out.  I was extremely light headed, and could barely stay upright.  Whee!  Great fun.

Things stabilized pretty quickly, though, and I didn't take my second dose of the twice a day med.

I called, and had to leave a message, first thing the next morning.

When someone finally called back, my instructions were to stop all of the meds (which I had, of course, already done), and then the next day, change the routine to only ONE of the medications, AND only half a tablet once a day.

In effect, they reduced my meds by 75%.  

My guess is that I will stay on this routine for a while, then we will gradually increase to one tablet a day, and see how that goes.

Went for labs ordered by both the cardiologist and my oncologist.

The cardiologist ordered a thyroid test, and it came back completely normal, so it's not the thyroid causing the valve issues....it was the Enhertu.

I also talked to my oncology nurse at some length the other day, and we still have several options to treat the cancer.  For now, however, we are suspending chemo for now.

Not sure if we will do a scan to see if the Enhertu did anything.  

She said that we are going to do some additional testing for some new options, as well.  They will just draw blood through my port, since it will be accessed when I go next week for the bone infusion.

I have also resumed taking the hormone blocker.

It's amazing how quickly my pain resumed after re-introducing the hormone blocker.  It was SO NICE to be pain free for the past 4 months.  

I took advantage of yesterday's perfect weather, and cooked dinner over my new fire pit!  I made rice in an iron cauldron, and grilled marinated beef kabobs on the hanging grill.   It was so much fun, and delicious and perfect in every way, to boot!

We also met up with our friends from Switzerland for lunch at a really noisy, crowded pub yesterday.  It was so loud we couldn't hear each other talk.  We shall have to try a different place next time!

Today, we are doing some stuff around the house.  We're having to pay someone to come mow the lawn next week, because of all of the rain, but there are some things we can get done, like pulling weeds from the herb garden, and some other little tasks.

Going out to a pet adoption event later to support a friend.  

Have a great week!

Mid week update

 I finally got to see my new cardiologist today.

They did an EKG, which came back normal, and, after reading the reports from the two ECG tests, the doctor decided to put me on two different medications.

These medications are supposed to strengthen the heart, and the valves that are now compromised, due to the Enhertu treatment.

The unfortunate part is that both medications can lower the blood pressure, and my normal blood pressure is already usually on the low side of normal (108/73, today, for example).

The next step is that the doctors (my oncologist, and my cardiologist) need to meet, or at least talk, and discuss my potential next steps for treatment of the cancer.  

That treatment will need to not interfere with the treatment of my heart, which is, of course, necessary due to cancer treatment.

I may be about out of options for cancer treatment, so we may be near the end of this war.  

I am not sure yet, though, so I will just take my new medications, hope that my blood pressure doesn't "tank," and wait for a call from the oncologist, telling me that it's time to come see him, and talk about what we can do, going forward.

Hopefully, there is something.  I want to see my great niece grow up.

Waiting

 It took two weeks for the cardiologist's office to call me.  I FINALLY have an appointment next week, on Tuesday.

In the meantime, I feel great, being off of all treatment. Returned to dance class this past week, and we have been taking walks, and I have worked out in the yard.

The only thing is the nagging anxiety about what the cancer is doing while it's being left alone.  Hopefully, the three months of Enhertu wiped it out for the time being.

Since we were going to scan after six months, we don't even know if it was working, before we had to stop it.

In other news, I have all of the components to my fire pit kit that I asked for as a birthday gift!

I have a set of uprights, that looks line a tiny swing set, a set of S hooks of different lengths, a hanging grill on chains, to adjust how far it is from the fire/coals, a grate, and a fire ring with moons and stars!

There will be cooking with fire in my back yard at last!  

I had a fire pit with fire bricks, and my Ren Faire iron set, way back when I owned a house in Lombard, Illinois....but the divorce saw all of that taken away from me.

I've wanted something here since we bought the house, and I finally have it!

I seasoned two of my food safe cast iron cauldrons last summer, so they're ready to make soups and stews, and maybe even bake pretty, round bread.

Now, just have to wait for the rains to stop, and for it to NOT be too hot to be out by a fire!

I'm finally over that flu, or whatever it was, with the exception of the occasional cough.

To say that I am ready to move on from this spring of sickness, and health challenges, is an understatement.

Have a good week!

No update

 It's been almost two weeks, and the cardiologist's scheduling office has never called.

I will message my nurse tomorrow to find out why.  I get the feeling that my doctor is too busy sometimes, and that he forgets to do things.... this is pretty important, though, and I hate to think that of him.

In other news, we had lots of rain this past week!  Most of the state is, for the moment, OUT of drought! This is VERY big news indeed.

The upper respiratory issue I came down with upon returning from Chicago is FINALLY resolving.  I was sick for two weeks, and lost weight because I had no appetite.

The cough is much better, and the fatigue is improving as well.  I tested negative for Covid twice, so I have a feeling it was the flu.

Thought about going to the e/r a couple of times due to pain in my diaphragm area from the cough, but it has also resolved.

Hoping to be well enough to go back to the office tomorrow.

That's about it!  It's a gorgeous morning, so we are going to get outside and do some yard work.  I plan to at least work on refreshing my garden containers.  I am weeks behind schedule!