It's been a difficult week....

 Our very dear friend, the one who introduced us, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

She had surgery yesterday, and they found that it has spread to her liver.

After she recovers from the surgery, they will start chemo.

I have known her since 1994, when cancer brought us together.  She was in treatment for breast cancer at that time, and found my massage therapy flier.

We became friends through her weekly visits to my office.  We discovered, quickly, that we had nearly identical Spiritual beliefs, and that solidified our connection.

Shortly there after, her husband also became a massage client, and we became friends as well.

There is a lot of history between us.

They then met Dave through an on-line radio station that had a "listener forum," back in the early days of internet chat rooms.  That listener forum still exists, in fact!

Funny how things work out, right?

So, anyway, please keep Cathy in your prayers.  Light candles, do dances, shake rattles...do whatever it is that you do to reach out into the Universe for help.

Thanks.

In other news, my 96 year old Aunt Janet passed away on the 19th.  She had been in nursing care, after a stroke last year.

My sister and brother in law went to visit in December, and she was still doing okay then, but had declined sharply in the ensuing weeks.

It comforts us to know that she and her siblings (my dad, Uncle Neil, and Aunt Judy) are all together again.

May she find peace in the Light.

The deep freeze from this past week has now thawed.  We finally saw temperatures above freezing yesterday.

Today should reach the 60s, and tomorrow, the 70s.  Crazy Oklahoma roller coaster weather continues.

The nice thing about the weather last week was that my office was closed, and they did not force us to drive on ice, or to go out in record-breaking cold weather.

I have to go for labs this week, so hopefully, the numbers will be closer to normal again.  Chemo is Thursday, if all goes well with the labs.

We are headed out the door to Costco.  Have a good week. 

Wintry

 More wintry weather has arrived in central Oklahoma.  We got a lot of wind, and a little snow, yesterday.

Earlier in the week, we had a minor ice storm.  I had to go to the office the next day ("safety be damned, you have to come to the office!"), and the streets were awful in the morning, but there was no traffic, so that helped.

Going home, the streets were completely clear, so that was good.

This coming week, they're predicting another ice storm, a substantial (for Oklahoma) snowfall, and then low temps below zero, with wind chills in the negative twenties. Whee.

We got a heated shelter for Sammie a couple of weeks ago, and she has been using it faithfully, thank goodness.

Her thick styrofoam box full of straw is also available to her, but she is preferring the heated one at the moment.

Pete got his injection on Monday, and has been doing SO MUCH BETTER!  I just wish we knew what is really going on with him.

Since we don't, though, we are taking advantage of this time while he is comfortable, and making sure he thrives ahead of the next bout of whatever it is that's wrong with him.

We may have to "bite the bullet" and spend the $1000 on an ultrasound. Ugh.

Dave has one more appointment with his IRA guy this coming week, and also has a couple more irons in the fire that he needs to get done - SOON - regarding his retirement. 

It's amazing to me how LITTLE support his company has given him, leaving him to figure things out on his own that no one should have to figure out on their own!

For example, no one told him that he had to fill out an entire packet of forms- that are found on a website that no one gave him the address for!  

Instead, they gave him a phone number to call, so he called it, and the person he spoke with said "you need to contact your HR department, and fill out the packet first!"

He said "....but THEY said I had to call YOU first...."  SO completely inept.

This has to do with continuing MY HEALTH INSURANCE, and our vision and dental, so it's CRITICALLY important.

Anyway, he called, got the web address, the site was down!  Of COURSE, it was.... so he called I/T, and they never called him back.

REALLY??

It's just SO aggravating.  

In any event, this coming week, he has GOT to get all of these things (plus another I have not mentioned here) FIXED and DONE!

We have insurance until April 1st, but without the above mentioned process being completed and fully in place, I could lose coverage, which means I would have to stop treatment. That would be bad.

This is why I have been having nightmares.  That, and the confirmation of RFK Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

BUT, anyway.... Today, it is cold and sunny outside.  I will be making cottage pie (ground beef, veggies, with a layer of mashed potatoes on top), and doing a little laundry.  Talking to my brother, and visiting with a friend.

Should be a nice Sunday.  

Have a great week!

Something new

 Well, my blood work showed something new this time.... Low potassium.

I reviewed my past several blood tests, and it was previously smack in the middle of normal, and now it's a point below "low."  Or, at least it was on the day my blood was drawn.

SO.... I am on a high dose prescription supplement for 7 days, and the doctor allowed me to have my treatment on Thursday.

The other level (that was roughly half a point above normal 3 weeks ago), creatinine, has improved with my increased vigilance regarding hydration, so hopefully, that trend will continue.

The low potassium is odd....since I take a daily potassium supplement.  Not sure what's going on there.

Either way, though, these changes MIGHT be the beginning of the end of this treatment protocol.   

I have been on it for over 2 years, and with this medication (Enhertu) the rules are that you just stay on it until you can't tolerate it anymore, OR if it stops working.

The good news is that I FEEL FINE, and have not noticed any effects from the blood levels being "off."

My treatment included the "push" steroid again, and, again, I had less of an issue with the cold sweats on the first night.  They were over with by 1 am again.

Sleeplessness was still a problem, though. Ugh.

Yesterday was Dave's 66th birthday.  I made jambalaya for dinner, and used real andouille sausage.  It was really good, and there's lots of left overs! 

We didn't do anything else special, though, because I had not slept very much the past two nights, due to the steroid.

He said it was okay.... he's not really into his own birthday anyway. Never has been.

In other news. Pete the cat has been doing so well!  Eating well, gaining his weight back, playing enthusiastically...

Everything was seeming to get back to normal.... until yesterday, when he started throwing up again.

UGH.

This morning, he seems fine, so we will see how today goes.  

He threw up at 12:30 and 4:30 overnight.... and I got up with him.... so I didn't sleep great last night, either, but I DID get more than 3 or 4 hours this time, which is an improvement over the previous two nights.

Thankfully, I can nap today.

We are seeing the possibility of an ice storm this coming week.  Our office day is Thursday, and we're supposed to have a pot luck that day for Valentine's Day.... but if the ice comes on Wednesday, like it's being forecasted at this point... that might not happen.

We shall just have to wait in see.

Right now, however, the quilt is in the washer (because Pete barfed on the bed last night), and I need to get it into the dryer.

Have a good week! 

Fingers crossed

 My visit with my oncologist was Thursday. She said we will monitor my blood work this coming week to determine if all is well, or if we need to further investigate the potential stress on my kidney function.

I have been consciously hydrating for 3 weeks, so hopefully, all will be well this time.  I will get my labs drawn on Tuesday, after our meeting with Dave's financial advisor.

If everything looks good, I will go ahead and get my chemo treatment on Thursday afternoon.

If things are still "off," or are any worse, I am going to assume that the doctor will call off my treatment, though she did not SAY that when I saw her, and I didn't think to ask.

In other news, Dave took his work computer, and giant display, back to the office on Friday!  It's so nice to be able to sit at my "place" at the table, and see out the living room windows again!

I also bought him a new lap top for his retirement and birthday. His birthday is a week from yesterday.

Hopefully, he will eventually abandon the dining room table, and move the lap top to the coffee table, where he can sit next to me when we are doing stuff on line.

This morning, I have a gathering for spiritual time with a couple of far-flung Sisterhood, to celebrate Imbolc, one of our Pagan holidays.

Then, after that, Dave and I are going to Costco to grab a few items, AND to stop at the cell phone kiosk to see about any potential discounts.  

I already have my service with the company that shall not be named here, and we are adding Dave, now that he has to give up his company phone.

I had not realized that my Costco membership could benefit me by offering discounts on my cell service, so we will investigate that, get my upgraded phone (it's past time), and add Dave, and get HIM a new phone.

Please wish us luck with all of that.

I am off to the shower, and will be making pancakes for breakfast.

Before I do, though, I want to shout out to one of my faithful readers, and wish her a Happy Retirement.  ENJOY, E!!  Love you!

Long short week

 Why are weeks that start with holidays so LONG???

Ugh... By the end of the day Friday, after an altercation with my supervisor (blaming me for someone else's mistake, one of her favorite tactics), I was SO over it!!

It didn't help that Dave realized last Tuesday that he had enough vacation time to just.... stop working.  He looked at his "PTO bank," and found several unused days that he would have lost, so he talked to his boss, and the time was approved, and he's done!

HE WAS supposed to work through January 31st, and then have the month of February off as paid vacation, but here we are... he is already on vacation until his retirement date.

Lucky bastard.

HAHA!

Since Dave has had a company cell phone for years, I will be adding him to my cell phone account, and we will be going to get new phones.  I can't wait, because I have never liked the one I have.  Not that a newer version is going to be much different, but oh well.

The vet was open on Monday, and Dave left a message, asking him to call.   When he called, he said that there was no evidence of cancer in Pete's blood test.  That was SUCH a huge relief! 

However, he thinks Pete possibly has irritable bowel disorder.  

We are not sure why he thinks that, because Pete has not had issues with his "stools," but the recommendation was to just keep doing what we've been doing, and add a B12 supplement to his food.  

So, since Pete has been feeling a lot better, has only thrown up stomach acid once in three weeks, and is enjoying getting "lunch" every day, we are now adding the B12 drops to his mid day food.

He hasn't turned his nose up at it yet! 

If he does not continue to improve, then the vet can give him an injection of some kind of medication, but we won't even consider that for several weeks.

I am looking forward to NOT WORKING in the office tomorrow!  

Because I have an oncologist check up appointment on Thursday, though, my office day will be Wednesday.... another day when no one else is there but the team lead, the supervisor, and the managers.  Nice and quiet.

To celebrate Dave's early exit from working, I am baking him a cake today, and making a favorite meal.

Right now, I am off to the shower.  Have a great week!

No news, but good news....

 Well, the vet didn't call all week, so Dave called yesterday (Saturday), only to be told that Pete's blood sample had only just arrived at the lab.

In the meantime, Pete hasn't thrown up in two weeks, and he is increasingly acting more and more like himself.

He's eating those tubes of semi-liquid, smelly, hair ball remedy formula cat treats with great gusto!  He gets one every day, and it seems to have helped him a LOT.

He's always been VERY finicky about eating ANYTHING BUT HIS FOOD, so this is new trend is a Very Good Thing.

He's also getting special (more expensive) food for a mid day meal every day, to try to  get his weight back up.

He's bright eyed, and playful, and affectionate again... he is clearly feeling better, so we will keep doing what we're doing, and hopefully, the blood test results will be in next week.

My hope is that it was just a really bad case of pancreatitis, which is caused by hair not being properly expelled from the stomach, and that the extra hair ball remedy has cleared it.

Had my treatment on Thursday, and all went as usual.

They keep changing the method of giving me the steroid, due to the ongoing shortage of saline, after Hurricane Helene.  

This time, it was given as a slightly diluted "push" into the IV tube.

You may recall that the pill form from a couple of treatments ago resulted in THE WORST cold sweats to date.... Well, this push method resulted in much milder cold sweats!

I only woke up twice, and the sweats were over with by 1:30 am.  I never had to change my pajamas (they weren't soaking wet... just damp around the collar and chest area), and the sheets and quilt weren't all wet.

There was the usual middle of the night insomnia. I eventually went back to sleep, though, and did okay through the work day on Friday, because I hadn't been up most of the night shivering and sweating!

One of the nurses from the clinic called me on Wednesday, though, to let me know that one of my blood values was slightly elevated.

She said it wasn't anything to worry about yet, but that I should increase my hydration over the next three weeks, before my next blood draw. 

This is a three day weekend for us, and the deep cold has come back to Oklahoma. 

I am making a big pot of bone broth (cooking it for two days on the stove this time), made chicken soup yesterday, and will be making steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, and New Mexican pork for dinner!

YUM!

My intention for this batch of broth is to drink it, as part of my hydration increase.  

Also, because of the Monday holiday, I brought up the question to my supervisor... why do I have to be the ONLY team member at work who is required to be in the office twice a week?

EVERYONE ELSE only works in the building on Thursdays. 

So, she "granted me permission" to only work in the office on Thursdays, starting this coming week.

Well, thank you, your highness.

Of course, I am immuno-compromised, so I will have to wear a mask if we are in meetings, etc., but that's no big deal.

Anyway, I am off to start my day. Have a good week!

Kitty tummy troubles

 Something I haven't mentioned here is that our kitty cat, Pete, has not been well.

Over the past few months, he has been occasionally vomiting up stomach fluid that is pink.  He's not throwing up his food, but he's losing weight.

At first, the vet thought it was pancreatitis, just manifesting in a different way than Frank's.  He gave Pete a steroid injection, and he did really well for a couple of weeks.

But then, when we got back from our Thanksgiving trip, he started throwing up again.  Giving him hair ball gel seems to help, but he hates it.

Earlier on, Pete's behavior was perfectly normal, but now he is more lethargic.  He DOES play, and has a good appetite, but he sleeps more than usual, and gets upset when Frank tries to wrestle with him, too.

So, we went back to the vet and they did another blood test, to check his thyroid, which came back normal.

Now, the vet is suspicious that it may be some kind of cancer, so he suggested another blood test, to show Pete's full metabolic/organ function.

Yesterday, Pete went for that blood draw (each one of these blood tests has been $400, so we are up to $1200 already).  

HOPEFULLY, we will have some kind of an answer this time.

Either way, though, if it's not something easily treatable, we will focus on keeping him comfortable until he lets us know it's time.

He's only ten, so we really want this to be something treatable, like it actually IS pancreatitis, or something like that.

In the meantime, he's getting extra food, at the vet's recommendation.  Lucky boy gets lunch again, for the first time since he was a kitten! He's loving that, I can tell you!

In other news, Dave finally got some answers regarding retirement details, and yes, we CAN continue my insurance as it is now, but it will cost us about $400 a month, until I reach 65 and can get medicare.

Okay!  Now we know, and can plan for it.

He has another meeting to learn about medicare this coming week.

We had some snow this past week, so the office was closed on Thursday.  It was nice to be able to work from home, and to watch the snow falling.  It was so pretty, but it shut down most of the city for a day!

Next week is my treatment week, so I only have to work in the office on Monday next week, too!

Dave is going to Costco this morning, and I will stay home for the regular grocery delivery.   I usually have the groceries delivered on Saturdays, but, probably due to the snow, Saturday was not available this week.

Please keep our Pete in your thoughts.... and us, too.  Have a good week.