The last couple days I've been feeling close to "normal." I was even able to swim in & coach the "fast" lane at Special Olympics last night! Overall the side effects of the second chemo treatment remained considerably more manageable than the first. I'm now gearing up for a weekend trip to the SF Bay Area for my twin niece & nephew's Bar & Bat Mitzvah! It's also my birthday on Sunday, and I'm looking forward to time with extended family, and also time with my close friend Anita, who will be accompanying me! (A note of surprised gratitude to Southwest Airlines, who made an exception to their "no transfers" policy when they heard my situation, and allowed me to apply credit from Don, Sam & Sarah's airline tickets to a ticket for Anita (with additional credit to spare!)[...]

Well the last couple of days have been lovely in many ways, though challenging in others. I've had some discomfort -- acid reflux (still adjusting dosing of antacids) and fatigue and light-headedness. Despite that, I've been able to enjoy the delicious foods people have brought us, and have had lovely visits with friends, including a lot of time outdoors -- yesterday walking in the park & zoo with Celeste, and then Grant and Tina and I inhabited the new front patio for a while -- this is a space Don & I had created last Fall and haven't spent much time in yet.[...]

Much of today continued to be better than last chemo round. I didn't sleep all that well last night (I think it might have been hormonal) so I was tired today, but was able to eat fairly well without problem -- though tonight my stomach is feeling bloated and gassy.  Today I had a lovely visit from a new friend, Laura, who is a wonderful listener and we found we had many interests in common.  [...]

Well, I made it through the evening with only one moment of queasiness and only a moderate amount of gassiness, and slept quite well after taking a lorazepam. I woke up earlier than I wanted to and only dozed for a while after that, but was feeling happy not to be uncomfortable!! Finally I got hungry around 6:30 so I got up to figure out which meds I need to take before, during, and after my small (to start with) breakfast of more potato salad and seaweed and 1/3 of a banana. That all seems to be sitting well so far!! I'm allowing myself to feel some real optimism that this treatment will continue to be much better than the first one...![...]

Well the chemo treatment ended about 4 pm and so far I don't feel as bad as the first time -- though the treatment also was a couple of hours later in the day, so we'll just have to see how it goes. I very much enjoyed hanging out and catching up with my old friend Beth R. who came to relieve Don after the first couple of hours at the clinic. Right after I got home Judith H. came to lead me in a guided relaxation/visualization. After that I felt slightly hungry and ate a little potato salad that Celeste dropped off last night (thanks, Celeste!). I also seem to be enjoying slightly salty snacks so have been nibbling on seaweed and gluten-free matzo while watching Masters of Sex -- a TV show based on the life of Masters & Johnson which was independently recommended by one sibling on each side of our family, so we figured it was worth a try; liking it so far! I've also been working on noticing the stomach sensations and trying not to be in a story about "oh no here we go again." It seems to help -- just noticing the sensations, and relaxing a little around them. Perhaps much of the nausea last time was fear. And, they've got me on a different combination of anti-nausea and ant-acid meds now, so maybe that will help. As before, the nurse was adamant that if I don't feel better than last time, I should let them know and they would try "plan c". While I'm not strictly opposed to losing 4 pounds per treatment (my estimate based on the 5-pound difference at weigh in today, but this time I'd removed my cell phone from my pocket, and I have a fair bit less hair!), it would probably be better to be able to eat a bit more this round![...]

Last night I had a little trouble sleeping -- my cough from my cold kept waking me up every few hours, and I would have trouble falling back asleep. I realized I was feeling anxious about the upcoming chemo treatment when I found myself mentally packing for the trip to the clinic -- organic popsicles, snack food, etc... Part-way through the night -- I think I was more asleep than awake -- I found myself dreaming or imagining I was editing a word-processing document; I had two files open, and whenever something I thought belonged in the "don't need to worry about this yet" category came up, I would mentally "cut and paste" it from the main, single-paged document I was focusing on, into another, long and rambling file of things to worry about later. This actually was helping me get back to sleep, I think!  Not bad for semi-consciousness, eh?[...]

I read recently that the best thing to do once your hair starts falling out is to shave your head, otherwise it's quite painful. So when my scalp started hurting last night I figured it was time. As long as I have to lose my hair, why not have some fun with it? My friend Elizabeth and I joined the pre-Easter, end-of-Spring-break crowd at JP Hair Designs for this fancy "do."  The place was recommended by my regular hair salon and by one of my African American friends Tomika -- with special emphasis on the artistry of stylist Spencer Johnson.  [...]

As Becca has mentioned, I have been sick with a respiratory/sinus infection since last Tuesday - and there have been days in the last week where it hasn't been clear which of us has been sicker. I got a prescription for antibiotics today which I hope speeds my recovery, since I seem to be sicker today than yesterday. [...]

Well, I've caught a bit of the cold that's going around (Don, Anita, and my fitness trainer Guillermo have all been sick with it this week) but so far its not too bad, and my stomach has been mostly better. It reminds me of the Eastern European Jewish folk tale, "Too Much Noise," where a man is unhappy because his bed squeaks and his teakettle hisses and it's too noisy, so he goes to the wise man who tells him to get a cow, and then a donkey, and then a chicken, and then a dog, etc... each time he goes back to the wise man in anger saying, this isn't helping! Finally the wise man tells him to get rid of all of the animals, and he is blissfully happy. (Here's a lovely, over-the-top kid-produced version of the story). Having a cold, compared to the challenges of chemo, just doesn't seem that bad!![...]

Yesterday and today were definitely much better days. Yesterday after seeing an acupuncturist and napping, I went to work for a couple of hours for the first time since before the chemo. While I didn't feel completely well, it was engaging and fun and good to feel useful (I was teaching Elizabeth, our Program Assistant, how to use Constant Contact, as we worked together on getting notices out for a couple of upcoming events).[...]