Chemo Week, Trips to Houston, and High School Reunion

The good news is that the third at-home chemo round is complete and there were no major incidents. I was a bit tired but still managed to exercise everyday. Without giving too much information, I will say that previously the chemo has consistently messed with my reproduction system so that although it is supposed to force me into menopause, not only has this not happened, I have consistently had visits from Aunt Flo DURING chemo week. What the hell is that? Seriously! Research shows that women over 40 have a more difficult time and more fatigue when Aunt Flo visits. To have it FOUR times in the middle of chemo (once when still in Houston) is just asking too much tolerance and patience from me. However, the universe gave me a break this time. Apparently the energy I was putting out was effective: threatening a psychotic breakdown, surgical intervention, whatever means necessary to get even. As many of you know, these things can throw you over the edge. Add chemo and you've got a volatile situation on your hands. I'm glad the powers of the universe finally came to their senses. 

I did have a stomach ache on the last day (yesterday) that lasted about three hours. Once I purged whatever didn't agree with me, all was well. We even went for a walk afterward. I actually think the issue was a medication (not the chemo) because of the timing. I take the chemo at night and this was a middle of the day incident. I'm not counting on things going well from here on out, I'll still be on top of things. However, I've got a total of 12 rounds of at-home chemo and I just finished 1/4. I have a long way to go until April, but for today I'm in good shape.

The best news is that Jason and I both did much better this time focusing on the moment-by-moment issues and making sure we exercised, ate on time, and got plenty of rest. When we go on walks, especially at night, I pay very little attention to where we are in the neighborhood, which means I get disoriented and lost. Jason stresses out a bit whenever he detects any type of deficit, however, spatial relations has always been the deficit so he needs to just relax. It's not like I'm picking up new issues. So what I get lost once in a while. I'll find my way home eventually. 

Jason has also been modifying his diet and I have been able to guilt him into walking with me so he has also lost some weight. I accidentally have lost more weight (remember, don't hate) and although I don't actually care about what I weigh (bigger problems and all), I don't really want to listen to my doctors complain about too much weight loss. I already have to deal with Dr. No Naps.

 Since my last post I had a short visit to Houston for just one appointment and a few other tests, meds, etc. Shout out to Lois for driving me down there and taking me to my appointments. Lois shared the full MDA experience. One appointment scheduled and we were there for 4-5 hours. They typically run a little late plus they always find something else for you to do based on test results. Speaking of test results, there was no scan but the blood work showed that Lymphocytes were still low so the respiratory therapist again administered the lung infection protection via inhaler. I was told to increase my water intake during chemo (I did and it definitely seemed to help). They also told me that they have new clinical trials moving forward and older ones that are moving into phase 2. The nurse seemed excited about these studies and even though I have no idea what she was talking about, it was great to hear that they are optimistic about the studies they are working on. The best news is that Dr. No Naps is in charge of the GBM research labs. Which means regardless of how he feels about naps, we need to stick with him. Those of you who are still upset about the naps issue, we really need to practice acceptance and find a way to see past his questionable advice.

Later the same week I flew to Kentucky for my 25th high school reunion. So much fun to see everyone! I cannot wait until the 30th! I was happy to see that our class produced the most caring, generous, sweet people who were genuinely happy to see one another. Obviously we might also have some assholes in our class but if we do, none of them showed up. The reunion made me realize how many friends I have whom I've known most of my life and I've missed them. For those of you who are in the Lou or Lex, no concerns. Jason and I discussed trying to find a time to bring Aidan to Kentucky to show him where he was born, where we met, where we were engaged, etc., so hopefully that will be by the end of the year. 

Our next visit to my Houston doctors will be the week of August 14. Expect an update then. We have 2 scans that week and seven other appointments. That ought to be a really fun three days. I will start planning now for how to pass the time in the waiting rooms. If only we still played drinking games. Maybe we could get the patients in the waiting room to play some high stakes poker. I think we could win some serious cash if Jason evaluates them and asks the most critical patients to play.