When I was released from Madonna, my discharge paperwork said absolutely NO contact sports!   I can’t imagine what they thought I’d be doing once released.   I also needed 23-1/2 to 24 hours a day of monitoring. I believe this is for potential seizures I may have.  I can’t drive, operate heavy machinery, or anything more high tech then an electric can opener!  I have a babysitter when Bry has appointments at the VA.  I hang at my parents house a couple times a week At the time I was racking up a huge ICU bill at UNMC, Bry has his cancerous prostate removed. He is now cancer freeYEAH! but has to return every 3 months to get reviewed. Any clue of cancer and he’ll have to start radiation.[...]

3/23/22 

So there goes my dignity again. I asked to 17year old daughter to help me in the shower before shewent off before she went off to school.how do you casually ask your daughter to Help you adjust your boob so it appropriately falls into your sports bra?You swallow your pride and git errr!done,frequently Bryant has early morning appointments.  It’s been several weeks since I got out of rehab. Now my days are filled with inhome health care!! 3 times a week including once a week buddy call to answer questions about my Optune device, which has been going well; lab work, weekly neurologist visits, there sure seems to be a shortage of phlebotomists in this town, as my arms show proof of this.  Most of the MRI are with contrasting dyes and without dyes. An I’ve port needs to be put in before somehow I have avoided getting a permanent port in my jugular vein Today, my bruises on my arm are about 4 weeks old![...]

So Monday, I got my Optune device. A product specialist delivered it to me. Together we went over absolutely every nut and bolt, gauze strip, electrical lead, battery and on and on.  She buzzed my head, to the point there was barely stubble on my scalp, she applied the arrays or the bandaid looking things on my scalp(she came with a map of my skull!), the bandaid glue is really sticky.  They also supply this highly attractive white netting AKA a peach🍑 or pear bruise preventative thingy!  she plugged in the leads, flipped on the switch and I felt absolutely nothing!  Just a warming sensation  I have to wear this thing 18 hours a day on average.  Overall my life expectancy doubles to about 10 years. Next weekly be getting 5 days of chemotherapy in the mail and for the next month I wear the Optune and for 5 days I take a higher dose of chemo☹️🤢🤮yucky.  After all that, I get to take another MRI and go from there.  Do the same next month and the next.  The battery pack only weight 3 pounds and comes in a carrying case. After awhile I feels like a bowling 🎳 ball attached to my hea! All the equipment is replaceable or I can have duplicates all the way down to the tape, blades for the electric shaver! [...]

I think I’ve finally recovered from Thanksgiving!  I made sure to schedule NO dr. or physical therapy appointments that week, I started back up for P/T on Thursday and I was so exhausted afterwards and in pain that night.  I decided to take a muscle relaxer and sleep in the recliner over night.  Best decision ever! I actually slept the whole night through.  I’ve been waking up typically at 2-3am and can’t get back to sleep. [...]

So thumbs up for Jodi, who decided to revising her Low- which was when bryant decided this summer to “donate” our much loved wheeled kitchen chairs that everyone loved (but Bryant).there was quite an up roar in the house.  Leilou samples the array of food offerings with her cousin Derrick. We finally had about 60 people come for thanksgiving.  Everyone had a marvelous time.  Clean up was quick, a large group stayed behind rolled up the plastic table coverings, broke down the tables and folded up the 30+ chairs we borrowed from our church.  We had several games available, see connect 4 in one picture.[...]

So thanksgiving turned out fabulously.both sides of the family meshed seamlessly.  We ended up with 5 turkeys and a 20 pound spiral cut ham!  HyVee did a wonderful job packing everything up for us.  And a Big THANK YOU to JUSTIN (brother #4)!  Who paid HyVee for our feast.  Everyone brought supplemental dishes to add to the mix, we had bbq cocktail weenies , pies, gluten free items, Watergate salad, deviled eggs and not one bag of chips with dip!  We always play Hi-Low with Bryant’s family during thanksgiving, so we drug my family right into that.  1 person tells everyone the highlight of their year followed by their personal low for the year.  Sometimes we have topic restrictions (last year you couldn’t use the word COVID,  this year. The no-no words were Covid and cancer) Sometimes your high and  low can be the same thing!  Mine response was:  HI-I met my insurance catastrophic cap. My insurance now pays 100% of all my medical bills to the end of the year.  LOW- I get to restart and pay my deductible all over again![...]

Our thanksgiving plans are coming together.  Turkeys have been ordered, tables and chairs are reserved with a pickup date/time, the out building has been cleaned, swept/mopped, all the “extra” incidentals are ready like warming trays, table coverings, napkins, thanksgiving plates.  I just need to generate name tags for everyone.  This year we are hosting BOTH sides of our family on Thanksgiving t the same time.  Call me crazy, but the final count looks like 55-60 people.  Bryant is getting a little nervous, but I’m not sure why, every bon fire we have had over the last 10+ years has been practice for such an event.  I’m ready!  Bring on the families!  I have a laundry basket full of odds and ends including an electric knife for carving the (4) turkeys plus (1) ham.  An amazing variety of sides all from Hy-Vee.  Yes, I’m just crazy!  
I’m feeling better and better every day since my last day of chemo and radiation!!  I’ve got some “peach fuzz” coming in where the radiation was directed.  The top of my head has more or longer hair growth so it looks like a slow Mohawk growing out.[...]

The wacky and strange items I can actually taste: watermelon, peanut butter, Italian dressing, Arby’s curly fries, Arby’s roast beef sandwich with ranch, green grapes, green apples, 1/2 choc flavored DQ Shakes, Water, orange juice,[...]

So tonight I actually ate my first real meal.  Nothing special, but I got it down. and it wasn’t like chewing bland cotton balls!  I’ve been craving Arby’s roast beef sandwiches for about a week.   Tonight my husband and I stepped out to fulfill my second craving, watermelon!!  When whatever meal we’re eating, if it tastes flat on my tastebuds, I fall back on watermelon.  It’s something a little sweet and sour.  At Arby’s, I ate the whole sandwich, covered in ranch for flavor and the curly fries.  Yumm yumm!![...]

Today was a good day. I actually felt pretty good, totally moved beyond the chemo and radiation fog; that has surrounded me for weeks.  With my daughters help, we dropped the van off for an oil change.  I wondered the aisles in walmart for a few minutes while my husband took our child off to high school.   After 10 minutes I was done browsing, actually exhausted.  I guess I’m not really 100% back to normal yet.  I think it’s gonna take more time. [...]