A GOOD DAY

Today was a GOOD day--- so much better than yesterday.

I was able to wake up before the baby and do my time consuming, 3-part bath (no showers yet, due to the drain that I have). It seemed so good to get bathed and dressed EARLIER than usual. It just set the day off on the right foot.

It seemed so good to do laundry myself again---even hung two loads on the line today! :-)

I cooked a frittata for breakfast. Normally, these chores are quite mundane, but having lost the freedom to easily do them for a while, I am GLAD to be "back at 'em."

Stephen and I went to the hospital for my echocardiogram today. My friend works in the cariology department and surpised me with a visit in the waiting room. I really appreciated that so much! I wonder if others realize just what it means to us to receive their kindness. (Mental note to self: do the same for others!) :-)

The technician noticed that it's possible that I may have a PFO. I am blogging this term, because I want to remember that in the future. I didn't want to have a test performed today to determine this for sure, but will want to have it done at a later date. Apparently, before birth we have this flap that is open in our heart. When we're born, it closes. However, 10% of adults have open ones at some point and that means that it's possible for a blood clot to go to the brain. The test is run via IV. Saline and air are put through the IV and if bubbles (the air) pass from one side of the heart to the other, then the flap is open.

After the appointment we went upstairs to visit Aloysius. When we got there, he was gone. :-) He'd been moved to the Continuing Care nursery. This is a graduation of sorts, so it's a good thing. :-) (Our twins went through this graduation process, too.) He has his own little room with two big stuffed chairs, a desk, etc. It's a nice private setting for his mom and dad to spend time with him. He was sleeping and looked so peaceful. He's a beautiful baby. The nurse said he'll be able to have his IV removed soon as he's taking plenty of fluids orally. She said he wakes up on his own and roots around at feeding time. That's pretty amazing for a baby his age and size. He's very alert. Once he gains three more ounces he'll move to an open top crib. :-) Good job, Aloysius!

From there we went to Walmart. We stocked up on my chemo "battle supplies". It's unreal what we have to think about in the coming weeks and months. My white cell count will dramatically drop and I'll be suspectable to catching viruses and having infections. We bought several Lysol products. We also had to get things like non-whitening toothpaste, electric razor, Imodium AD.

We went to Chemo Class yesterday at the hospital and learned about the bad side of having treatment. Chemo destroys any rapidly growing and dividing body cells, both good and bad (like cancer). It can't differentiate between the good and bad cells, so it attacks them all. The good cells in our bodies that grow and divide quickly are:

hair
gastro digestive tract- from the mouth to the rectum
blood cells

Sooo, blood counts drop (red, white and platelets). This means anemia, not enough white cells to fight infection and viruses, and poor clotting.

It's easy to get mouth sores, upset stomach, constipation, fever, illnesses, infection, and of course--- hair loss.

Fun? NOT.

And, the echocardiogram was to give my doctor a baseline for my heart's normal functioning. That is because chemo can cause damage to that aspect of one's body. They'll do another echo. at some point during chemo to see how things are going.

Anyway... after coming home today, we were blessed with a delicious spaghetti dinner. The boys loved the spaghetti so much that they said they hope the "lady" can bring spaghetti every day. :-) It's cool that they're getting to see how kind and thoughtful people are, and that this other family is doing something nice for us because God wants them to. It's a really great lesson for the whole family, and I suspect they feel it is the same for their family.

We did have our cat "put down" last night. It's sad, and it was hard, but Stephen and I feel that we made the best decision we could at that time given the circumstances we're facing right now.

We'll talk with a social worker at the cancer facility tomorrow to get advice on how to talk with our twins about my cancer and treatment, and the changes in our household because of these things.

The oncologist's nurse called today to inform me that if the drain can't come out by Monday, we'll still meet with the cancer doc on Tuesday but chemo will be postponed until June 1st. If the drain comes out, then chemo will start on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, we really want to get away for a break from the medical calls and appointments. We're planning to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese in Portland on Saturdday.