August 25, 2009

• Doctors Are Moving Quickly

  I'm waiting for the little girls to wake up so I can fix blueberry pancakes with the remaining leftover blueberries.  I found two separate cartons half full in the refrigerator this morning, and I think I have caught them right before going bad!

     

  Yesterday afternoon, I received a call from the radiology oncologist's nurse.  She was wanting to set me up, right away, with my first appointment and asked if I could come in today.  I told her to make the appointment for as late in the afternoon as possible, since Jesse mows lawns in the morning and early afternoon.  My 2:00pm appointment, unfortunately, will run him short on mowing time.

  Tomorrow the same will happen because the girls have a 2:30 (maybe 1:30???) afternoon appointment to see their dentist.  It sure would be easier if I could drive, but Jesse says "N-O, NO!!" and he's not getting much of an argument from me.  If there was an emergency, I could probably drive, but, admittedly, I'm still not cooking on the front burner these days with my foggy brain activity!

                        

  I asked the nurse if the fatigue my oncologist mentioned (about side effects from radiation) would be like the fatigue associated with chemo . . . She interrupted me and said, "No!  Nothing at all like chemo!"  That was a load off of my brain.  I told her I'd make a list of questions for the today's appointment and she said that was a good idea. 

  I don't really know what to ask.  I've heard you can feel like your skin is burned where they shoot the radiation into you, but I don't know how severe and if aloe & lidocaine ointments are effective in relieving the burn.  Guess I'll know the facts after today.  I'm also wondering if they will start my first radiation treatment today.  I'd just as soon they do one while I'm there, if possible, because that's a long way to drive each week (5 days) for a 5 minute zap!  If we didn't have the full size Suburban, it wouldn't be as much of a concern.  But, I LOVE MY SUBURBAN and don't want to go back to a mini van.  Maybe I can coast when the roads slope downward and use less gas!!

                   

  It's a beautiful morning.  And the rest of the week should be the same.  There's a bit of rain in the forecast later in the week, but temperatures in the 80's are much nicer than the 100's!!!  The trees are blooming with beautiful flowers again and it's just a pretty time of year.  Only about 4 more weeks and we will have 80's for our highs and cooler nights in the 50's!  It never really gets chilly during the day until the end of October and, even then, we can still have a few really warm days.  By Thanksgiving it is more cool than warm.  But, there have been many Thanksgiving Days where the windows were opened to let the oven's heat out of the house!

                     

  I woke up today at 6am with Jesse. I slept much better last night, other than being chilled to the bone and needing to get up to put on socks, my sleep cap, and my winter bathrobe over the bedspread on my side of the bed.  I may have had a bit of a fever - I don't know.

  The girls are still sleeping.  At least I'll be able to instruct and guide them with their ChorePacks this morning . . .  and get them past the second instruction card that says, "eat breakfast"!!!!!

                      

  I did a few chores yesterday and rested in between.  So, no ill effects came from my being up.  I straightened a pantry shelf that holds instant coffee, flavored coffees, and different types of tea.  I hand washed a few big dishes and the rest went into the dishwasher, and I ran it.  I cleaned the girls' counter in their bathroom and made note that one of them needs to clean the toilet and the sink (lots of toothpaste stuck to the sink).  I caught up on emails (wrote back to a handful of people) and then relaxed until it was time to start browning ground turkey meat for soup.  Maybe that's why I felt so good last night and not aching!  Jesse and the girls cleaned up after dinner.  I called my dear friend Lori in Ohio and we chatted a while on the phone.  I should call her more often.  I always realize how much I miss her when I hear her voice.

  The girls enjoyed the pool yesterday while all of the neighborhood children were back in public school.  They made some chalk drawings on the back patio.  The have that special chalk and 3D glasses so the drawings look 3 dimensional when they look down at the cement.  They were content and I barely heard of peep from them. 

                              

  If they get up and get around this morning, and don't dilly dally with their chores, they may be able to swim a bit this morning before having to come in for lunch and get dressed to leave for my appointment.  I'd like them to use the pool as much as possible, because soon it will be so chilly at night that the water won't heat up much during the days.  This rectangle pool (from Target) has been a good investment, since we weren't able to put up the "real pool" this summer.

         

  Be Blessed  ~

  • 9:38 am
  • 9 Comments