Tuesday, June 9, 2015

An Update of Random

Since I've lost fingernails and toenails, I've had to cover those appendages with band aids.  Lots and lots of band aids.  I should have bought stock in the company, I've used so many band aids.  It takes me about 20 minutes every morning just to get all the band aids on, because do you know how hard it is to get band aids on when you already have band aids on?  And those things stick together, so that you sometimes have to just give up and start over.   It's been a trial for me, with my normal klutziness exacerbated by what they call neuropathy.  My fingertips are numb, in other words.  Why the medical people don't just speak plain English is sometimes beyond me.

Typing has been a bit, well...not impossible, but certainly more difficult, with band aids.  You really can't use a touch screen with your fingers bandaged up, for example. The computer does not recognize that you have band aids on, and just ignores you. And with band aids, you often hit the wrong key when typing; and then hit it again when you are trying to correct it.  I'm very slow at texting too, and thank goodness my friends have been patient--it's a good five minutes for me to type out "BRB" with my pinky! 

I have three more treatments to go, but they changed up my routine due to the side effects.  So today, all I was supposed to do was what they call a CBC.  This is code for "generic test of the blood"; so now, when you're watching a medical show, and they scream out that they need a "CBC, stat!", you will be ahead of the game.  They also weighed me and took my blood pressure, which was 119/74.  I haven't had a blood pressure reading that good since I was a teenager.  Maybe not even then.  Cancer might be the cure for high blood pressure.  I still don't recommend it. 

I didn't have any issues with the mediport this time(Yay!), and I waited for the results thinking that I could probably meet my mom for lunch at Denny's.  Say what you will about Denny's:  I love that place.  They have lots of food that I, as a person with chemo sores in her mouth and throat, can eat without grinding pain.  I lost five pounds in a week just because I can't eat much besides soup and eggs. Even bread is too rough! The nurses actually yelled at me for losing too much.  I pointed out that I likely have enough reserve fat to live comfortably for at least a month without food, but they still yelled.  That's why I have now been drinking lots of those Ensure shakes in addition to the soups and eggs.

Fruits and veggies are just too acidic for my throat right now, which has been frustrating for me.  Zane and his grandfather planted a garden, and the tomatoes went completely nuts with all the rain.  I have these huge, gorgeous tomatoes that I can stare at fondly, but I can't eat.   Summer is when gazpacho is a big hit, and I normally would be eating huge vats of the stuff right now, but I can't.  At least the will is there to eat.  I'll call that a win, while I dream of the day when I can actually eat all the food all the time.  What a great day that will be.    

Do you have any idea what the blood types of your children are?  I know that I'm one of those universal donors, but I don't remember my son's.  Or my husband's, for that matter.  I started to feel bad about that, but then I remembered that I have cancer and I don't need to worry about something like blood type right now.  Another good thing about having cancer is that you start to give yourself a pass on being a super mom.  Yes, I actually used to feel guilty that my kid didn't have the mom who makes the decorated cookies for the classroom "just because", or the mom who sews the wonderful costumes for the Spring Jamboree.  Cancer has done away with my Momguilt, at least for now.  I've learned to just do the best that I can, even if that just  means getting out of bed. 

Okay, time to give the fingertips a rest. 

3 comments:

  1. Good to hear from you. Those band-aids, oh my. Hopefully, you'll get to eat some gazpacho before the end of summer. Either way, you are almost over the hump. Take care.

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  2. I am impressed you got that all typed up. I wondered if you were using your nose! ;) Love and hugs and healing thoughts!

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  3. Greetings from downunder, my friend, where band-aids are a klutz's best friend - and that makes me a band-aid expert! I LOVE the fingertip ones, and I once found a special thumb wrap-around, but I've never seen it since. Shame on the touch-screen manufacturers for band-aid proofing their product - perhaps you should report them to the Equal Opportunities board (I'm sure you have something like that up there?) for failing to ensure their product is usable by people who require band-aids (I'm sure a million kids would agree). Hold that thought about the Mom-guilt - you won't need any of that when you come out the other side. I'm sending some light and love from down here - hope you can feel the good old Aussie warmth!

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