I called on Monday to see if they had gotten my radiation schedule set up yet. They hadn't and said it would likely be done at the end of the week. I called again today, but they still aren't ready with it.
On the one hand, I am really enjoying having the time off to recover more energy before I start radiation. On the other hand, the delays are only pushing out the date for when I can finally be DONE.
I did meet with my plastic surgeon this week. I scooted in right before he left for Vietnam this week to work on cleft palates. I asked what the time frame would be for surgery after radiation, and he said he wouldn't consider doing it until six months after radiation. My skin will at least that long to heal. That puts us into fall and the school year, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Other than that, life just marches on. There is laundry to fold, dishes to wash, and cat hair to vacuum. Some things never change!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Spiff's Chocolate Pudding Pie
Spiff is making dessert for after dinner tonight. Here is the recipe he is using, based on what we had available at home:
Chocolate Pudding Pie
1 Oreo crumb crust (purchased on clearance at the grocery store)
1 recipe chocolate pudding*
1 (3.9 oz) box Vanilla chocolate chip instant pudding
1 cup milk
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip, thawed
Chocolate shavings
* Chocolate Pudding
1/2 c sugar
3 heaping TBSP baking cocoa
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup milk
1. Combine sugar, baking cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in milk. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute.
2. Place 1 1/2 cups of chocolate pudding in crust. Let cool in refrigerator for 1/2 hour. Put remainder of chocolate pudding in Dixie cups and place in freezer for fudgecicles.
3. Combine milk with instant pudding mix and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in half of Cool Whip. Spread pudding mixture on top of chocolate pudding in crust.
4. Spread remaining Cool Whip on pudding mixture. Garnish with chocolate shavings. Chill 3-4 hours.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Pudding Pie
1 Oreo crumb crust (purchased on clearance at the grocery store)
1 recipe chocolate pudding*
1 (3.9 oz) box Vanilla chocolate chip instant pudding
1 cup milk
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip, thawed
Chocolate shavings
* Chocolate Pudding
1/2 c sugar
3 heaping TBSP baking cocoa
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup milk
1. Combine sugar, baking cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in milk. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute.
2. Place 1 1/2 cups of chocolate pudding in crust. Let cool in refrigerator for 1/2 hour. Put remainder of chocolate pudding in Dixie cups and place in freezer for fudgecicles.
3. Combine milk with instant pudding mix and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in half of Cool Whip. Spread pudding mixture on top of chocolate pudding in crust.
4. Spread remaining Cool Whip on pudding mixture. Garnish with chocolate shavings. Chill 3-4 hours.
Enjoy!
Monday, February 16, 2009
My Boys Get the "Best Kids Ever" Award Today
I woke up shortly after 5 am with a migraine. I scooted downstairs to take my migraine medicine, but it was too late to stop it. I spent the next three hours in agony until the medicine finally cut it short.
After I finally fell back asleep, Spiff came in to see why I wasn't up (the boys are on Winter Break this week). I told him that I'd had a migraine and he said "OK, I'll get breakfast for me and [Entropy Boy]. Can I watch Star Trek on Netflix?" And he did. They kept it blessedly quiet in the house for the next two hours so I could sleep. Spiff watched his show and Entropy Boy played with Matchbox cars and Hotwheels tracks.
Shortly after lunch, I dropped the boys at D & FL's house (thank you so much!) and went to my radiation set-up appointment. They gave me a CT scan and three tattoos to mark the proper set-up for the radiation machines. They will get back to me in 5-7 days with a treatment plan.
When I went back to pick up the boys, FL had made a chicken pot pie and banana bread for our dinner. It was so nice to not have to cook, and Spiff went back for seconds and thirds.
We've had a quiet evening since we got home. Joe is setting up a server that his company gave him to work on some projects. The boys are watching Netflix. I'm still in a post-migraine funk. Bedtime soon!
After I finally fell back asleep, Spiff came in to see why I wasn't up (the boys are on Winter Break this week). I told him that I'd had a migraine and he said "OK, I'll get breakfast for me and [Entropy Boy]. Can I watch Star Trek on Netflix?" And he did. They kept it blessedly quiet in the house for the next two hours so I could sleep. Spiff watched his show and Entropy Boy played with Matchbox cars and Hotwheels tracks.
Shortly after lunch, I dropped the boys at D & FL's house (thank you so much!) and went to my radiation set-up appointment. They gave me a CT scan and three tattoos to mark the proper set-up for the radiation machines. They will get back to me in 5-7 days with a treatment plan.
When I went back to pick up the boys, FL had made a chicken pot pie and banana bread for our dinner. It was so nice to not have to cook, and Spiff went back for seconds and thirds.
We've had a quiet evening since we got home. Joe is setting up a server that his company gave him to work on some projects. The boys are watching Netflix. I'm still in a post-migraine funk. Bedtime soon!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day!
Wow! I felt like a normal person today. Amazing!
Joe and the boys let me sleep in until 9 a.m. We puttered around the house until it was time to go to a friend's house. My friends KP and MP were husband-less this weekend, so volunteered to watch our boys while Joe and I went on a date.
When we arrived around 3 p.m., the kids immediately ran off to go shoot Nerf weaponry at each other. Joe and I sat down with KP and had a wonderful chat sans children. After a while we headed out to an Indian restaurant. Oh, the food was so good! We had a chicken appetizer platter and then vegetarian entrees with rice and garlic naan on the side. The restaurant gave us complementary glasses of champagne at the end, but I didn't even take a sip. I REALLY wanted to, but didn't dare because I didn't want to add alcohol to the miasma of stuff my liver has had to deal with.
When we got home, the boys collapsed into bed. They had a great time playing with their friends and want to know if the parents can exchange date nights every week.
I hope your Valentine's Day went as well as ours did!
Joe and the boys let me sleep in until 9 a.m. We puttered around the house until it was time to go to a friend's house. My friends KP and MP were husband-less this weekend, so volunteered to watch our boys while Joe and I went on a date.
When we arrived around 3 p.m., the kids immediately ran off to go shoot Nerf weaponry at each other. Joe and I sat down with KP and had a wonderful chat sans children. After a while we headed out to an Indian restaurant. Oh, the food was so good! We had a chicken appetizer platter and then vegetarian entrees with rice and garlic naan on the side. The restaurant gave us complementary glasses of champagne at the end, but I didn't even take a sip. I REALLY wanted to, but didn't dare because I didn't want to add alcohol to the miasma of stuff my liver has had to deal with.
When we got home, the boys collapsed into bed. They had a great time playing with their friends and want to know if the parents can exchange date nights every week.
I hope your Valentine's Day went as well as ours did!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Amazing Arnica
Today I got to sleep in until 7 a.m. Bliss! Joe and Spiff went out to run errands while Entropy Boy and I puttered around the house. We made banana-peanut butter-chocolate chip muffins together. We even played with Play Dough. He ran a seafood restaurant and made me Play Dough delicacies while I knitted.
One of the things that Joe did while running errands was to pick up a prescription for me that had been waiting at the pharmacy for several days. I had told my oncologist at my last appointment that I was having neuropathy (pain and tingling) in my feet. It was keeping me awake at night and I was nearly out of percocet. So she wrote me an Rx that was supposed to help with neuropathy and warned me that the drug could cause nausea.
Well, heck. I don't want to be nauseous. So I looked around to see what else I could do. I remembered that we have some arnica rub that works well on bruises and swelling. Arnica is pretty amazing stuff and has been used for centuries (Remember Little Women? It's mentioned in there.) So I tried it on my feet. It worked! My feet didn't hurt in the morning!
So now I put stuff called The Arnica Rub on my feet twice a day. It has arnica, St. John's Wort, comfrey, and some other nice herbs in it. I've been able to sleep three nights without having to take pain medication. Yippee! I have the Rx from the oncologist as a back up, but for now I'm going to be using the arnica because it doesn't make me nauseous or put more strain on my liver. My poor liver needs a rest after all that chemo.
One of the things that Joe did while running errands was to pick up a prescription for me that had been waiting at the pharmacy for several days. I had told my oncologist at my last appointment that I was having neuropathy (pain and tingling) in my feet. It was keeping me awake at night and I was nearly out of percocet. So she wrote me an Rx that was supposed to help with neuropathy and warned me that the drug could cause nausea.
Well, heck. I don't want to be nauseous. So I looked around to see what else I could do. I remembered that we have some arnica rub that works well on bruises and swelling. Arnica is pretty amazing stuff and has been used for centuries (Remember Little Women? It's mentioned in there.) So I tried it on my feet. It worked! My feet didn't hurt in the morning!
So now I put stuff called The Arnica Rub on my feet twice a day. It has arnica, St. John's Wort, comfrey, and some other nice herbs in it. I've been able to sleep three nights without having to take pain medication. Yippee! I have the Rx from the oncologist as a back up, but for now I'm going to be using the arnica because it doesn't make me nauseous or put more strain on my liver. My poor liver needs a rest after all that chemo.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Has It Really Been a Week Since I Posted?
I went to see the radiologist today. We talked over what was going to happen next and scheduled my "dry run" of radiation on 2/16. I had asked if we could not have radiation the week the boy had off from school, and the radiologist said that was fine as it would give me an extra week to get my energy level up. I'll start actual radiation treatments on 2/23.
I also met with the oncologist today. I won't see her again for 8 weeks, at which time I will start Tamoxifen. I talked to one of my nurses and she gave me a big hug. I won't miss the chemo, but I will miss all the people I saw each week!
My hair is peach fuzz now, and white. My head is itchy sometimes now due to the grow-in process.
The boys are eating a snack before getting ready for bed. They had an early release from school because of snow. Joe is about to go out and clear the driveway. We are expecting a regular school day tomorrow.
The balloons from my last day of chemo are still around the house. The cat plays with one of them each night, grabbing the string and dragging it around the house. We know where he is by the balloon floating through the air.
I also met with the oncologist today. I won't see her again for 8 weeks, at which time I will start Tamoxifen. I talked to one of my nurses and she gave me a big hug. I won't miss the chemo, but I will miss all the people I saw each week!
My hair is peach fuzz now, and white. My head is itchy sometimes now due to the grow-in process.
The boys are eating a snack before getting ready for bed. They had an early release from school because of snow. Joe is about to go out and clear the driveway. We are expecting a regular school day tomorrow.
The balloons from my last day of chemo are still around the house. The cat plays with one of them each night, grabbing the string and dragging it around the house. We know where he is by the balloon floating through the air.
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