3 April – third break


The antibiotic finally seems to be working. My nose isn’t as swollen or red this morning and I’ve only taken two doses so far. I think I have maybe five or six more to go which will see me through to when I get back to the hospital. Now it’s my ankles that are giving me grief. I think I have cellulitis because the red patches on my ankles are warm and a bit painful. UGH. It seems like every time I leave the hospital I start to fall apart. I know it’s my impaired immunity but it’s still annoying as hell. My friend Bonnie, who has been down this cancer treatment road before, told me that her cellulitis will come on so fast and be so virulent that she has to carry meds with her at all times or risk death. Seriously. EEP!!! Yep, I really wish I didn’t have that info romping around inside my head because now my brain is totally grabbing the ball and bolting away with it. Fabulous. 🙄

I took Lauren to her orthopedic appointment this morning. Since hers is considered an elective surgery, her doc told us that we would need to wait until the Texas government signals the “all-clear”, or the end of hospital restrictions on elective surgeries. According to the x-rays, her spine has held the same position for six months, which is a very good thing. Back in October the spinal fusion was going to be from T9 to L4 and now we may have some wiggle room, possibly T10 to L3. She’s also been given permission to wear her brace less, possibly only at night. I’m a bit on the fence about this only because I don’t want her spine to worsen again. She’s made some progress this last year and I would hate for her to lose that. Anyway, the surgery may be delayed until July and if it is, I should be able to be with Lauren when she’s admitted to the hospital in San Antonio. If all goes well, I should be released from my final chemo treatment before the end of June.

What is it about whole dill pickles that are so ridiculously satisfying? I just opened a jar and munched down two and I’m seriously considering raiding the jar again. 😄

I ended up cooking dinner tonight to give Rory a break. He looked exhausted after his day of tele-training newbies in India who have a tenuous (at best) command of the English language. Rory had thawed some whole chicken legs so I made up a fresh garlic paste with additional spices and slathered that onto the meat before popping it in the oven. It turned out quite yummy!