I was up and down all last night trotting off to the loo. Thankfully my body seems to be flushing out all the retained fluid by itself so I may not have to be given a diuretic. I hate those things. They kick like a mule and won’t let you rest for more than 20 minutes or so before it’s off to the bathroom again. My tummy seems a lot less unhappy this morning and I think that has a lot to do with the decreased fluid retention. Geez, I felt like the Hoover Dam yesterday and my normally comfy elastic waist sweats were too snug. I’m still a bit… big through the middle, but the swelling is going down. Yay!

I feel so productive. I did my laundry, I bandaged my own toes, I even fixed the angle of the shower head in my bathroom. (Hint: Always bring a Philips screwdriver to the hospital with you. You never know when you’re going to need it and it beats having to wait around for some guy from Maintenance to show up.) Now it’s mid-afternoon and I’m sooooo sleepy but I know that as soon as I try to take a nap everyone will come pouring into my room.😴😴

There are some people here at the hospital who I’m definitely going to miss once my chemo is finished; one of them is my sweet little cleaning lady Thelma. I’ve mentioned her before but we had a long chat this afternoon and she told me her story of leaving the Philippines to work as domestic help in Hong Kong. Thankfully she was one of the lucky ones who had kind, humane employers. I’ve heard horror stories of folks from Southeast Asia trying to find work in China or the Middle East who end up in something very much like indentured servitude. My little Thelma worked with three separate families before meeting her husband and immigrating to the US. Her tale of meeting her hubby sounded a bit like Kismet. These two were meant to be together! Anyway, I’m thinking about making little gifties for my special peeps and she’s at the top of the list along with Dr. Bambo and a few of the nurses.