Last Dose of Prograf

Happy Retirement, Ross!

Today is the day! I take my last Prograf dose this evening. I have been on it since October and am so glad to stop it. My body really doesn't like it! It depletes magnesium, suppresses my immune system and irritates my kidneys. I also have to take it and the voriconizole on an empty stomach. That takes planning. I will sure be glad to ditch the "no eat zones" of the day.

Mom arrived courtesy of Delta Air Lines in first class, no less. She had Bailey's in her coffee. Living on the edge!

Then we went plant shopping. We got some tomatoes, green peppers, jalapeños, Rosemary, two KQ ferns, and two tiny red hibiscus. Then we got a lot of seed packets. And dirt.

I have clinic, but Mom will get started in the morning if it's not raining.

Happy thought:

Nothing For Monday

Happy Bithday, Glenda!

Let's see... No new health news. No rash or symptoms of Graft vs Host disease.

We woke up to rain and cool weather. 

It took until afternoon, but it cleared and we got a nice day. So then we got some stuff done and a nice walk.

Many thanks to Darlene for doing my shopping. Get well soon to Linda P.

Happy Thought:

Sunday

The big news for today was I got to drive a dog around. He was given up to Sheltie Rescue of GA because the newborn daughter is allergic. Very allergic. So they drove him from Savannah to me, then I drove to downtown where he met his foster mom.

He's a purebred Sheltie with a puppy haircut. And there is already a new home waiting for him. Not us.

We had dinner with Curt and Darlene and Mark.  Yum! Thank you, CnD!

And that was the whole day.

Just A Saturday

Kent and Phil hung out and went to lunch today.  They brought me back some green curry. Yum.

Not in the way at all, Dexter.

The day slipped away and we returned Phil to the airport for his flight. Yes, I got to go for a ride. Spring break traffic was bad in spots, but we took side streets around it.

Today was chilly and we will be close to freezing tonight. Then we should be fine. The hummingbirds are still here. Yay! Spring!

But for tonight, snuggles.

Happy thought:

Busy Day

I woke up slowly. I didn't have a lot of energy and took a long time to get going. It actually turned out I needed water. So after downing my second big cup of water, I felt a lot better.

The I got to prepping for our guest.  Our long time friend, Phil, had a 24 hour or over in Atlanta, so Kent  went to get him for the night.

I made a couple of nice appetizers, home made bread, and prepped the rest of the veggies for grilling with the salmon.

That was the whole day.

Perfect Spring Day

What a great day.

Dave came over for coffee in the morning. Then Darlene showed up to weed my Buddy box, basil bed and Lilly bed. Thank you, Darlene!

I still can't touch dirt since my immune system is low and there are tons of bacteria in dirt, so I really appreciate it! Then Darlene planted some radish seeds in my circle garden. The peas Dad planted are already coming up.

Kent, the dogs and I also got a walk in today. Just lovely.  Dexter's foot is nearly healed, but I put his bootie on to be sure he didn't injure it again.

Best news of all is Darlene spotted a hummingbird at my feeder. Yay! In 2012 they showed up March 18.  They are very late this year and I was beginning to worry. At least there was one! Maybe they are more, but they are shy.

5 more doses of Prograf, then done with it and voriconizole.

 Happy thought:

Clinic Day

My brother-in-law is driving some boat from FL to somewhere North today. I thought of him on the way to clinic this morning when I saw this.

I didn't think much of it since his truck is white.  Then, at clinic, I saw his Facebook post he was stuck in ATL traffic. The time matched up, so I sent him the photo. It was him!! 

Wow. What are the chances?

I am glad I didn't know. That would have been a huge distraction to driving, and I know I would have made a scene. Something like cutting him off, parking the car, and getting out on the highway to say hi. Yah, it's better I didn't know it was him.

My stats:

53.8 kg (118 pounds - 2 more to go!)

98 deg

Pulse 78

110/72

Resp 18

Summary of my labs:  RBC were up.  No blood needed today. I am thrilled! It made clinic a relatively short visit.  Potassium and magnesium were up. I now take one magnesium supplement pill a day as opposed to the 6 pills I started with.  

WBC, plateletes, and CRE were down.

They are watching my numbers carefully, and on paper it looks like GVHD may be coming. We will see.

I got a shot of Procrit to boost hemoglobin production. Hopefully that will keep me away from needing transfusions. That also means weekly visits will continue. We were so close to bimonthly visits.  Oh well.

I am getting close to freedom, but not there yet. Yes, Glenda, I promise to adhere to doctors' orders. Thanks for the support. I have eyes on the prize.

I am glad we didn't plant the garden. Friday and Saturday we are expecting a frost. Yikes! Where is that spring?!

Happy thought:

Study Hard

Tomorrow is clinic. I am prepared to go in, have blood drawn and wait an hour for results. If it comes back low, I will have to get typed and crossed. That takes 4 hours. Then get the bag of whole blood infused. Probably another hour. I am also supposed to start. Weekly injection of Procrit to help grow red blood cells. That requires weekly checks.

But that's tomorrow. Today was great. Lovely day, lots done in the office, no some neighbors stopped by. Just lovely.  If you came over, you will be greeted with this:

Dexter is still limping around.  Here is his sore foot. Some of the pad is worn away. It's hard to see. So we have had lots of inside time. Poor guy.

Happy thought of the day:

Catch up Monday

I finished cleaning the kitchen from yesterday. 

Then I spent "forever" on the chat board with the Internet provider. My mail wasn't working right. I finally got it working on Kent's address with tech support. Then I fixed all but one of the other emails. I had just had enough. More tomorrow. Or not. It is receiving emails but not sending. It is for Sheltie Rescue. They know how to get me, and I can use another count to send outbound.

Then I got to drive. I went to the paint store in Griffin with Dexter. We waited in the car while the shop owner delivered a box to us. Cool.

Later, Dave brought over his famous red beans and rice and he and I had dinner since we were both alone tonight. Yum! Thank you, Dave!

All in all, it was a nice day.  Dexter is getting better. It's hard to keep him still.

Happy thought:

What Sunday?

Happy Birthday, Bro-in-law, Wayne! 

What a busy day. While I was making cupcakes for a neighbor, Dexter licked his foot until it was sore. So I cleaned it up, bandaged and bootied it.  Then proceeded to keep one eye on him the rest of the day. Luckily he stays close to me.

Then after dinner, I asked Kent to watch him as I cleaned up. Dexter promptly seized the opportunity to  remove the bootie and bandage. Urgh. So, I caught him and fixed him up again. Hopefully he will heal quickly and we can go on walks again.

I still have not seen a hummingbird. I know they are here! Somewhere...

I got Kent addicted to a new show. It's really stupid. I think it's hilarious. "Last Man On Earth".

He just binge watched Episodes 1-3 on the internet, but too late to see tonight's episode. Hopefully they will load tomorrow. 

Happy thought of the Day:

Happy Saturday

Got out a bit today. Visited with Darlene, took Linda for a ride on the golf cart and did some visiting. Then to the pavilion while Kent hopped rides for a while in the PJ.  The. It was dinner with the Hamiltons and that was a whole day. Rain tomorrow.

Health wise it was a good day. I stayed covered up in pants and long sleeves and a huge hat. Since I got so much radiation in October, I have to be careful with my skin. I do not know for how long, though.  Better safe than sorry.

Stuff

Got lots of stuff done today, including g a new internet connection. It's fast and costs less. Cool.

The dogs had two visitors. Annie got spooked and ran in the opposite direction of the intruders.

Some neighbors had fun making noise today.

That's It

That's it. They're gone. Mom and Dad headed out today. 

After our visit, I spent the day on the computer sorting out home business. Necessary, but what a waste. Eh, it was rainy anyway. I was glad to stay home and not have to go to clinic for blood. We will we what happens next week. I may need a bag of red. I think we will start Procrit to boost red blood cell production. Today I started the last step down of Prograf. I can't wait to get that monkey off my back. Come on April 1st!

I did have one very busy visitor, Dave. Thanks for the company during tea time!

Here is Dexter resting his head on the side of the sofa. Awww.....

Happy thought:

Clinic Day

8 months 25 days. My dear friend, Ken, has counted for me. It really seems a blur. Most of the things I do not wish to remember. Lots of new experiences. Lots of new medical knowledge.

I am very thankful to be here at all. Northside Hospital's oncology team has performed a miracle to get me where I am today.

But, as my blood test revealed today, it's not over.  My red blood cell count has dropped again. I actually needed a unit of blood today. But, I was below the threshold by only 1/10th of a percent. The team agreed it was safe for me to go other week with the caveat I come in if I feel anemic. I don't have any sign of anemia, and feel about 90% well. I know I am a lot weaker since I lost so much muscle mass. Other than that, I am happy.

Kent donated plateletes today.

Speaking of happy, Mom and Dad got the whole yard cleaned up and garden prepped. (Thank you!!)  I know it's too early for peppers and tomatoes, but Dad planted sugar snap peas. They will be fine if we get another frost. Mom will be back to do the serious planting and mulching. SO EXCITED! Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, herbs and flowers. That should be enough for my first big garden.

They will be back tomorrow.  What else can't I do???

Happy thought:

St. Patrick's Day

What a lovely Spring day. I made two new recipes. Key lime cupcakes and colcannon.  Both winners.

Charlie and Bev had us over for dinner.  Thanks, guys! It was delicious! 

I even had a glass of wine. Just one, then two glasses of water. I do have a test tomorrow. Kent will go to clinic with me and donate plateletes.

Best capper of the day is Mom and Dad showed up. They will get the yard and garden cleaned up from winter and get the garden ready for planting.

Happy thought for the day:

Going Green

First, I'll share some good news.  Our friend's heart surgery went well today. Yay! Now the long road to recovery after being cracked open.

Health wise I am doing well. No complaints. Late night snacking is my vice. Maybe that's why I have been up insanely late...

Well... Trying to show some green since tomorrow is St. Paddy's Day. (Yes, Paddy not Patty)

Happy thought:

Fail

Today didn't start off well.

At least I burnt both sides of my breakfast grilled cheese. Don't get me wrong, I ate it. It was just disappointing.

Terry left today. He will be back in 2 weeks. I think he is having fun working on the planes with Kent. I sure hope so.

It is a 6 days early, but I put out my hummingbird feeders.  (HumZinger feeders are the best - lifetime guarantee!) I want them ready just in case some birds start to travel on a Monday. It's important to get them early so they don't pass me up.

I got out and saw a few friends today. Not one of them mentioned how discombobulated I was. My hoodie was bunched up inside all day.  (I still don't spend any time in a mirror!)

I am calling them out: Kent, Terry, Thomas, Dave, Mark, Kim, Nick, Casey, Charlie, Bev, Ross. 

Mary, Pete, and Camille get a pass since we just waved at a distance. (Get well soon, Mary!)

Y'all can tell me when I look more rediculous than normal! Or maybe... Yah! I meant to do that! It's a new trend!!

Well...besides Kent being gone, it's a good night. There is a movie on that I have always wanted to see. Tom Hanks stuck in JFK's int'l terminal. Cool.

Happy thought:

I Am Invincible

Extra points if you get the movie reference! I "fixed" the Internet. I hate to admit it, but it was just a loose connection.

Today went by in a flash. I did have a little social time with neighbors, but the rest of the day was in the office working on stuff.

Tomorrow will be stunning. I might even go for a golf cart ride.  I can't cook, since we are out of lots of stuff. Like sugar. Got to get that soon. The hummingbirds are almost here!

 I can't leave you hanging....

http://youtu.be/fXW02XmBGQw

Bad Internet

I guess it's time for an upgrade. Our DSL box has been acting up and tonight quit. I didn't hit the reset button on the back. As I recall, that involves a call to tech support. I just don't feel like dealing with that at 9:30 at night.

That will be tomorrow's challenge to sort that all out. I am glad We have a smart phones.  At least we can function.

Tonight I made bread with rosemary and Kalamata olives.  It took all my will power to stop at two slices.  I would have eaten the whole loaf. 

 It was supposed to go with the lasagna, but the boys decided to eat dinner out at a burger joint and support a local band. One of these days I will be able to go. Never soon enough.

Happy thought:

Good One

Still feeling good and normal.

Today went by like a flash. I had a neighbor guest, Kim, this afternoon. It was great catching up. She has her application in with Delta, and it would be so great to fly with her someday.

After dinner we went to another neighbors' house for some music and a little dance lessons. Those kids are really good! The will be great dancers!

Now we are in for some rain. Tomorrow will be a snuggle up day.

Happy thought:

Clinic Day

Kent took me to clinic today.

 We spent all of 10 minutes with the PA, who was running WAY behind. The numbers still look good and she says the doctors are pleased with my progress. We still are vigilant for signs of GVHD, but so far nothing. The results of the chimerism test came in.  We are trending up. (100/79) That's good 

 A little piece of "disappointing" news is no swimming at all until a year post transplant. (October 17, 2015). Swimming will only be allowed after then if I do not have any setbacks, like GVHD. No ocean, no lake, no pool.

The magnesium levels are increasing, so the supplement I have been taking has been reduced.  Now I am down to 4 pills and Prograf in the morning, and 3 pills and prograf in the evening.  (Previously it had been as many as 8 and as many as 4 times a day.

I continue to try new recipes in the kitchen. (What else a, I to do?) Tonight was chicken, salad, and a pasta. Kind of. Grilled chicken breast, homemade (no mayo) coleslaw, and spaghetti ala carbonara.  I think we would have gorged on pasta alone, had I not insisted on the protein and greens. Still very yummy.

Happy thought: