I managed to sleep until 8ish on Wednesday. I only awoke one time to prove I was hydrated. My allergies and asthma did not wake me this day (I am awake at 5ish today because of allergies). I got the text that Barb and Leta, Susie’s sister and mother, had made their flight to Michigan by way of Minneapolis. They will make all their flights and be in Detroit as planned.
Today, the last day of my break between the cycle of chemotherapy, I am feeling more like myself. The anemia is getting better. The dizziness is mainly gone. I still get suddenly tired and need to stop doing things, but that is much less. A good day, sad there is only one of them.
Evan plans to spend the night and then drive me to the appointment on Thursdays morning, wait four hours in Portland while the infusion and related processes are done, and be ready to help me get home safely (without a stop in the ER). The wait time is unpredictable as it relies on lab work and getting the results with some speed. Also, if someone else has an issue, it can delay my start time. All this requires, on my part and Evans’s, flexibility and compliance to process.
Breakfast is a banana and donut with coffee. I also can take my pills early as I need not keep the timing. The careful timing is only for the chemotherapy. So I take them in the late morning.
I am still having some trouble with words as I try to tell some stories and chat with Corwin and Evan. I am having trouble finding the words, and I forgot what I would say a few times. Not sure this is chemo-head or just the Covid-19 isolation issues that everyone is having. I will keep monitoring this.
I still have some numbness in my fingertips, and my toes are a bit numb too. The cold sensitivity is mainly gone, but I still freeze in a 70F house. I decide not to work on my model of a ballon for Dungeons and Dragons this break as I seem brittle and don’t want to damage my hands with any work stress.
I had another ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. So good and so simple once the extreme cold sensitivity recedes.
I do grab the Gay Pride flag I have in the garage and a replacement pole. The previous wooden flag pole, two-back, was broken, we think, by folks trying to do pull up on the wooden pole. We replaced the gay pride flag with an LGBTQIA2S+ flag, also known as the Progress Flag. This flag required a different styled pole. That flag and part of the pole have disappeared. I have ordered new Progress Flags with special rings to mount the wooden poles I usually buy.
I take Air Volvo to Beaverton and see Dan there, and he comes over to help me replace the pole. He used plyers to force the holding screw into the wood to ensure that the weather did not pull the flag out of the holder (we had a thunderstorm take one flag, which we later recovered). So only the bottom pole, which was snug in the holder, remained. I put up the Gay Pride flag we retrieved previously–I mailed my new Gay Pride flag to a Methodist Church in New Jersey that was reported to have had one burned.
I buy flags that are sewed and made out of non-flammable plastic. Therefore, they are impossible to burn. The Progress Flag I was able to buy is still a fabric flag with two rings requiring two clips and will burn and tear. It is easy to fly; one just clips the flag to a pole. I think I can get better ones next time; I saw that sewed ones are coming available. I ordered some extra rings so we can clip the flags to our existing poles.
After seeing Dan for a bit and getting the flag mounted, I took Air Volvo to Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, to see Susie. I passed the Covid-19 check and was soon in Susie’s room.
Susie was tried-out. The four-day visit of her family and all the trips she took outside left her happy and tired. Susie, even without her family here, still looked more awake and comfortable than I had seen her in many weeks.
Susie is wearing a rainbow Seattle t-shirt.
I spent an hour or so with Susie. We did some music videos and just sat together. Leta called on FaceTime, surprising me, and is home and safe. She and Susie chatted for a while. Susie was falling asleep and yawning, so we said our goodbyes and let her sleep for the afternoon.
I then took Air Volvo to Whole Foods. I needed to do any grocery shopping before the chemotherapy started again. I found some wine and port I liked, which knocked my bill to unexpectedly high numbers; oops. It is easy to overspend in Whole Foods. I bought the makings for Beef Stroganoff and called Corwin, and he agreed to make it.
I brought my bags home and put away the perishable items. Corwin would put the others away. He wants me to limit my energies to those things I must do–he is trying to help as he is the one person that sees my everyday struggle. I can fake it for most folks, but he sees the thirty-pound weight loss, the effort to start my day, and the side effects and now tries to make things easier for me at the house.
I have some port, Susie’s fav style, and oddly the cheapest of the quality versions, and watch Clone Wars animated Star Wars (I really like this show and recommend it–I am on season 2 now). I stop after two episodes as it is starting to get late to make dinner, and I begin to put the dishes away, making sure I knock a few together, making some noise, and soon Corwin rushes out to do the dishes and make dinner. He had fallen asleep in his room. He had promised to do the dishes and make dinner and will not let me down.
Dinner is excellent, if not a bit late, and I continue with port and watching Clone Wars on Disney+. Evan shows. I was doing laundry, with Corwin helping me move the stuff to the dryer so that Evan had a fresh blanket and sheets. I also put my wash in later, as I will need clean clothing soon, and the first days of chemotherapy are tough. I don’t want to do laundry in the first days!
I download the newest Maisie Dobbs book, number 17, into my kindle for tomorrow and find a few snacks from last time to use on Thursday’s infusion. It just was published, and I recommend the books, but there are a few dark and lesser books in the series.
I manage to fall asleep early, but asthma and nerves have me up at 5AM. My inhaler helps, but I start my day anyway at 5AM.
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