Hi VP...It's amazing what being shamed publicly on Facebook will make a girl do!! I know Cathy...I've been horrible about keeping the village up to date and YES! it's partly due to my obsession with working on my Spit...Bad Dog Dee!!! So here I am to bring you all up to date with the latest hap's here in Arizona.
OK...so the most important info first...CHEMO IS NOW HISTORY!!! Brenda is SOOOO over all this. There have been a few bumps in the road lately but she'll be back to her feisty self in no time, I'm sure. Just before Chemo #5 she went for her regular ENT visit and they found she had a sinus infection beginning and she was running a low grade fever...NOT GOOD AT ALL! She had been feeling really bad for a couple days prior and so we got her into the oncologist who ran a blood test and got her on some antibiotics and steroids. She was feeling much much better in a couple days...heck...just in time for chemo #6. Now that's just mean! We'll get you feeling so much better and then we're going to poison you again!! Damn!
So here we are with chemo #6 history last Tuesday. The problem is that Brenda has gotten another sore throat, she's horribly fatigued, she's got more sinus build-up, and she just feels crappy. No fever this time so that's good. We have her on some additional meds and tomorrow we take her in to see the PA in the Oncologists office to see what we can do to get her feeling better. I just feel so helpless when she's so under the weather. I'm sure we'll have her back to her old self soon. With no more chemo she can get over this hump and then start really healing from all that poison.
We heard back from Mary at MD Anderson and we go back to Houston on Sunday June 27th, the PET scan and all the doc appointments will happen on Monday June 28th, and we'll fly back home on Tuesday the 29th. I know that we'll get only good news that the cancer is history and they'll tell us to go home and heal...so after some BBQ...we're GONE! At least for another 3 months! Keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming as that will help this dream turn into reality.
Life here at home had been good...busy, but really good...we are so blessed that we could be home during this last part of the CURE. For the most part it's been good, but again...as with life...it's had it's ups and downs. The "UP'S" certainly have been Brenda's continued healing...most of it has been positive...our dear, dear friends and their love and support, the dogs...they just make you smile...our home in the desert...well you get the picture. The "DOWN'S" have been a few of those really low days for poor Bren, news that my sweetie Abbie's (our 6 year old Dobie) heart condition is worsening...DAMN!...and a medical emergency with my Mom last week that ended her in the hospital with a gall bladder attack and gall bladder surgery. She's here at the house recouping and doing just great so that's all good. She went through the surgery without a hitch...thank the LORD! It's hard to keep a good woman down!
Of course I've been busy playing Nurse Ratchet to all my patients...the list is growing!!! STOP! And of course I've been busy with house work, errands, time at the gym, visits to Starbucks...thanks to all of you that sent me Starbucks goodies for my b-day...YUMMMM! I'm in heaven! Of course I've really been busy with my Spit. I met this wonderful woman through the Triumph club who has been restoring British cars for years...she's a retired mechanical engineer and is an absolutely amazing mechanic! She came over to help me install a new steering column and steering wheel and it turned into 8 days of fun, grease, laughter, swearing, and parts, parts parts when we ended up fixing a whole bunch of stuff on the car. One thing just led to another...and another...you know the drill....after all...it's a 33 year old car. Marie and her partner Betsy are wonderful folks and we have talked them into coming to Amsterdam with us in 2011...more on that in a minute.
So one day...after talking with Vic on the phone, Bren decided that she really needed something big to look forward to that had no relation to medicine or cancer. We can all agree with that. She was also thinking that trying to do her Australia trip next year, the way she wanted to do it, might just be a little too much. She's got a lot of healing and building to do over the next year. So we just had gotten the announcement of the Olivia Tulips and Amsterdam Riverboat Trip in April of 2011 and she thought that was a perfect adventure to look forward to. She needed something positive to work toward and this was going to be it. Are any of you Villagers going? I think it's a fabulous idea and can't wait to visit Europe with my favorite gal. How cool is this??!
So that should bring you all up to date...hopefully I'll have tons of great news to report in the future with Brenda's healing. We love you all and want to celebrate the power of the village in helping Brenda get through this journey. You are all the best!
Sending blessings to each and every one of you.
Dee, Brenda, Abbie and Tanner
