Nurses Needed ....

So we are driving home from Moffitt because they could not admit me!

After waiting an extra two hours to see Dr. Conley (that was how behind the Sarcoma unit was running) we went to admissions expecting to get me in a bed and get started on the Chemo.  

Not to be!
 
It seems that they are so short staffed with nurses that it was absolutely impossible to get me in.  Amazing huh?
The hope is that they will be able to get me in tomorrow afternoon.
 
It was so ironic that this occurred, because we had just wrestled with whether to wait one more week for my Chemo or go for it.  My doctor felt my water retention issue was not serious enough to force me to wait......I was so ready to go for it.
 
So stay tuned friends!

My Feet Are Swollen :(

Tomorrow I return to Moffitt for my last round of chemotherapy, and I am ready to go!

I had some worries over the weekend concerning some strange changes in my body that crept in making me wonder if the Chemo treatments are causing damage.

My feet and ankles became swollen and I had a weight gain of three pounds over a couple of days. Wish that I could claim indulgence for the weight, but not the case. Since kidney damage is a known possible side effect from the Chemo cocktails, my mind went immediately there. Paul and I emailed Dr. Conley on Saturday afternoon and he replied by saying we will discuss the situation on Tuesday (tomorrow) when we meet before my scheduled last round.

The good news is that today my swelling is gone and two of the pounds have disappeared when I weighed in. I am hopeful that it was just a reaction that commonly does occur and treatment will go as planned.....I am ready to get this chapter completed.

The next time I blog I will have the answer and so shall all of you  : )

"Come Out of the Dark, Come Into the Light" - The Wizzard of Oz

Yesterday/Wednesday
a pretty typical day doing my chemo. The fun part was being greeted by nurses who remember me with a hug and a smile....best medicine for me!

The night before, Tuesday, I had a visitor nurse knock on my door so that she could introduce herself. She was so kind to share that she had been observing me on the floor during my past two rounds cruising around with my tower and my very cute hair look I have going on. She wanted to compliment me on my upbeat upkeep! You know that made my day!

It is true that a majority of the patients up here on 5-N tend to stay in their room and when and if they come out at all it is for a few moments and they are not particularly "pulled together".

I had to push yesterday and give myself a big attitude check so as not to lose my warrior spirit. The extreme snafus in checking in on Tuesday created a situation where by my chemo will not end by 6pm and now is looking like 8:45pm. It is very difficult to wrap my head around the comedy of errors in the pharmacy which results in holding me hostage an almost three additional hours. Needless to say, I was major bummed.

I occupied myself with walking/dragging my tower partner around the whole fifth floor (2 sets of 5 laps) and some quad/hamstring work with my ankle weights....yahoo! Better than nothing,eh?
The Pilates mat work is on hold as my stomach under current circumstances, does not feel like being that engaged  ; )

Last night (Wednesday) My nausea and gastric pain issues started to escalate so I had an Ambien sleeping pill and a Adavan injection put into my IV line....whoohoo! Sleep came so sweetly and I felt like Dorothy when she could not go one step forward without slumbering in the Poppy fields..Great sleep until 7am and even though my mind is a bit fluffy my stomach (I am relieved to report) is doing much better : )

My focus today is to "Come out of the dark, come into the light".....Wizard of Oz....and get this day done!

It seems that they will make my next and LAST round start a week earlier so I will be FINISHED by the 26th of May instead of the set back date of June 3rd.......watch for the big balloon in the sky on the that day ; )

Come Out of The Dark Come Into The Ligfht......Wizzard of Oz

A Do Over

It is one week later and I am waiting at Moffitt for an available bed, so that I can begin the chemo round that I was supposed to do last week. I have learned from all of my past visits here, that Moffitt is Latin for: "...wait around for a very long time."

On the up side, my postponed treatment was a bit of a holiday from cancer. I had one extra week of feeling good and doing normal things.

The big event for me was going to my first Bikram Yoga class since this all began. 107 degrees, yeah baby! Of course my knee does not bend as much as it should to do the postures authentically, but it was awesome for me just to be there. Anyone who knows me well is aware of my masochistic love of this particular yoga practice and the studio where it is done.

So amazing to be back at Jeannine's studio amongst the very sweaty yoga friends who are a bit twisted like me!
It was one more piece of the exploded puzzle of my life being put back in its proper space.

My room is almost ready....or so they say (remember Latin...), and once again it will be "Cocktails at Moffitt." After this round I will have only one more to go. Trust me, my fingers and toes are crossed that there are no more bumps in the road!

Drum Roll........, The Envelope Please!

I received the excellent news from Dr. Letson and Dave Johnson the P.A.

Based on reading all of my test results they believe it is bone growth and not more cancer!

I am scheduled to resume my chemotherapy next Tuesday and go forward with the original scheduled treatment plan.

While they had me on the phone they discussed the plan to have me be a Sarcoma spokesperson at the fund raising benefit being held in Orlando at the end of May. I am even more motivated to do this after the past 36 hours of next step uncertainty.

I want to take this blog to thank all of you who have been following my blog and path down the Yellow Brick Road. All of the love and support you have given to me has kept my spirits high and my determination strong to make it through this big adventure.

I believe I am very close to making it back to my life before cancer!

Just Waiting.....

It is after 3:30pm and so far no news from the Moffitt team.

I had such an unexpected experience yesterday when I was going into the room for my MRI.
I crossed face to face with a friend/former Pilates client as she was leaving from her test. It had been quite a while since we last had encountered each other and my mind was focused on getting the MRI done since Paul and I had waited all day, and it was now after 6pm.
I did not recognize her at first, but she called me by name and said her name to me. I was stunned and when I asked what she was there for she informed me it was brain cancer!

I had noticed her earlier in the waiting area and every time she got up, a woman who turned out to be her daughter, was holding her hand to help guide her. I had thought she was having problems with her sight. When we met outside the MRI a nurse was assisting her and based on her recognition of me, I realized that it was her motor skills that were obviously impaired from the brain cancer.

I was so saddened and shocked that I had no worries about my own situation, just grievous concern for her and a deep desire to do something to help her! I spent the next 45 minutes of my time in the MRI scanner thinking only of her and wanting to find a way to emotionally support her. I hope that I can connect with her as we did not have a way in that moment to exchange any contact information.

Today as a result of this chance meeting I feel resolved to play out the next chapter and feel fortunate that the doctors at Moffitt are doing such an outstanding job monitoring my personal journey with cancer and feel strangely confident that I can go the distance!

I will blog again when I have news about my next step : )