Saturday, January 5th, 2008 -- more beach and sun!

Hiya Bloggy!

Yep... another day in paradise!! Although, I will be the first to admit that I was much slower today. Instead of going down to the beach around 9am (which is always my goal), I don't think I got there until close to noon. I think (what do I know??) that the Kona winds may be on their way out, which meant it was hotter and muggier today... and we didn't have any "cloudy" periods... it was sun, sun, and more sun :)

Oh joy!! When I got down there, they had a beach umbrella already set up for me AND my black chair was all set up too!! I think I mentioned this yesterday... a few years back now I had left my black chair with the Bradleys and told them that they could do whatever they wanted with it... give it to friends coming for a visit or even throw it out. It was easier for me to just bring a chair over and leave it rather than cart it back to Vancouver. Hahaha... well, it did make it's way over to the Donnellys, so it was still on the island, this many years later. When I got to the beach, there it was, all set up under my umbrella. Ed had walked it down to the beach early this morning...probably earlier than when I got up! :) And now, at the end of the day, the chair will stay with the umbrella with the beach boys and they will set it up when they set up the rest of our gang.

So, what did we do today? Hmmm... this is going to sound so boring... it's a tough life don't you know?? We chatted, we read, we did puzzles (some were doing crosswords, some Suduko), some had their ipods... and then when it got too hot, went into the water for a dip. I didn't go into the actual water for a swim... I went in up to my ankles, just to cool off. Waikiki Beach is a famous beach for swimming but it does have this one big sandy step down just under the water at the shore. Getting down the sandy step would not be a problem for me... it's getting up the step. It's just that high enough that I can't quite to it... at least, not on my own. Of course, all the gang have said that when I want to go into to the water, I can either go in with anyone who is going in, or any one of them will walk in with me (so I don't fall) and will be there to give me a hand when I'm ready to come out. This is going to happen... I will be going in! I just have to get over my "fear" of falling or having my muscles/joints give out on me. I've already noticed what a challenge it is just to walk down to the beach! That has really thrown me... I was not expecting that, and I'm waiting for the heat/humidity to start working it's magic on my joints and muscles that are so sore.

Patience is a virtue!! I've only been here two days... I can't go expecting miracles :)

Anywho... where was I? Oh yes... the beach! So we were all just lazing around, doing not much of anything. I was reading my book and then out of the blue, there was Sheila with her hands over my eyes!! Scared the dickens out of me, it did!! Sheila is the owner of the Kepoikai (the catamaran) and tomorrow (Sunday) is her birthday. Since it is her birthday, she wants us all to go for a sail tomorrow. Hmmmm... I'm going to play that one by ear and see how strong I'm feeling tomorrow. I am REALLY leary about getting on the catamaran. Going up the stairs/ladder onto the boat... and then getting into the cabin of the boat. I used to do this in my bare feet and just took it for granted. Now, the simplest thing like telling my legs to go down a step... well, it's a challenge. So getting off the boat will be a challenge as well. We'll see. I guess part of it will depend on what time Sheila gets down and then whether my pain pills have kicked in or not.

Anywho... now that Sheila was down at the beach, that's all us gals needed as an excuse to go to the Moana Surfrider hotel to have a little drinkie outside under the Banyan Tree ;) Fancy drinks... one has to have a couple of those days!

Then it was back to our umbrellas on the beach. I realized about this time (3pm'ish) that I was looking a tad reddish. How does that happen when I'm mostly in the shade of the umbrella?? But, there was that time where I was standing at the water's edge, just getting my feet wet up to my ankles to cool off. Peggy and I stood there talking for a bit... and I think it was that time, with the reflection from the water, that got a little cooked :)

So, it was time to hobble back to the hotel at 4pm. I was hot and felt sandy. It seemed to take forever to get back to the hotel, but oh did it feel good to have a nice warm shower :D I got changed into some comfy clothes and chose to stay home this evening. It is now 10:30pm so I am going to go to bed with my book. I will probably be asleep before I finish the first paragraph and will have a good night's sleep :)

Aloha for now!!

Cheryl

PS: Marilyn, who says she is barely computer literate, came up with a brainstorm regarding my problem of not being able to post any pictures I've taken because I forgot the cable at home!! I will take the camera's memory card into a photo finishing place and have them download the pictures from the card onto a CD! Hello? What a simple solution and why didn't I think of that?? Heck, there's a photo finishing place right in the hotel behind where we sit on the beach! :)

Friday, January 4th, 2008 -- ALOOOOOHA!

Aloha Bloggy!

Yes, I am here in Waikiki, the land of sun, surf and pineapples! I had a wonderful trip here and my first day on the island was filled with sun and fun with friends. Ha! I didn't realize that my energy level is not quite the same as it has been in past years... and that hit me last night, my first night here (grin).

For starters, it wasn't until I got here that I am now realizing the various things I have forgotten to pack... things that I would have packed without even thinking about in the past. Unfortunately, one of those things is the small cable that I need to hook my camera up to my computer so I can download the pictures off the camera onto the computer so I can then use them on the blog (or send in email, etc). That is a real bummer... it means this trip report for the next 3-4 weeks is going to be just words, no pictures! Unless I can luck out and find a camera shop here who just happens to have one in the back. Highly unlikely but let's not doubt the power of mind over matter ;)

Speaking of the "Laws of Attraction"... I have a wonderful example of how this has worked for me. For the weeks leading up to my flight here, I have been not too excited about coming because I was not looking forward to being squeezed onto the plane like a bunch of sardines. More so this year than any other because of my legs. I am just not as flexible because of what the chemo did to the feet and how it's impacted the arthritis. Suffice it to say, I was dreading the uncomfortable flight. Now, if there were an empty seat beside me, that would give me plenty of room to at least not feel quite so claustraphobic. When I checked in, I asked if the flight was full... and the attendant just laughed and said, "All flights to Hawaii at this time of the year are full, if not oversold." Oh great! So she said I could check with the gate attendant but highly unlikely that anything could be done.

Now, for weeks I have been visualizing and saying to myself "I will have an empty seat beside me" but it was not looking good. When I got to the gate, I went up to the attendant, explained my problem and that I understood the plane was full, but should someone not show up and should there possibly be two empty seats together, blah, blah, blah. She checked and apologized... the plane was full and she did have 2 single seats but they weren't even close to each other. Oh well (sigh).

So the first seat I was assigned was an aisle seat in the middle row (of 3 seats). While the plane was boarding, the gate attendant came up to me and asked if I would mind moving to the aisle seat across the way.. this was where there were two seats in the row... a window seat and an aisle seat. There was a gal in the window seat and it didn't really make any difference to me who I was sitting with and by moving, she could sit a family of 3. So I moved and the gal was very nice and friendly... so at least that made an uncomfortable situation more bearable. So off we went... and this gal and I had a nice chat. About 20 minutes into the flight, one of the flight attendants came up to us and said that there was another single seat up a couple of rows and would this gal like to move to it? So, as much as we were getting along just fine, the gal said, "Well, why not. That will give you more room to stretch your legs, but make sure you get up now and again and walk on them."

So, lo and behold, here was a full flight and I did get my two empty seats... and the rest of the flight was great, even with the 15 minutes or so of pretty strong turbulence :)

Ok... wow, if it takes me this long to describe a part of a day, this blog entry will go on forever!! LOL!!!

So, I'll make the rest relatively quick. I got to the hotel and checked in and it really is very comfortable. It's an older hotel that has been renovated. I am staying in a "standard" room, but it has some amenities that most standard hotel rooms don't have. Yes, there is a tv (pretty standard) but it also has a stereo with Bose speakers. The king size bed is SUPER comfortable... both nights now I have slept sooooo well!! Air conditioning is turned on/off with a remote control rather than setting it like a thermostat. There is a small fridge and a safe. The bathroom is great... the bathtub is a jacuzzi tub. Yayayayaya! And of course, there is high speed internet in each of the rooms. So all in all, very comfortable. I was going to look into being upgraded to a Jr. Suite, which has all the same amenities plus a kitchenette, including a full size fridge. Depending if I stay a bit longer, I may still look into this, but for now I'm quite comfortable :)

Yesterday, we spent the day on the beach... my first day. My buddies had an umbrella already set up for me and (grrrrrrrr) since I FORGOT to bring my beach chair (it's still behind my door at home), they had rented me a chaise lounge chair... but at $15/day, that could get way too expensive. So, I made a few phone calls because I know I have left a chair with friends a few years ago. Now I had said that I didn't want/need it again because I would just bring another one each year... but now I was wondering if someone still had it? To make a long story short, yes, the chair is still here on the island, so Ed is going to bring it down to the beach this morning... and the beach boys who run the chair/umbrella/etc. rentals, will keep it with our other chairs/umbrellas, so I don't have to be hauling it to/from the hotel.

Last night, 8 of us took a stretch limo to Bob Mott's BEAUTIFUL townhouse to celebrate another friend, Sheila's birthday. The last time I was at this townhouse was back when they first bought it and it was empty. They were renovating so had not moved any furniture or anything in... and now it's finished and lived in. Beautiful home... and a fun party! But then, when haven't we had fun??? (grin)

I'd say that some of them may be a bit later getting down to the beach this morning (chuckle). Me, I realized as we were getting ready to leave about 11pm (1am Vancouver time and I'm still on Vancouver time at the moment) that I had run out of steam. My legs were now not listening to my brain.. weird feeling, but I know it was mainly because I was just tired. This morning, I'm still tired and much slower. I just realized it is going on 10am so I better get a move on and go get some breakfast. I will then head to the beach... but it does take me awhile to get to the beach since where we go on Waikiki is probably about a 1/2 mile walk. Not far at all... unless you walk slow :)

Ok... that's it for now! Will be back later :)

Alooooooha!

Cheryl

January 2, 2008 - Happy New Year!!

Hiya Bloggy!

Long time no posts or anything. Well, I'm not about to make any excuses because the intent was there... there just weren't enough hours in the day over the holidays.

Right now, I should be in bed because tomorrow is going to be a VERY long day! I have to get Bridget out to Tsawwassen by noon, have a little visit with Steph and Tony who are going to be looking after her while I'm gone, then off to the airport we go. I am giving myself plenty of time at the airport because we all know how long the lineups can be and then once checked in, I have to get down to go through US Customs then get down to the gate. I'll have my butterfly cane with me, but let's face it... I'm just not as quick as I once was. Hence the reason to give myself plenty of time at the airport ;)

Now, I don't even know where to begin to talk about the holidays, not to mention, I'm trying to make this relatively quick since I still have the dishes in the kitchen to do and arrange my luggage, etc. (well, get it off the bed so Bridget and I can sleep in the bed tonight).

Suffice it to say, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve were absolutely wonderful... and magical!! For the first time in years and years, we had snow falling on Christmas Day!! It didn't start until later in the afternoon, but certain areas in the city ended up with a White Christmas!! Yayayaya!!

I spent Christmas Eve at Dad's. We went out for dinner with Patt and Jerry, and Rod and Karrie. Here's a picture of Dad, arranging Christmas Gifts for the morning when the whole family would gather:



Hehehe... I think I will just show you how I spent my Christmas and New Year's in pictures :)

Christmas was spent at Dad's, with Pat, Jerry and the boys upstairs, although they came down and joined us for breakfast and gift exchanges. Hmmm... I don't have any pictures of either of my brothers or Karrie. If you guys are reading this blog, I do apologize. I was taking pictures during the morning but I see I don't have any of you guys!

Here is a picture of the presents after Santa had arrived. I guess he must have arrived while we were out for dinner (grin)

Let's start with the little diva since she is always the centre of attraction. She liked sleeping in her grandpa's bed. We do this once/year on Christmas Eve and she remembers every time. So here she is Christmas morning, in no hurry to get up! Lazy bum!

Here is my sister, Erin, with my Dad. Dad had received a Nintendo DS for Christmas, so Erin was setting it up for him. Boys and their toys... and girls too! :)

Here we have Jerry and Patt and their son Jeff and soon-to-be Daughter-in-law, Helen. Jeff and Helen will be getting married on July 26 this year! Yayayaya!! We are going to have a wedding in the family!!

And here we have Jerry and Patt's younger son, Mike and his girlfriend, Meghan. Mike is working up North with an explatory company and Meghan is going to school in the States, so it's good to have them both home at Christmas.

Ok...jump to later in the day when I went to my friends, Steve and Don's, for Christmas dinner. There were 5 of us... and we had a fabulous dinner that Steve cooked and arranged. He's a genius in the kitchen!!

When driving from Dad's place to Steve/Don's, I hit a Winter Wonderland in a couple of places. I just had to get out of the car and take a picture because it was so beautiful!

Here they are... Steve on the left and Don on the right!! Two fabulous guys!!

Christmas dinner! Did we have a feast or what?? And just the 5 of us adults to enjoy what Steve put together for us.

Here we all are, except for Don who is taking the picture. Starting with me on the left, then Steve, across the table is Doug and Andrew.

Here's little Gyro, Doug and Andrew's little dog. Hehehe... Gyro and Bridget had words with each other, but pretty soon figured out their boundaries and then they were both as good as gold and basically ignored each other. Bridget was more interested in sleeping.

Here's a picture of Don and Gyro BEFORE dinner. Don had got home at 5:30am Christmas morning from a trip out to Maui (Don's a flight attendant with Air Canada). So he's still pretty chipper and awake BEFORE dinner ;)

Ok, after dinner, not quite so awake. Even Gyro was starting to get a little on the sleepy side.

Let's move on to Boxing Day, Dec 26, 2007:

As Bridget is getting older, all this holiday festivity stuff and all the visiting is wearing the poor dear out. Here she's having an afternoon nap, and is staying at home instead of coming over to Shel and Jill's for a Boxing Day party.

Here's a lovely picture of Inga, Jill and Sanjay. Inga's hubby is not here at this point because he is performing in the Arts Club production of "Beauty and the Beast". But he was over before the performance and then came back after the performance. Hmmm... and I don't seem to have a picture of him before or after!

Isn't this adorable?? The little babe is Lilianne (I hope I spelled that right) and she is the daughter of Therese (Shel's daughter) and Stefan. They live in Montreal but were here for the Christmas season.

Here is Naveen and Jill. This Boxing Day Party was at Jill and Shel's house and we all were having a good time by this time of the night :)

Here Sanjay is getting some attention to his back which he had hurt. Maddalena is applying heat and giving him advice and it seemed to really work. So we have Sanjay, Naveen and Maddalena in this picture.

I love this picture! 3 very beautiful and generous people. Sanjay, Maddalena and Therese (Shel's eldest daughter and new mom).

I knew I had a picture around here somewhere with Shel in it. Here is Naveen, Maddalena and Shel. Shel and I have known each other for 35 years this year. Where does the time go???

Hahaha... this is sort of a posed picture! I told Naveen to pretend he was cooking. Shel then asked him what he was doing and he said he was cooking. Shel's response -- "In the sink???" and that's when we all cracked up ;)

Here is Emily with Inga and Troy's two darling little girls, Juliette (the youngest) and Natalie (in the grey).


Ok... a couple of days between Boxing Day and New Year's. These are the only 2 pictures I seem to have during that period:

Here's my little darling in her fuzzy, warm pink jacket that Jill got her in the summer when we were doing Grease (remember? The Pink Ladies all had pink jackets. So now Bridget does too and it's perfect for when it's cold out!)

How could one resist? Bridget is on the bed and I was folding laundry on the bed, so she did one of these, "Look at me, Mom, aren't I cute??" (grin)

Now we jump to New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve Party is at Naveen's house. Again, a nice small affair... there were 8 of us adults and 3 children (who are all pre-teens, so are more grown up than children).

Here is your's truly... moi! I did have makeup on when I arrived.. I'm not sure where it went in this picture ;)

Connor Kapahi, 12 years old and is already interested in the stock market!

Emily Kapahi, 14 years old, and interested in dance, singing, theatre and shopping! :)

Cooking at the stove! Naveen, his sister and his cousin... and what a fabulous meal they came up with!!

Sanjay and Jill... New Year's Eve, 2007 (or do we say 2008 because the new year is 2008?)

I absolutely adore this picture!! This says it all here... close family and lots of laughs!

Hehehe... I just had to take this picture. Naveen is in the middle of doing renovations to his house, so the bar had to move... and here it is (grin)!

Ok... I'm sure there are other pictures, but it is really, really late.. almost 2:30am. I have got to get to bed because tomorrow is a long day as I fly over the Pacific Ocean and head to Hawaii :)

I will be using this here blog to do my Hawaii reports, so maybe... just maybe I'll get here a little more often (chuckle). I'll certainly give it my best shot!! :)

Alooooooha!!

Cheryl

Saturday, December 14th, 2007 - Oncology Report

Dearest Bloggy,

Ok, this is getting downright silly!! The last entry in the blog was December 3rd.. back when we had some snow??? But, but, but... that was 11 days ago!! I'm sooooo sorry to have been so tardy with the entries. Hmmm... maybe that should be my New Year's resolution. Forget peace and good will to mankind... I'll consider myself successful if I can just be more frequent with Bloggy entries :)

Ok... first things first... yesterday's appointment with the Oncologist staff:

Anywho... yesterday (Friday) was my visit with my oncologist to go over the results from the CAT scan I had done the week before. This was the first post-chemo CAT scan and the first of many "Diagnostic" plans for how they will keep watch over me like a hawk. The CAT scan is just one of many diagnostic tools they can use, along with blod work.

Soooo, the results from the CAT scan were very good in that they did not show any return of the cancer in the intestinal area (or surrounding organs). They also did blood work and did a "Tumour Marker" test. Now, this is not to say they are "marking a tumour"... it's just the name of the test. What this does is measures levels of a substance in your blood called CEA. Higher levels of CEA would indicate reason to believe there is an active cancer in the body. I had a Tumour Marker test a few months ago (while I was still on chemo) and the levels were very low which is a good thing. This week's Tumour Marker results showed an elevated level in CEA.

The first doctor that sat with me was an intern... and I believe they are getting "patient interview" experience at the Cancer Agency. He was nice enough, but he certainly didn't make me feel at ease. There is a huge difference between those doctors with excellent bedside manner (like my oncologist, Dr. Gill) and the newbies... who can put more fear in a patient not because of what they have to say, but how they say it. He said that the CAT scan results were good, but that the Tumour Marker results were concerning. So, after we had our appt. I asked him if I was going to see Dr. Gill today (yesterday) and he said yes.

For those who don't remember seeing a picture of my favourite oncologist, Sharlene Gill, here is a picture of the two of us. It is wonderful to feel comfortable with your doctors/specialists... but it is phenomenal to have someone on your team who is so extremely bright, super knowledgeable in her field of expertise AND is compassionate and can relate to her patients and put them at such ease....




Thank goodness!! Her whole attitude is so positive, compassionate and you know she KNOWS what she's talking about. She said that she is not at all concerned about the Tumour Marker results at this time. She says that they could be a blip in my system, a "false positive" or numerous other possibilities and nothing to get too excited about. She said that we will be doing these Tumour Marker tests every couple of months and they probably will fluctuate over time. Meanwhile, the next one I'll have done will be in February and if, at that time, the CEA levels are up even higher, then we will look at having a PET scan (which is a total body scan vs a CAT scan which focuses on one particular area).

So, the good news is that there is no regrowth of cancer in the intestine or surrounding organs (according to the CAT scan) and the elevated levels of CEA may or may not mean anything. But either way, the team at the Cancer Agency will be on top of every diagnostic tool and if they do find something, they will have caught it at an early stage and we will go back into treatment.

Oh.. and yes, she did mention the lump that was found on my adrenal gland (above the right kidney) that was actually found during some CAT scans during the surgery in 2001 (which no one told us about). They found it again with the CAT scans during the intestinal surgery last January but said they were pretty sure it was benign since it hadn't grown at all in 6 years. So they are keeping an eye on that as well. Apparently, it has grown somewhat over the last year, but even benign growths can grow, so she isn't too excited about it at this time... and it is something they will keep an eye on.

It's wonderful to know I have such a fantastic team... and that, for the next 4-5 years I will be watched like a hawk. I'll actually be in safer hands than most everyone who has no idea if they have cancer or not. They could get one and not know it... hence not be treated for it. Whereas no cancer will stand a chance of getting past my team :)

Not only that... she is thrilled that I'm going to go to Hawaii. She says that this is the best thing I could do for myself. What with our wet, chilly, gray Pacific Northwest winter... this is creating havoc with my arthritic joints. The chemo and 8 months of toxins have really done a number on them and she says that the climate of Hawaii... the moist, WARM air will do me all the world of good. She is pretty sure that the warmth will make the joints that much more comfortable and the more comfortable I am, the more movement/activity I'll be able to do without pain. So it's a win-win situation and she is so glad I am going. Hahaha... had I known she was going to be so enthusiastic about her approval, I may have tried for staying longer!! LOL!!

Now, I could have sworn I had taken some more pictures that I was going to share on here, but alas, the memory is foggy. I'll have to go searching for them and see what the heck I was thinking :)

Meanwhile... it is getting awfully close to Christmas!! For the first time that I can remember, I am NOT finished my Christmas shopping!! I am one of those people who usually have it all done by sometime in November... but not this year! I haven't even started wrapping the gifts yet (on today's agenda to get that started!). I don't think I'm going to even attempt to go to the stores on the weekend... I don't have a death wish (chuckle). I have earmarked Monday for finishing my shopping... and Tuesday if need be because my friend, Alison and I are going out for lunch on Granville Island on Tuesday. So any last minute items, I'll do on the island :)

Ok... I really will try not to be quite so long inbetween blog entries. I wish EVERYONE who is reading this entry a safe and successful shopping/wrapping/socializing week or so before Christmas :)

Hugggggs,

Cheryl

Monday, December 3, 2007 - Snow and Rain!

Hiya Bloggy,

Well, I'm hoping this entry finds everyone who lives in the Pacific Northwest who is reading this blog, safe and warm and over the worst of the first snowstorm for the winter of 2007. I don't remember the snow last year, other than when I was in the hospital, I think there was a day or two when we got a light dusting... oh, yes and we got lots of ice because I remember Bridget couldn't come home when I got out of the hospital. I was not able to go get her myself since I was not able to drive for about 6 - 8 weeks after the surgery, and I didn't want to send anyone out to get her when the roads were so miserable the weekend I came out of the hospital. So yes, I guess we did get snow and ice last year... just not this early ;)

Anywho... Bridget seems to be an old hand at it... it didn't phase her at all. Here she is in her pretty pink jacket that she got from Auntie Jill this summer when we were doing Grease. It was too warm in the summer for her to wear it then and be one of the "Pink Ladies"... but it's perfect for when it's cold here in the winter.





As for me... what can I say? The last entry was November 23rd... it's now Dec 3... and it's been quite the 10 days or so. For some reason, be it a reaction to the meds, a chemo effect or who knows what but it's become quite noticeable that I have been retaining water. Actually, it started back around the 5th or 6th chemo session. They weigh you every two weeks before chemo and whereas most people LOSE weight while on chemo, I was one of those lucky (NOT!) few who GAINED weight. Every two weeks I would be up 6-8 pounds... so it didn't take too long to gain back all that weight I had lost pre-surgery.

Back around the middle of November, it was really noticeable. Not only was I noticing it in the fit of my clothes, but walking was getting really painful. My feet were swelling to the point where I could not put my feet into my shoes, not even my Crocs or my sneakers (and we all know how big Crocs are... ugly looking things but usually very comfortable to wear). And forget putting my sneakers on... my feet were so swollen the toes and front part of my foot could not get into the shoe opening. Also, my legs were swollen... the shin was ballooned out and very shiny.

Sooooo... Dr. Fay (GP) did some checking and my heart is fine and my circulation is fine (Phew!!) but he said we have to get the swelling down and get rid of the excess fluid build up.

He put me on a heavy duty diuretic and both he and the pharmacist said that with this diuretic, I will be making a lot of trips to the loo. I didn't mind ... anything to get rid of this pain and the weight gain (which is sooooo frustrating for me). Just as an example, I had been to him 2 weeks before to get a refill of a prescription... and 2 weeks later, I had gained 26 POUNDS!! Hello?? So, he gave me the diuretic pills and wanted me to start them the next morning... not that same evening otherwise I would be up all night going to the loo. So, I started them as planned but there were no extra trips to the loo... everything was the same as normal, as was the swelling and the pain. He wanted me to come in on the Monday (3 days later) and was very surprised that the pills didn't do what they were suppose to do... then again, we do know I have this high tolerance to meds ;)

He put me on a second diuretic... another strong one. So now I'm on two strong diuretics. The first one, I take 3 pills every morning, the second one, I take 3 pills three times/day. Again, no noticeable extra trips to the loo. But OMG! Last Wednesday afternoon, it appears that I came down with a tummy intestinal flu or bug... so now I'm having to be in the loo a lot (and not just for water retention). Cramping, tummy pain, the runs... all things that reminded me of how I was just before I was admitted to the hospital. Those are definitely not the kind of feelings you want to have... too many memories! This lasted right through until Sunday morning... I really thought that I was having a relapse!

But then I also noticed... my feel looked smaller. Why, wouldn't you know, I could get them into my Crocs. I could actually go up and down stairs easier. Sure enough, come Saturday I could put my sneakers on again (thank goodness, because that's when we got out big dump of snow and the thought of going out in the snow in flip-flops was not my idea of a good time (grin)).

Today, I went back to the doctor and YIPPEEEE!! I have lost 12 pounds since Thursday (4 1/2 days). Dr. Fay said that my feet/legs look much better... and he noticed my skin colour was much better.

Hahaha... we also got talking about the movie "Spinal Tap" which he says I have to rent (I haven't seen it yet) since we found out we both are fans of Christopher Guest. Now, it may sound like we were just making light conversation about old movies, but in fact, he has done this before ... and he's really checking my reflexes and quickness to responses. We are still keeping tabs on some of the chemo reactions, IE: Chemo brain. The chemo does such a number on the whole body since it is given through the blood stream, hence it goes through the brain, heart, etc. But, I think I passed the "conversational" test (grin), even though I haven't seen the movie.

So, I'm to stay on the diuretics for the time being... to get rid of the rest of the excess fluid. It would be nice to lose most of this water weight BEFORE I go to Hawaii Jan 3rd :) I need to be able to at least walk to the beach where I can plunk myself down... then be able to walk back to the hotel :)

Well, it's once again the pumpkin hour... almost midnight here! Bridget has already gone to bed, so I'm going to do a couple more emails, then I'm off to bed too.

Next week (Monday) we start the annual Letters To Santa project! But, I will fill you all in on more of that when we get closer to the date :) HO! HO! HO!

Ciao for now!

Cheryl

Thursday, November 23, 2007 - Sunny, cool days.

Hiya Bloggy,

Ok, so now we are getting to the point where entries are not weekly events. Hmmm, I really have to get a bit more diligent about these entries but I think it's kind of like email. I'm soooo far behind in email too, so I'm thinking that it must have something to do with less time being spent on the computer and more time spent out and about, as much as is physically possible.

The last blog entry I was whining about the pain in my legs. Well, I'm still whining about that! Grrrrrr!! I have since heard from others who have had long bouts of chemo treatments that they, too, have experienced pain in the legs post-chemo. Part of the reason for the pain is the swelling... my feet have swollen so much that I can't wear my shoes or sneakers. Even my crocs are not big enough for the swelling in the feet... hence I'm back to wearing flip-flops. Hmmm... not the best footwear as the weather is getting colder! Of course, there's also the arthritis in the knees, but combine that with swelling in the area of the shins, we are talking a lot of discomfort.

As of today, I have been put on a heavy duty diuretic to try and bring down the swelling. Apparently there is a lot of fluid retention, so hopefully the diuretic will eliminate that, hence eliminate some of the pain. We've noticed a lot of rapid weight gain (just what I need... NOT!). In the last 2 weeks I have gained 20 lbs!! Yikes!! And we were gaining throughout the chemo as well. This does NOT make me a happy camper at all!

But, enough whining. Apparently my circulation is good and there are no problems with my heart, so those are two good things... and two more things I don't have to worry about.

Meanwhile... have came will travel! I've been taking in a fair amount of shows this past 2 weeks. Let's see ... "Mary Me A Little" which is a Sondheim show was excellent. Tucked away in a little venue behind the Havana Restaurant on Commercial Drive... it really was a little gem of a show. Then I went to a script reading at the Arts Club Revue Stage. The script was "The Fall of Sister Judy" written by local playwright Shawn MacDonald... and was very well done and received. Also, went to see "High School Musical" out at the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver with Shel, Jill and Jaime. Talk about an energetic show!! 2 hours of sheer energy! Also went to see, in the same week, "Rejection 101" which was a workshopped musical written by Grant Hunter and directed by David C. Jones. Another local show that I was really impressed with. So it just goes to show there is lots of talent in this city!!

Next on the Agenda will be to go out and see a local production of "Side by Side" by Sondheim on Wednesday and at the beginning of December, "Suessical" produced by Carousel Theatre. Then I may have to take a break from seeing shows for a bit because we will be starting the Letters To Santa project on Dec 10th... ok, so I also have a few shows scheduled to see in December, but just not as many as I was seeing ;)

Now, you all keep your fingers crossed that my legs are feeling better tomorrow. It is the Christmas Craft Fair at the West End Community Centre and I want to go check it out for 2 reasons. 1) My friend, Maddalena, is going to have a table there where she is selling her line of jewelery so I want to check that out and 2) she has put the bug in my ear that I should be doing something with my photography. I'm thinking I should combine it with my scrapbooking interests and produce local cards... and may check out ideas of other card makers at this Fair.

No other news really to report at the moment. I did break down and buy the "medium" size suitcase of the set I reported on the last bloggy entry so now I have a set of three of them in the bronze/copper colour:



Bridget and CB are doing fine... they are such spoilt pets, but then isn't that what it's all about?? All pets should be spoilt!! Here's a picture of little CB in her aquarium...



And then the Diva, Bridget... who has not only taken over her pillows on the couch buy my pillows as well...



Oh, and let's not forget those rainy Vancouver days when she comes in from one of her walkies and insists on having her rain towel...



Well, I must dash now. I'm meeting Stephanie this afternoon so had better go get ready! Ciao for now and I hope everyone has a great weekend (belated Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends).

Cheryl

Monday, November 12, 2007 - Windy! Windy!

Hiya Bloggy!

Yes, it's me... in the wee hours of Monday morning! I was sleeping through the wind and all but was woken up after 3 hours because of my $(#)(@*@ legs! Hard to say if it's the arthritis in the knees or the crazy pains in the feet... or a combination of both. Heck, it could all be due to the healing process which is an interesting journey on it's own. Who would have known that healing, which we see as a very positive thing, can also be a physically painful thing? I didn't! For some reason, I just assumed that once we stopped the chemo treatments... and since I had done so well on them... the healing portion would be a piece of cake. Uh... I'm learning differently ;)

Soooo, here it is, 4:46am. I went to bed about 1am, read a bit, fell asleep and was back wide awake by 4am because of the pain in the $)(*)_#@ legs! So, I have taken a 400mg Motrin and a 5mg Oxycodone. 45 minutes later I think they are starting to kick in... keep your fingers crossed!

For those of you reading the blog who live in the Lower Mainland, and/or Victoria... what about that wind we are having and have had all night, eh?? Not quite as bad over here in the West End as that storm last November that devastated Stanley Park, but still... pretty strong winds. What is really interesting is that next door to me, just outside my living room windows, they are redoing the underground parking (fixing cracks, re-insulating, etc). So they have all the entrances to the underground tarped off (you'd almost think it was a leaky condo building except it's only the underground parking that is tarped off). Well, the winds have been going all night and the huge tarps are now shattered into shreds. Being that it's a long weekend for Remembrance Day, the company that is doing the work won't be here until tomorrow (Tuesday)... so when they get here they are going to find those tarps in a real mess :) I see the rains have now started too... oooh, it's nasty out there! I sure hope it blows over by 10am or so when I'll have to take Bridget out. She is not going to want to go out if it's like it is right now :)

Speaking of Bridget... it was her birthday yesterday. Yes, the little darlin' is now 10 years old! I can not believe I have had her for 9 1/2 years!! I got her when she was 6 months old. At the time, I couldn't understand (and still don't) why anyone who got a puppy at 8-10 weeks old, could then turn around and want to give it away at 6 months. I know it happens a lot for a variety of reasons... I just have never understood how people can do it. Hahaha... and I had no intention of taking on a 6 month old puppy! I figured that there must be something wrong with the puppy... whether it was for health reasons or behavioural problems. I had seen the ad in the paper and since it was in the neighbourhood, I decided to go have a look. Not to take on the puppy, but I wanted to see what a young miniature schnauzer looked like... I had never seen one, and at the time I think I had only met one adult miniature schnauzer. I did have a list of what I was looking for in a dog... non-shedding, non-excitable, non-barker, well-behaved, etc. Hahahaha... well, as soon as I saw Bridget, she ran circles around my head when I sat on the sofa, she barked and yodeled up a storm at me while I was trying to talk to her owners and get health information from them... and she was downright hilarious, demanding I pay attention to her and not her owners! She was everything I was NOT looking for in a dog... other than she didn't shed and it sounded like she was in very good health. So, for $700 (what they were asking for her), I told them that I must have her... in that one visit we fell in love with each other... and have been ever since!

I mean... how can anyone not fall in love with this little face and little cuddler?



And fall in love, I did... at first sight! I had taken on the responsibility for looking after this little bundle of energy. This picture was a picture of her at about 5 years (I don't have any of the puppy pictures on this computer... I'll have to dig in my various disks to see if I can find them. A lot of pictures from 10 years ago are hard copy 35mm pics... I didn't have a digital camera back then).

Anywho... I have no complaints of the last 9 1/2 years. Bridget has been nothing but a source of joy from the moment she came to live with me. At first, I was a little concerned since she never did have a moment of separation anxiety from her owners. I had taken a week off work so that we could bond and I would be there for her if she went through any kind of anxiety or separation problems. The little monkey didn't have one moment of being upset... and we bonded from that first day. I do know now, she can get anxious when I leave her with friends and don't come back at night... but as long as she is with people she knows in a home/environment that she knows, she does pretty good and does settle down... but she is definitely a Mommy's girl :)

The difference between what she was like when she was a puppy and what she's like now? She tends to sleep more. She is perfectly content to stay home (where she is super secure) and she will sleep all day and all night. At the same time, if you take her out for a walk... she is raring to go and will walk forever... acting just like she did when she was young...full of spunk and perkiness! It does upset me somewhat that I can't walk like we used to, so she is NOT getting the long walks that we used to go on. I'm a firm believer that a dog remains healthy if they are exercised daily and fed a good diet.

Ok... what else has been going on this week? Yes, I HAVE actually started my Christmas shopping!! I guess I should since there's only what, 42 days left until Christmas? I enjoy Christmas shopping if I have an idea what I want to get people. It's when I don't have any ideas that it can be frustrating and I have to question why we are doing the gift thing when no one can come up with ideas of what to buy someone? It obviously means that we really don't need anything so we are just falling into the commercialism of it all. When that happens, I do not enjoy the shopping experience.

This year, we are doing something different (different for us) for the family Christmas gift exchange... and I think it's going to work well. In the past, we have always bought for each other. Since there are no "children" in our family, it meant we were all buying for adults.. .and there are now 11 of us when you include spouses and extended family. 11 gifts that you aren't necessarily able to come up with ideas for all 11 people... not to mention the expense because this does not include friends. So, we are doing the "everyone throws their name into a bucket, then everyone gets one name they have to buy for", instead of 11 people. Along with the name, the person has put together a list of things they enjoy, need or suggestions for what they'd like to have. This gives the giver an idea of what would be appropriate for that person... and since none of us are buying for all 11, we can afford to give them something they actually could use or enjoy. When we get together at Dad's on Christmas morning... the gifts will all be under the tree with the name of who it's for on the tag and they all will be from Santa... so the givers remain annonymous. Other than Dad (grin)... he will get gifts from all of us, so he will be pampered on Christmas morning from all his offspring and extended family, who he has helped out throughout the year :)

Hahaha... but, with any Christmas shopping... I fall into the common trap where the intentions are to go out and get gifts for others, and I end up buying for myself!!! LOL!! This year is no different :) While over on Robson Street the other week because I was there for an appointment... I hobbled around to some of the stores. Lo and behold, there was a luggage store. Now when I woke up that morning, I had no intention of buying luggage... nor had I thought of that on any other day. But there we had all these sets of luggage and I got to thinking (danger! danger!). When I go to Hawaii, I use a hockey duffle bag, which works great as far as enough room goes. You can get a lot of stuff in a duffle bag!! Only problem is, there is no support in a duffle bag. When you pick it up by the handles on either side, the bag collapses in the middle. Not a big deal but awkward... and you do need some physical strength to lug the thing around since it doesn't have wheels or a handled to navigate the bag.

Well, there was this set of bags that were gorgeous... a totally different colour than I have seen in luggage before. I couldn't buy the whole set, but I did end up buying the big bag and a carry-on bag that has compartments for a laptop, accessories, as well as for meds, a change of clothing, documentation, and I can put my purse in it as well. Here's a picture of the two bags I got:



I love the copper/bronze colour. There are plenty of compartments so both pieces can hold a fair amount of luggage and accessories and one can definitely be more organized than with the duffle bag that had one compartment... the inside of the duffle bag. I am seriously thinking of going back to the store this week and getting the medium size bag as well. The bigger bag (which is in the picture) is perfect for smaller trips... but I'll be gone for almost a month in January and since you can check two bags, it makes sense to have them for when you need them. If I leave it too long, there will be no way to get a matching bag... so I'm justifying the cost (grin)

Oh my, but this is a lot of early morning babble... and I haven't even made a cup of tea yet! I'm just enjoying the quiet early morning hour and watching the storm outside, while doing a major blog babble :)

I did go see a production of Sondheim's "Marry Me a Little" on Friday with Shelley and Stefan. This little production is a real gem when handled well and the group that put it on did a wonderful job with it. It was put on at a little theatre venue in the back of the Havana restaurant on Commercial Dr. I thoroughly enjoyed this show, with a cast of 2 (3 when you count Kevin Michael, the musical director who was also part of the show). The show involves 3 single people, each in their own apartment, and through song, face the angst and joy of falling in love. The director, Peter Jorgensen, and the set designer, Lance Cardinal, pulled it off real well with a single apartment set, but where the actors treated it as their own apartment... and you really did believe they were in separate apartments. The show has another week's run and is really worth seeing. I'd also advise going for dinner first at the restaurant... fabulous food!

Ok... I think this is enough babble for now. If it's still windy when it gets light, I'll try to get a picture or two... but for now, I'm signing off!

Ciao!

Cheryl