Monday, February 07, 2022

February 7, 2022 Monday--10:45am

Good morning!

Was a week of puttering.  

Tuesday

Katie tested positive for covid that morning so no cleaning visit.  Since Leah told me there were only 3 children's and 9 adult's ICU beds left in all of North Dakota...we decided to pass this month and tentatively she could come to clean in March.  

Dagan came by for a visit and took my trash out for me.  We discussed my back-up plan.

I am playing it by ear with the cancer treatments at Essentia Health.  If I can't avoid Kobrossy or if the results are not good with the immunotherapy...I will try to switch over to the Sanford Health system.  I think Medicare will allow that but I am not positive.  Sanford's cancer center is well-renowned and they have more than one full-time oncologist.

Now when I have my CT scan on Thursday it is possible that the liver tumors have grown because I was off of any kind of treatment for must have been 6 weeks or so before I started immunotherapy.  I have to keep that in mind--could have been growing like crazy for that period of time.  It would be distressing to hear but I do expect them to take another scan in a couple of months--will ask for one if they don't plan on it.  I think of this as kind of my baseline Keytruda scan this week--been on it a couple of months now.

So, we'll see what the CT scan shows now, how the next couple of months go with avoiding Kobrossy, how I get along with McCune and Macheledt, and then what the next scan shows in a couple of months.  If I don't feel good about things...I will make a consultation for a second opinion at Sanford.  That's my back-up plan.  Can put it into action whenever I want to.  :) :)

It is my life...my body.  I only have one of each--LOL! 

Meanwhile...

The Critter Cafe has been busy.        

There are no masks or social distancing--LOL!
But at times there is a waiting list.  ;)

Wednesday
I worked on setting up more letters.  A total of 15 ready to go.  Sorry that I wasn't up to chatting for a while there and got behind.  (I usually don't have more than 6-8 lined up for paper-chats.)
Thursday
During the night we had -31F with wind chill warnings of down to -45F to -55F.  Was a chilly morning!  Not surprised to see an arctic hare across the way by the pine tree in the afternoon just waiting for me to toss out some more seed.
Leah came over Thursday night (our normal craft night).  She cut my hair for me.  I had started to work with the rub-ons I got from JetPens quite a while ago.  I wanted to put them on pages of the writing tablets I have to make some "stationery".  I also put strips of washi tape on them sometimes to add a little something to the plain pages.  Was trying them out on Thursday and I really liked them.

Friday
Spent most of the day cutting the rub-on pages apart.  Each set had two pages and I kept them separated.  Some are leaves, some are flowers, etc.

Saturday
Spent most of the day rubbing away--LOL!  Got three sets done.  Two on Strathmore writing tablet pages... 

...and one on Clairefontaine Triomphe tablet pages.
I still have the five sets above left to go--but my back and hand needed a break.  Such fun, though!

Sunday
I was planning to visit McFamily but it was a bad bathroom day (IBS--TMI, I know--lol!).  Going to see about this afternoon for a visit.  I haven't seen the boys since Christmas Day--and before that it was Liam's birthday last September.  

Also yesterday--I won a hand-woven towel from Hilary at Crazy As A Loom!!  She's such an inspiration to me...how she deals with her chronic health issues.  She's such a talented weaver and dyes gorgeous yarns.  And now she's purging--also motivation--lol!  Got to pick which towel I wanted, too.  I'll show you a picture when it arrives.  Got a colorful one!

Anyways, it's a sunny day and has warmed up to 14F.  Supposed to hit the 20s today and be in the low to mid 30s Tuesday-Friday.  Goodness!  The snow will be melting some for sure.  Unless things change I plan to visit McFamily today and then I have the CTscan on Thursday.  I'm praying the tumors have shrunk, of course--but at least that they have not grown a lot.  We'll know soon.

Just got a call (not a text--shock) that Dagan has some errands to run and will come by to pick me up.  So I had best finish this up and get ready.  So far so good.  I see a visit with the boys in my future!!  ;)  Blogger often messes with the size of my font and my centering--but it will have to be whatever it is this week, I guess.  Till next time...

14 comments:

Divers and Sundry said...

It's sooooo cold there!!!

I hope your medical provider situation levels out and works towards the good result. I've been enjoying my patio, too :) I always think of you when I'm bird-watching, knowing that you're probably watching your birds while I'm watching mine.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Great idea to go with Sanford as they have the Roger Maris Cancer Center there. Medicare shouldn't care where you go. Although they have some rules so maybe you should give Medicare a call and see what they say.
Yeah for getting to visit the boys! :)

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

I have no idea what I was going to say, something about birds and views but my web browser keeps shutting on me so annoying.................

DJan said...

I saw on Crazy as a Loom's website that you had won that tea towel. How many "Rita in Fargo" people can there be? Congratulations and many prayers sent your way for a good CT scan outcome. Hugs!!!!! :-)

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Good luck with resolving all the issues you are now facing. It has been a long and difficult struggle for you.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Sorry to read about the upswing in hospitalizations in ND, Rita, and that Katie has also tested positive and hopefully won’t have any bad effects. I have heard of those testing positive with no ill side effects and others with symptoms that were short lived. Hope that you will not receive bad news as far as the tumors, staying the same would be better then anything, shrinking would be even better. But then perhaps I am being overly optimistic, my friend.

So glad that you will be able to have a McFamily visit as it has been awhile.

Mary said...

Will keep fingers (and toes) crossed that the scan shows improvement. The plan for a second opinion at Sanford sounds entirely reasonable. Glad you are getting to see the boys. Stay warm!

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita. Sounds like you are thinking about and planning things very carefully. I hope you like your new doctors and that things go well with the scan. I also hope you get to spend some time with McFamily soon. Have a good week.

Jeanie said...

I'm glad you are able to do some crafting and art and feel up to that. You sound very balanced about the future and plans and that is so smart. Here's hoping you can make the switch to another provider if needed. A visit with the family sounds wonderful -- I hope it happens soon.

Anvilcloud said...

Glad you have had some more moderate weather. We are also in a bit of a warmup. Probably temporary but the way the cat is shedding, maybe not. BTW, we text in this family. I don’t know when we last called each other.

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Congratulations on winning a towel! I checked out Hilary's page. She has a lot of beautiful towels. Very talented.

Those wind chills of -45F to -55F are TOO COLD!!!! Brrrr. I would never want to go outside. It's amazing that animals can survive those temperatures/wind chills, isn't it? They must have some cozy dens or nests they've made for themselves somewhere.

I hope the tests go well on the 10th and that the tumors have not spread. I'll be thinking about you on Thursday.

Serena Lewis said...

Good luck for the CT scan...hoping that the tumours haven't grown.

Congratulations on winning the towel!

I hope all your plans fall into place easily and that you will be able to switch to Sanford if you want to.

All the best,
Serena xx

CrystalChick said...

Love the Critter Cafe! And an arctic hare, very cool!
Whew, I do love cold weather, but that's a bit much for me.
Sure hope you are able to switch to the other health system if need be. Fingers crossed that your results will be alright, but having a plan for moving forward is very good, of course.
Enjoy the McFamily visits!
~Mary

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I hope by now your CT scan was to your liking. Sorry I]m so late visiting.

The snow and low temps are even worse than where I live. I suspect by the time you read this, your temps will have gotten above freezing.

You had a productive week. I like those rub ons. They are beautiful and you are using them well. Have a super rest of the week, Rita.