February 12, 2023 Sunday--2pm

Good afternoon!

Decided that since I am meeting my new oncologist tomorrow that I would blog today instead.  

First--Allie wants to say hi.  She is not one to be ignored--lol! 

Monday

I had nice catch up chats with two friends--on the phone (a rarity for me)--Linda (grew up next door to and have known since I was five years old) and Bonnie (have known since the 90s when I joined a women's spiritual group in Minneapolis).  Was so nice to reconnect and hear their voices and laughter!

Tuesday

I made it to the new hospital for my CT scan!   Leah and the boys took me and waited in the waiting room--which had a kid's room with a TV that had on Disney Plus!  

A very nice young man did my scan.  What a coincidence that his mother has had shingles for four months and also has fibro.  Nicer machine at Sanford.  It starts out low so is easier to get onto the platform...then raises you up to put you through the kind of doughnut tunnel.  He was very good at getting the IV in, also.  It was painful on the shingles, had to go braless (luckily it is cold so I had a coat on till I went back for the scan), but it went quickly and smoothly.

Leah and the boys dropped me off and went for their usual Tuesday grocery and other errands shopping trip.  They came by later to drop me off some Keto bread (by Brownberry) and the boys wanted to try some of the bread to make toast.  Sure!  They loved it. 

Leah had picked me up some 3M hooks so  she could put up my new kitchen items I bought a while back.  

Since I won't have a stove or oven in my kitchenette when I move I was thinking of ways I can still have trivets and potholders...because I will still have some type of toaster oven or air fryer or something on the counter that I can use.  So I bought these silicone flower shaped trivets that wouldn't look too bad hanging on the wall above the sink...   

...and a pair of oven gloves I will hang on the side of my frig.

So far I have been using them and haven't missed my old trivets and potholders I keep under my oven in the bottom drawer...so I think these will work well.  The gloves are big but I am getting used to them.  A bit awkward but I really don't have to worry about steam burning me with these. That's so nice!

Wednesday

Managed to do laundry again.  Hadn't put anything away from the last time--or has it been last two times!  Just grabbing things off the table and from the basket since it is mostly just towels, nightgowns, underwear, and socks--lol!

Thursday

Allie was watching her CatTV.

I got the results online from the scan late in the evening.  Had to look up several medical terms, but my impression is that the news looked pretty good!  Tumors might even be gone?!  I'll find out more tomorrow when I meet Dr. Failing.

True--my bloodwork wasn't great.  Low white blood cell count and highish on glucose.  I can remember seeing it was a tiny bit high on glucose from bloodwork done at Essentia, but they never mentioned anything about it to me.

Well, I typed in immunotherapy and pre-diabetes...and guess what?  Keytruda came up by name.  *sigh*  I never saw that listed on their list of side effects.  Be interesting to see what Dr. Failing has to say.  This is the highest mine has been (I think it was 117 and normal is 90?)...and I am on a low carb diet with Keto.  

I am so curious to meet a new doctor and see how he is and if I like him.  :)

Friday

Leah came over in the late afternoon with egg cups I can nuke and to help me with a lot of things I haven't been able to do recently.  She cooked up some ground turkey for me, gathered my trash, emptied the big box of kitty litter into the bin, brought a birthday card down to the mail and checked my mail for me, emptied my dishwasher, brought out my trash--and warned me not to try it on my own because it was ice like glass out there.  And when she first came she found a box of flowers outside my door!!  So Leah even got them cut and into the pretty pitcher that came with them.

Thank you so very, very much Janie!!

Leah also set up a food app on my phone that she and Dagan are using.  She doesn't think I am eating enough...and I guess I am often not even eating 1000 calories a day.  So I will try to eat more often.  Was nice to have a little more time with sweet Leah.  :)

Saturday

The one thing I got done--little at a time--all day long.  TaDa!!

I finally got all the letters set up and ready to go!  15 of them waiting.  So, I will eventually get back to all of you wonderful people who write and send cards!  Very frustrating to not be able to do things like that I enjoy so very much...due to the shingles curse--lol!  I am very slowly getting better.  A bit disappointed that the pain level hasn't gone down much since the blisters have been crusting over.  I thought it would hurt less, you know?  Still pretty dreadful, but better than it was a week ago.  

Anyways, I worked at getting the laundry actually put away--all week--and finished by yesterday.  Hurray!  Was motivated by all that Leah got done that had me so totally overwhelmed.  So I worked 10-15 minutes at a time and got all the letters ready to go, too.  Felt sooo good.

Leah sent some pictures.

  

The boys love to go to the wall climbing place (owned by a friend of the family) and will go every week when they can.  

The walls are changed up often.  The boys get good exercise going there, that's for sure.  Here they are taking a break.

The basement floor!  

The man came over and put down three samples.  It's done on the floor where the shower will be in the bathroom so it won't show.

We like the middle one the best so far.  Much closer to what we had expected from the original samples, as you can see.  I am only seeing the photos just as you are, but Leah said she and Dagan wanted to see the last option he had (another layer on top of these, I believe).  He might even be coming tomorrow to put down the last option.  I am already much happier.  And he is not charging extra for it.  Hurray!  (Just putting everything behind schedule--LOL!)  But this already looks way better!!  And then it will be sealed and burnished or polished when he's all done so it will have a shine to it.

I was hoping to be moved in by this coming fall, but who knows?  Whenever it gets finished.  We are not on a timeline, really.  And, obviously, I haven't been able to go through all my things and purge as quickly as I expected...and I fully expected to be very slow--ROFL!  So, it just gives me more time to sort and purge over here, eh?  I will probably need every one of those months, to be honest.  ;)

Well, posting really early for me.  I started on the blog yesterday.  Little bits at a time works especially well for me right now..."baby steps".  (I always chuckle remembering that movie--What About Bob?) 

I am excited to meet the new oncologist tomorrow and am hoping for (and kind of expecting--knock on wood) good cancer news.  (From what I could understand it sounded like the tumors might possibly be gone!?  But then I am not that conversant in medical speak.)  

I still have a long way to go to get my health back--or what health I did have--lol!  I know I am not in good shape right now...at all.  And that's besides this icing on the cake--shingles.  I am hoping to get steroids or something to help jump start my system for the better.  I have inflammation throughout my body.  We'll see how they are at Sanford about all these issues.  I think just time will help, too.  So fingers crossed for good news on the tumors...and that no cancer has appeared or will appear anywhere else.  

Thank you for every single kind thought you have sent my way.  I can feel them even from the people who don't ever comment.  Thank you so much.  Thinking positive.  Till next time...