Thursday, April 30, 2009

Chemo with a side of Blackberry

So, this is my first attempt at posting a blog entry from my Blackberry since I became the proud owner of a pretty, pink Blackberry last week. I am absolutely in love with this thing! I can get on the internet ANYWHERE!!!

I went out earlier to get us some lunch and now I've been sitting here for a while watching Matt sleep through his chemo. The nurse is changing the IV bags. All of this while I work on my blog. Multi-tasking just became pocket-sized. Technology is amazing, kids. :)

Stayed tuned for inevitable future entries about my development of carpal tunnel syndrome and possible family intervention for my Blackberry addiction. This thing is better than crack. Well, I've never done crack, but I can't imagine any non-living thing that could be more fun than this (right now, at least), and it is surely equally addictive. :)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Family Outing

I'm too tired and lazy to write. Matt is doing well. Enjoy the pictures from our trip to the zoo. We make such a lovely little blended family. I had a great time and hope to be able to do it again soon.

Hope all of you are well :)



John Mills (Matt's youngest brother, 9), Elena (my neice,
Gina's daughter, 3) and Matt (the best room mate I have
ever had :b, 27). The playground was SO cool.


We brought the wheelchair because Matt's
Neupogen shots make his bones hurt like
hell, it was 85 degrees and sunny, and
frankly, it just made me feel better to take
it and know that the chances of Matt hitting
the pavement would be lessened at least
50%. Immediately upon arrival at the zoo,
it became clear that the wheelchair would
be the kids' favorite attraction. We loaded
that thing like a pack mule, and never had
a shortage of ready volunteers to push. I'll never
take a bunch of kids to the zoo without one
again. It was a fuckin life saver. In this picture,
Lex is checking out (and bitching about) the
accessability of the zoo playground. The lady
behind him looks freaked out.



Elena gets a hand from Uncle Matt



Lex rides the artwork. He'll ride anything.



Me with Gina (sister-in-law, bff)



Matt making sure the kids walk the line.



John climbing the spider web thing. This
pole is WAY taller than it looks.



The whole crew, Minus Lex, at our post-playground/pre-
zoo picnic. (Someone has to take the pictures :b ) Elena,
Matt, John, Gina, Joe (my little bro) and me.



Elena with giant strawberry.



Elena crashing John into a trash can. They were helping
with picnic clean-up.



John forgot to bring gas money, so we put
his ass to work. Just kidding. Major thanks
to both little brothers, Joe and John. They
we ON TOP of the wheelchair pushing. They
should go into a wheelchair pushing business
together. Seriously.



And, we're off to the zoo :)



God, I love this kid. My baby Brandon girl.
*This lovely moment was later ruined when
Elena noticed that one elephant was catching
another elephants poop in it's mouth and
eating it.



Me: "This lion's ass is HOT!"
Elena: "Lion has a hot ass"
Me: "no, no, hiney, Honey, say hiney."



We LOVE the giant turtles!!



Looks like a damn good argument for evolution if you ask
me. :P



The mommy orangutan hangs out with her face smooshed
against the glass with the most pathetic "get me the hell
out of here" look on her face. It's heart-breaking.



Cotton candy/ice cream break #1



love



No. I was not the one who fed the monkey the azalea that
was in my hair.



You can see Elena's head in the bottom of this pic. She was
hell-bent on seeing baby giraffes and disappointed to find
out that there weren't any. She said, "No babies? That's
so sad." Lex replies, "It's not always sad for a couple not to
have babies. Some people don't want children for one reason
or the other." Lex, the constant teacher.



Last ice cream stop at the end of the day. Elena got a
Dora the Explorer ice cream thingy that looked a LOT
like Elena.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Maisy's New Home

Just a quick update tonight. Mom and Dad adopted my friend Manny's dog. Maisy is cute as a button, sweet as a doll, all that stuff. Mom is in love, my little brother is so happy to have a dog again, and Maisy and dad are bonding well. She took a seat at his feet as soon as she walked in. I think she has melted every heart in the house. I will admit, once I had her in my possession, I didn't want to give her to my parents, but they have been looking for a dog, and Maisy needed a home, and they are a perfect match.



Maisy meets dad.



Maisy likes sleeping with all of dad's other
stuff. His CD's, his weights, his cane. Works
out well because dad likes to dangle his leg
off of the bed and pet her with his feet :)



Maisy smiling at mom in the kitchen. Sorry, I have no
clue why this pic is so blurry or how to fix it. Maisy's
bed that she brought with her fits PERFECTLY into this
weird little notch in the hall where she can relax and still
see what's going on in the whole house. I think the space
originally made for a wood stove years ago, but now it
makes a lovely indoor dog house. :)



Exploring her new yard.

Thank you, Manny. Visit anytime :)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Open Ended

So, my blog is nearing the 1,000 hit mark, a very exciting thing for me :)

Weird thing is, I don't get a lot of comments and I feel like I don't even know most of my readers. So I thought that I would give you guys a chance to speak up. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think of the blog, let me know how you found it, how I can improve it, ask me questions (which I will answer any reasonable ones) or give me some topics that you think I should write about.

I probably won't get many takers on this one, but thought it would be fun anyway :)

To leave an anonymous comment, click on the link below the blog post that says "(whatever number) comments", add your comments in the space provided, type in the captcha, scroll down, click "anonymous" and then click "submit".

Monday, April 20, 2009

Let's all vote!

Who thinks that I will pull my hair out before the chemo makes Matt's hair fall out? I'm voting Matt's hair might make it longer.

We went to Matt's chemo appt today only to find out that his white blood cells are too low to continue with chemo this week. We have to go in every day this week for a shot to try to stimulate Matt's bone marrow to make some fucking white cells. Of course, red cells have plummeted as well, so we'll be hanging out at the hospital Wednesday for Matt to get transfused with two units of packed red cells. This was not totally unexpected, but still a bump in the road, and a surprise.

On top of that, I had a doctors appointment today, and when I arrived I was told that I didn't have an appointment, regardless of the fact that I KNOW I spoke to a woman at the office and scheduled an appointment for today at most a week ago.

All this sets us up for a grand ol' time for the next two days. As luck would have it, (sorry if this is too much info, get over it, we're adults here) my yearly pelvic exam is scheduled for tomorrow. My regular doc rescheduled me with some doc in her office who I have never met. I see that doc tomorrow at 9 am for thyroid bloodwork, then at noon we have to be at Matt's doc to get the shot for his white cells, and at 1:30 I have to be at the gyno. I have a history of fainting during pelvic exams, so this should be fun. Then Wednesday we will have to be at the hospital at the ass crack of dawn and stay all day to get the red cells.

Sorry, I'm way less than chipper today. Pissed would be an understatement. And Matt, if you read this, it's not your fault, and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Love you.


Here are some pics from the last few days. I hate to leave on a sour note.


Matt and Fancy


Matt and me


Brenda (Matt's mom) and Matt


Matt with a look of hatred towards his water bottle


Matt is like camo in Elena's bedding :)


Elena and Gina


My precious Elena


This is what you get when you give a three year old a
camera.


Elena's best photo attempt

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Alone at a table for two

Happy birthday Erin. Thank you for the feathers. Wish you were here. And like I've always said, please, help me remember you. I don't wanna get over you. :)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Chain of Events

Many events have transpired since I last blogged. To save myself the trouble of posting 6,000 separate blog entries, what follows is just one big ol' blog post, divided into lovely bite-size segments.

********************************

When I was about 14, my parents adopted my cousin, Megan, therefore making her my sister, in the legal sense of the word. We were raised side by side, and she has always been my sister in the emotional sense. For those of you who crave details about the blood relation between us, or think there is something incestuous or extremely southern going on here, get your mind out of the gutter. She is the daughter of my mother's brother, who died in 1984.

Last Thursday Megan lost her boyfriend, Marc Carson. Marc was the son of one of my dad's best good friends (as Forrest Gump might say) from school, and Megan had met him and fell in love about a year ago. He was a vivid personality. I remember him when I was a child, but our families had lost touch over the years. I am glad that I got to know him again. He was truly one-of-a-kind, appreciated a good joke and had a roaring laugh that I'll miss and always remember. He said what was on his mind, and when he offended, he apologized sincerely. He was a good heart and a good soul. He was 35 years old.


Megan and Marc - Marc, may you rest in peace. You will
be missed by many.

***************************************

Saturday was my first real chance to spend some time with my cousin Jessie's new baby. I was on my way to the grocery store and passed my Mamaw's house. The second I saw Jessie's car in Mamaw's driveway, I knew the baby was there, so I turned around and high-tailed it back to the house to pick up Matt. :)

The baby is precious. His name is James, or Sweet Baby James as I like to call him :) He's a quite little guy, just two weeks old. He slept through most of our visit, which is fine by me, because I just want to cuddle him anyway. He did open his eyes once, and they are blue. He coos a lot. He's cute. Period. See.


Sweet Baby James all smooshed up with Matt


Sweet Baby James with his favorite second cousin


Precious.


Matt and Sweet Baby James enjoying some naptime

Saturday night was hectic, and not in a "WHOOO! It's Saturday!" kind of way, but I just don't feel like getting into that. I'm writing this down only for the sake of my own memory, so that I won't forget about it later, but it's a long drawn out story, and there is no need to bore you with it. Don't worry, it's nothing bad.

**********************************************

Regretfully, we weren't able to have Easter dinner with Matt's Dad, Ann, and John. Matt has been having some trouble with carsickness (is that a word?) and he just didn't feel like he could make the ride all the way to their house. Since my parents are only 2 miles away, we did go have dinner there, and as usual mom totally overdid it. There were more deserts than there were people in attendance, but dad will solve any issues with leftovers ASAP. :)


Daddy and me :)


Mom and Aunt Tammie fussing over the ham. Tammie has
a knife, watch out!

Yesterday Matt's mom arrived for her visit from Florida. Matt was so happy to see her. He's been looking forward to this visit or a LONG time. Megan was also here for the night, and it was really good to have a house full of family, even though I wish that we were all together under better circumstances. It was a good time.


Matt's mom wasn't here for Christmas, so she got her
gifts last night. This was a top from Matt that didn't work
out quite as well as he planned. It was good for a laugh :)


Megan and Me

*******************************************

Today is the only day this week that we have to go in for chemo. We did that this morning and it went off without a hitch.

***************************************************

The weird and incredible disturbing part of today was that a couple got into a terrible, physical, fight today while driving beside our house, literally Chris Brown/Rihanna style (I am NOT making fun of domestic abuse here, it is NOT a laughing matter, but that's the best way I know to describe what happened.) By the time it was said and done, the woman had jumped out of the car and taken off running. The man tackled her on the pavement and continued to beat her. The police were called as soon as someone realized what was going on. He was still beating her when the police arrived. I don't know if the man was arrested or not. If he wasn't, then there are at least 6 cops in this county the definitely need to find another vocation. I did see the woman, once it was all over, and he had knocked all of her teeth out. She was sitting in a pile of wet muddy weeds, shaken, and looking surprised to be alive.

I did not see this, and I will not say who witnessed it for obvious reasons. But I will say, I am shaken. I know people always say this, but we don't live in a neighborhood where a domestic dispute is likely to erupt right in front of your home. I have been thinking about that woman all day and willing her the strength to get somewhere safe and get as far away from that man as possible.

*********************************************

Last Thursday a life ended to soon. Saturday I held a new life in my arms. Sunday was spent immersed with family. Today I witnessed the evil of the world and the struggles of a stranger very close to my home. It's enough to open my eyes, and hopefully yours, to the fact that (though it sounds hokey) life is short and unpredictable, and should be spent with as many moments of peace and love as possible.


Immersed in love

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Primary Stage 1B Testicular Cancer with Secondary onset Cabin Fever

Matt's week, though not as intolerable (so far) as I had anticipated, has been monotonous to say the least. Monday we went to the oncologist's office at noon, Matt had 5 hours of chemo, we left at 5:oo pm, spent the evening on the sofa, Matt forced himself to down water, eat dinner, and then we went to bed. Tuesday we went to the oncologist's office at noon, Matt had 5 hours of chemo, we left at 5:oo pm, spent the evening on the sofa, Matt forced himself to down water, eat dinner, and then we went to bed. Today we went to the oncologist's office at noon, Matt had 5 hours of chemo, we left at 5:oo pm, spent the evening on the sofa, Matt forced himself to down water, eat dinner, and then we went to bed.

Ok, well, maybe that's a bit exaggerated. We have had visitors in and out. We have had something different for dinner each night. There has been sparse vomiting thrown in the mix. He did get to witness the joy of the arrival of my new smartphone. Some lovely glassware that he had ordered arrived yesterday. So there have been some exciting bits and pieces here and there. Nonetheless, as expected, tonight the steroids that he is getting with the chemo finally kicked in and Matt found himself with a serious case of Cabin Fever.

He wanted to go somewhere, but he didn't want to go anywhere. I'll say that he was "restless", to spare you a long explanation involving chinese food and a disastrous trip to the laundromat. We finally decided to go to mom and dad's for a visit, since the drive is short and they always have good snacks.

Sorry, the story kinda ends here. We are home now and Matt seems to be feeling alright. Tired and alright. What more can you ask for?


Me, Matt and my wonderful mother :)


And, for your viewing pleasure, here is a gratuitous shot of me and my not-so-little brother :)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Rudy and Mickey

Rudy is about 80. He has a top-of-the-line, single-cup coffee maker at home and orders from a selection of 250 different types of coffee (yes, Fair Trade is included) from his computer at home. He knows how to use a sewing machine and stitch. He prefers to iron his own shirts, now that they make wireless irons. He talks fast. He likes pets. His pants are polyesther. Back when he lived in Chicago, he saw Perry Como perform live.

Rudy has a wife, Mickey. That isn't her real name, its the name she decided that she wanted when she was 4, and began refusing to respond any other name henceforth. Mickey likes to sew. She shares Rudy's liberal political views and they attend a local Episcopal church. Her first husband died 30 years ago, quickly. She likes to drive her cars until they just fall apart. Tonight Rudy and Mickey are planning to watch "Slumdog Millionaire", and they are waiting for "Milk" to arrive via Netflix.

Rudy enjoys life "by the quality, not the quantity", which is an interesting thing to hear out of an 80 year old man's mouth while he is receiving chemotherepy. That's why he likes his port-a-cath, so that he doesn't have to ever have an IV started again. He is on his second round of chemo, and he is yet to vomit once!

Rudy and Mickey are gonna save us a seat in their chemo room tomorrow.

********************************************
I woke up today without a clue what to expect. It was Matt's first day of chemo. We arrived at the doctors office at noon. We had packed heavy, preparing for hours of boredom. We were NOT enthused to learn that we would have ROOM MATES (!!!) in the chemo room! We sat down expecting and awkward, silent afternoon with two strangers. We left at 5:00 pm, having gained two new friends who have renewed my faith that there are some really kick-ass people in this world.

*********************************************

Chemo Report, Day One: Obviously, we like our room mates. Matt is tolerating everything well so far and is feeling fine. Big thanks to all of the people who have sent well wishes, prayers, gifts, cards, and disinfectants (you know who you are :p) We love you all, and I will keep you updated as things progress. Mad props to Matt for downing enough water lately to drown a fish. I am so proud of you :)



Chemo does not include free Wi-fi, but it does include free, fresh, coffee (thanks to Ralph down at Fatz for donating the cups) and all the nasty Laura Lynn powdered creamer your heart desires. We have GOT to remember to bring our own creamer tomorrow.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

It's been a while

With the new facebook layout, which sucks hardcore, I realized that I have not updated my blog at all this year!

2009 has not been the best year. As usual, everything seemed to be going fine until February. Then I found out that I was pregnant, had a miscarriage, and Matt was diagnosed with testicular cancer. It would take me forever to try to catch up on everything that I want to write about, and I will get to that stuff in later posts. Soon. Until then, here are some pics of us trying to be happy and normal amidst life's shit storm. Enjoy :)


January- Before my pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. Way before cancer.



February: After miscarriage. Matt with Elena.



With Gina, Mid February Post miscarriage, pre-Matt's cancer.



March 13. Right before Matt's surgery



March 24. Post-surgery, Pre- Chemo at the Peace Center
Thanks to Liz and Benjie :)