How I’m doing & Chemo therapy 101

Ok – one of you (who should remain nameless (HP)) has been asking me for info to be posted on my blog, so here it is. I’m doing ok and taking this all in stride. I’ll be damned if a bug/germ/disease invasion of my body is gonna win this battle. I hope you enjoy the comments I’ve added to all this info. This isn’t a cover up, I really am in a good mood for now

This is the planned regimen Part 1 of 2 . Every two weeks for 4 rounds/doses total over a 2 month period. Then after that, we switch to different meds, yet to be determined. I guess I’m a good candidate to get this torture treatment every 2 weeks because I’m young and can handle it (so I’m told).

Some of this information is enough to choke a mammoth! I think the side effects are worse than the problem, but it’s the only way to make sure it’s gone for good! I guess maybe death warmed over will be a new way of feeling for me. I’m also told that each time I’m in for a treatment, plan on spending half the day in the torture chair clinic. Guess that’s how long it takes to complete the misery infliction treatment.  Here’s the scoop on the drugs I’ll be given for round 1.

While you read, I’ll be rearranging the furniture for quick and easy access to the porcelain throne. While I’m at it, I guess I better warn the local woman’s abuse hot line not to worry – it’s only me after chemo! Not abuse…ugh!

Cytoxan

Generic Name: cyclophosphamide (oral/injection) (sye kloe FOSS fah mide)
Brand Names: Cytoxan, Cytoxan Lyophilized, Neosar

What is cyclophosphamide?

display_ad(3);

Cyclophosphamide is a cancer (chemotherapeutic) medication. Cyclophosphamide interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body. Other less serious (aren’t they all serious when your the one suffering with them?) side effects may be more likely to occur. Talk to your doctor if you experience:

• nausea, vomiting, or decreased appetite; mouth sores; abdominal pain; diarrhea; temporary hair loss; temporary or permanent sterility; rash; changes in skin color; or changes in nails.

In some cases, secondary cancers (wtf?) have been reported to occur during and following treatment with cyclophosphamide. Side effects other than those listed here may also occur.  (That’s encouraging to know!)

Adriamycin

Generic Name: Doxorubicin (dox-oh-ROO-bi-sin)
Brand Name: Adriamycin

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome:

Diarrhea; hair loss; loss of appetite; nausea; red-colored urine (sure sign of alien body invasion if you ask me) 1 to 2 days after receiving Adriamycin ; tiredness; vomiting; weakness.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); chest or back pain; fainting; fast heartbeat; headache; loose or bloody stools; pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site; rectal bleeding or irritation; redness, pain, swelling, peeling, tingling, or blistering of the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet; serious infection (IE… fever, chills, cough, sore throat); shortness of breath; sores in the mouth or on the lips; sudden irregular heartbeat; sudden weight gain; swelling of the ankles; tightness in the chest and throat; unusual bruising or bleeding. (makes it sound like I’m gonna be a poster child for the LA riots of years ago – gees, talk about abuse!)

This is not a complete list of all side effects that may occur. (Guess they’re still wondering what this alien life form will do to my body too and are afraid to say so without legal ramifications!)

From the mouths of babes – the things we can learn!

Puppy Size This is one of the neatest stories you will ever hear. You will know precisely what this little girl is talking about at the end (you’ll want to share this one with your loved ones and special friends)! ‘Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We’ve been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this,’ the mother told the volunteer.’What is it she keeps asking for?’ the volunteer asked. ‘Puppy size!’ replied the mother. ‘Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that’s what she’s looking for. ‘‘I know….we have seen most of them,’ the mom said in frustration…Just then Danielle came walking into the office. ‘Well, did you find one?’ asked her mom. ‘No, not this time,’ Danielle said with sadness in her voice. ‘Can we come back on the weekend?’ The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed. ‘You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there’s always a supply,’ the volunteer said. Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll find one this weekend,’ she said. Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. ‘It’s this weekend or we’re not looking any more,’ Dad finally said in frustration. ‘We don’t want to hear anything more about puppy size either, ‘Mom added. Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren’t permitted. Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one, the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, ‘Sorry, you’re not the one. ‘It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer. ‘Mom, that’s it! I found the right puppy! He’s the one! I know it!’ she screamed with joy. ‘It’s the puppy size!’ ‘But it’s the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks,’ Mom said..‘No not size… the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed,’ she said. ‘Don’t you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh! ‘The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both. ‘Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms,’ she said. Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, ‘Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!’ Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset,  the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day. They are the sighs of God! Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. ‘Life is not measured by the breaths  we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.’ May each of you feel and hear the sighs of God…

Sunday

The Sunday exercise plan is missing the last line. For some reason it keeps cutting it off and if I try to edit…it get’s all screwed up. So here it is:

Hug someone and encourage them!

Good words of advise…

Enjoy the new month and Happy Back to School day!! whoooooooooohoooooooo!!!!

Exercise for everyone!

Beat around the bush Jump to conclusions Climb the walls Wade through the morning paper Drag my heels Push my luck Make mountains out of mole hills Hit the nail on the head Bend over backwards Jump on the Band Wagon Run around in circles Advise President Bush on how to run the country.. Toot my own horn.. Pull out all the stops.. Add fuel to the fire.. Open a can of worms.. Put my foot in my mouth.. Start the ball rolling.. Go over the edge..  Pick up the pieces.. Kneel in prayer.. Bow my head in thanksgiving.. Uplift my hands in praise.. Hug someone and encourage them. What a Workout!                                                      Have a Nice Day

Old age or just plain crazy?

I found a link on the AOL home page this morning that got my attention. There must be some real good stuff to sniff in the air over there….check this out!

Father of 78 wants 100 kids by 2015

Posted Aug 20th 2007 4:01PM by Jonathon Morgan
Filed under: Family togetherness, Dads, Siblings

As much as I like to joke about how looking after a large family would drive me insane, I secretly fantasize about having more kids. I think it’d be a blast to spend my days chasing after multiple rug rats.

But I’m not sure I could handle 78. That’s how many children Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman has with 15 wives (and ex wives — local law says he can only have four wives at a time, so he has to keep divorcing the old ones to continue marrying).

And he’s not done. Abdul Rahman says he’s on the lookout for new brides — women with whom he plans to father an addition 22 children, bringing him to the grand total of 100. The 60-year-old figures it’ll take another three wives, and eight years to make that dream a reality.

The enormous family apparently lives in 15 houses, supported partially by their father’s military pension and with money from the local government.

I’m not sure I agree with Mr. Abdul Rahman’s century scheme, but I can’t help but wish him luck in achieving it.

Elvis & Lisa Marie

I never knew of Elvis, but my mom and god mother did. The only thing I remember is that when he died, it was a really sad day in the neighborhood and I had no clue why these people were crying over a singer.

30 years later, I’ve lived thru the deaths of Princess Di and Steve Irwin. Neither of which I had met, but adored because of their work and watching them on TV over the years. I guess my sadness for them is what they were feeling when Elvis died.

I watched GMA this week which included alot of tributes to Elvis. Interviews with Lisa Marie and Pricilla were most informative as to who this man really was. Not the drug addict I remember the media playing him out to be. I also remembered this morning while reading the daily news headlines on the web, that Lisa Marie had created a music video of sorts with her dad. I found it and wanted to share it with you.

After listening to this, they would have made the BEST father duet around…had he still been alive. But this is as close as it gets. Still the best I’ve heard yet. (Sorry Coles & Tillis…they’ve got ya beat!)

Elvis & Lisa Marie

One reason why I’m glad I moved away from WA

The new Narrows Bridge. Some of you may not know this, but if you’ve ever heard of “Galloping Gertie” … this was the original before if fell apart. They have over the last few years, added another section to this bridge. A total seperate bridge positioned next to it. It used to be 2 lanes each direction, with no escape lane if you break down or wreck. Hopefully this will help traffic flow, but……..Now there are bridge tolls to pay for it. Below I have added a link to the DOT web page to see the prices. Here is a link to other Narrows Bridge pictures that aren’t shown below.

JANET JENSEN/The News Tribune, Dean Koepfler/The News Tribune

WA Narrows Bridge Tolls

Welcome Home GAPP Students & Staff!!!

***At 7:35 pm the phone tree finally branched to my house. Apparently the kiddos decided to call home individually,but not all. SOOOO, alot of the messages were repeated, us parents handled the phone tree anyway   The message: They were north of Milwaukee, still needed to stop and eat, but pick us up at the high school at about 9 pm. At 8:45 we left for the school. She’s home, very tired and emotionally happy to be home. Updates will follow soon! 

Well ~ according to Air France…they’re back on US soil. It’s currently 3:55 pm and I’m patiently waiting by the phone for confirmation via our phone tree. Of course any word will do – phone tree or not.

AF050        Flight left from Paris (CDG) at 1:40 PM Thu, Jul 12, 07. Flight arrived in Chicago (ORD) at 3:37 PM.

Bay Port High School GAPP Students & Staff 2007

One down…one to go!

*It’s 7:45 am CDT. Thanks to the phone I’m now awake after being up past midnite   The plane left Paris at 1:40 pm which is 25 minutes late, but they’re enroute to Chicago and that’s a good thing!!! 

Flight 1411  -  Hamburg to Paris is complete! So far only a 10 minunte delay…and they are scheduled to depart on time to Chicago from Paris! WhooooHooooo!!!!!!!!!!

 

Flight left from Hamburg (HAM) at 10:30 AM Thu, Jul 12, 07

Flight arrived in Paris (CDG) at 12:10 PM Thu, Jul 12, 07

 

 

T-26 hours and counting down…

Whooooo HOOOOOOO!!!

Alyssa will be home tomorrow! Yes it is July 12th already! Time goes by so quickly these days and they really seemed to drag as I was growing up…oh well! Guess I’m just having too much fun these days.

For those of you who would like to keep track of the flights, here’s the info:

Air France Flight 1411       Hamburg to Paris

Departure from Hamburg = 10:25 am (03:25 am CDT)

Arrival in Paris = noon (5:00 am CDT)

Air France Flight 050       Paris to Chicago

Departure from Paris = 1:15 pm (6:15 am CDT)

Arrival in Chicago = 3:20 pm CDT

We & they both figure the adventure thru US Customs @ O’Hare will be a couple hour adventure. SO…by the time that challenge is over, it will rush hour in the greater Chicago area. Not to mention the 200 mile trek north thru Milwaukee traffic as well…we might see each other by bed time Thursday night.

On top of all this, Jonathon has a baseball game in Shawano which is 40 miles away at 6:oo pm.  Ok – scratch that. I just got an email from the coach. Due to scheduling  issues Shawano is having on their fields, our game has been cancelled.  It was an inter divisional game that didn’t count towards our standing anyway.

So…I guess this mom will be watching & waiting patiently on the planes to take off and land with several others