Day 113

So I took a few days off from the blog, in that time I have been battling an upset stomach.  I saw Dr. Miller yesterday and they gave me fluids since I've been puking since last week and have been exhausted.  He and Dr. Horwitz think my digestive system isn't working correctly.  It seems my spleen is enlarged and I might need to do an ultrasound this week.  It's not normal but they have seen this before.  Truthfully, I've always felt like I had some digestive problems, maybe the chemo just made it worse.

The good news, I haven't puked since Monday and they put me on another medicine to help with the digestion.  It seems like every time they stop a medicine, I end up with three more in it's place.  I guess that's just how it goes for awhile.  Thank goodness I have good doctors.  Now if I can just get my energy back I'll be feeling great.

Eric is in Florida so it's just Buster and I, he comes home Thursday and this weekend we are driving to Buffalo!  We are really excited, every year in July, Eric plays in his buddy's golf tournament.  It's a nice way to come home see family and friends.  Of course, Eric loves the fact that he'll be able to golf nearly every day with his friends.  Plus, it's a beautiful time of year to visit Buffalo and it seems to be hotter than normal.

That's all for me, Buster decided we need to start the day at 6:00am so we are gearing up for a big walk to tire him out.  :)

Day 111

Hello friends and family, I hope this day is treating you well.  Mine is pretty good but it started at 6:30am thanks to Buster.  On top of that he was up in the middle of the night for about an hour, he was sick.  I guess that's what goes along with being a doggy Mom.  I don't mind that much, my schedule is flexible.  Buster seems to be feeling good today, he's eating and had lots of energy on our morning walk.  Of course, now he's sleeping in his crate.

I've been out and about running small errands, nothing exciting.  I talked to Eric and he sounds good, he's in Fresno, CA today and tomorrow.  We're looking forward to another quiet weekend at home.  Buster keeps us busy enough.  I love him so much and I love having him as part of our family.

Well, that's all I got.  Hope life is good and your happy.  Peace out, 6119.

Day 109

Today has been a great day, I've been productive and Buster has behaved.  It might have something to do with the fact that he had two walks in the morning.  It seems like Buster was not at all fazed by the neutering.  Maybe just a little more tired than usual but nothing out of the ordinary.

We've been busy helping Eric get ready for his trips this week.  Plus, I now have no excuse to not study because my GRE prep book came today.  The GRE was recently changed so I have to prepare for the new format.  I'm finally in study mode, thank goodness!  Most of my household chores are under control now I can better schedule my time to include studying.

Well that's it for today.  I hope you had a good day.  Much love, 6119.

Day 108

I hope you all had a great weekend, we didn't do much but that was nice.  Eric is traveling again this week so we just enjoyed each other's company.  There's not much new going on, I'll see Dr. Miller this Friday, until then I'll be working around the house.  I'm working on weeding out our collection of clothes and random items that could be sold or donated.  It's kind of fun and it makes me feel lighter, if you know what I mean.

I'm feeling pretty good, my mouth finally feels back to normal, my throat is still a little sore but definitely better.  I still have random sickness in the morning, it's never that bad because it's before I eat.    That will go away eventually.  My hair is just barely starting to grow.  It grows more in certain places, hopefully it will even out.  For now I'm pretty much bald, nothing new.

Well that's it for today, I hope your day is wonderful.  Peace out, 6119.

Father's Day

Happy Father's day to all the wonderful Dad's and especially to my wonderful Dad's:  Scott Ochs, Mike Lomas and Chuck Pyjas.  I know not everyone is as lucky as me to have three fantastic father's in my life!   I chose today as the day to start blogging again. The last few days have been busy with Buster being neutered and Eric coming home from Vegas.

Buster is doing well, the vet actually recommended a sedative for the next couple of days to keep him calm so he doesn't pull his stitches.  Every person at PetSmart said, 'we love him but he has SO much energy!' Buster does have endless amounts of energy, the sad part is the sedatives don't seem to work on him.  We've had to kennel him to keep him from jumping and rough housing.  I guess he feels no pain, but I know he needs to rest so he can heal properly.

This morning, Buster gave Eric his first Father's Day card.  It was perfect and Eric really liked it and thought it was nice.  Then they played for awhile after Buster gave him a thousand kisses, he sure does love his father.  Here's a picture of the two of them along with one of just Buster, which Eric took.  Anytime he takes a picture of Buster it's like he poses for him!  I have to take a ton of pictures to get one nice one but not Eric, one and done.  Oh well at least I get to enjoy the great pictures.

Well that's it for me.  I hope you all have a fantastic Sunday and to all the Dad's out there, I hope you feel appreciated and loved!  Peace out, 6119.  

Day 104

I wonder how long I'll keep counting my days.  The doctors don't count it daily any more so there's really know reason to keep track.  I just got so used to knowing what day I was, this was a common question at the clinic from both staff and other patients.  Anyway, I went up to Duke yesterday while Buster spent the day at doggy daycare.  We left the house at 7:15am and got home about 7:30pm, it was a long day.  Both of us were asleep by 9:00pm.

My doctor visit went well, I'm happy to report that my last biopsy shows I have clean donor marrow.  I should be set now but I'll still have to get a biopsy once a year for awhile.  I talked to the doctor about my mouth and stomach issues.  Good news, I do not have graph vs host disease (GVHD)! I was concerned because of my symptoms and my finger nail beds have become more ridged.   All of these could be signs of the disease.  I didn't say anything to anyone other than Eric but we didn't get overly concerned because I didn't have the skin rash which is the main symptom of GVHD.  I found out the difference in my finger nails is I'm growing new nail that hasn't been affected by chemo.  There's a clear line on all my finger nails so it's kind of cool to see the chemo affects grow out so to speak.

Dr. Horwitz also determined that my mouth problem is thrush, go figure Dr. Miller called it last week and I didn't believe him!  Now I am on medication, so I'm happy to know the issue is now being treated and will go away.  Dr. H also stopped two of my medicines in hopes of fixing my digestion problems.  Soon he'll be starting me on estrogen, since my uterus is not doing it's job.  That will protect my bones and skin.  It won't revive my uterus or make me be able to conceive but that's the way it is.  Is there a chance a miracle could happen?  Sure, but I can't place my hopes on that.  All I know is I'm alive and I view life in a totally different way now, so I'm happy.

Tomorrow, poor Buster is going to be neutered.  I hope he does well and isn't too mad at us after the procedure.  I'm glad it's finally happening, he has tried to hump me twice, I'll be glad that behavior will stop.  I've been reading Cesar's Way, so now I'm working on being 'calm assertive' and using my 'energy' to influence Buster.  In some ways it's working but I still have more learning to do, as does Buster.

Well that's it for today, I hope your day is treating you well.  Peace out and much love from 6119.

Day 102

Happy Tuesday!  It's raining here but we aren't going to let it spoil our day.  Buster and I are both waterproof so we'll be heading out for a walk soon.  Yesterday, our walk tired him out all day.  We had to carry him to his kennel to go to bed.  Yes, he's a big baby.  Right now he is thrilled with his new toy, a Buffalo!  It's supposed to be "chew tuff" we'll see if it can stand up to Buster's teeth.  He loves soft toys but he rips them apart, this one has no stuffing so he should be able to keep it around for awhile.

I had to laugh because yesterday, Eric and I realized we had been feeding him two different puppy foods!  We had a bag of puppy chow and the old bag of Iam's puppy food.  I thought we were supposed to do the Iam's and Eric has been giving him puppy chow.  Amazingly, Buster has not had the runs or anything but now he is strictly puppy chow.

Buster and I are sad because Daddy leaves today for Vegas.  We'll keep busy while he's gone, I have an appointment at Duke tomorrow so Buster is going to doggy day care.  It's the same place we boarded him before and I know he likes it there.  I'll drop him off at 7:30, head up to Duke and then pick him up on my way home.  Eric comes home early Saturday morning on the red eye.  He'll be sleepy but it will be good to have him back home.

If I had been thinking, I would have taken Buster with me so he could see the family that took care of them.  Keifer the two year old misses Buster, he told his neighbor that his puppy went home with his Mommy.  Then he'll forget he's gone and go looking for him.  So sad!  I know Buster misses him too, he kept looking around when we brought him home looking for Keifer.  We'll plan ahead for my next appointment so they can see each other again.

I'm glad I'm going to see my Duke doctor tomorrow, I've been getting sick in the mornings and I don't know why.  It's always before I eat and it's pretty violent, sorry if that is TMI.  Then the rest of the day I just feel uneasy...  They say that nausea is the last symptom to go, well I'm ready for it to go, puking is no fun.

Man, I'm glad I bought Buster that new Buffalo, it's kept him entertained for about an hour now and he's still going.  He won't let us touch it, it's his toy.  Well that's it for today, I hope your weather is better than ours!  Much love from 6119.

Day 101

Happy Monday everyone.  I hope you had a fantastic weekend.  We had a nice and relaxing weekend, sorry I didn't blog.  I was pretty productive this weekend despite feeling a little sick, I set up my offices, one upstairs and one downstairs.   This way I can be near both my boys, Eric's office is upstairs so it's good to keep Buster downstairs while he is working.  Now I can be productive while keeping Buster out of trouble.

I can't get over how good Buster is doing, he is learning fast.  Buster knows how to sit and he's getting close to laying down on command.  Plus, he is excellent at playing fetch, he even brings the ball to you.  One thing is Buster can jump, twice now he's ran from upstairs down to the living room and nearly jumped over the couch.  One time I was in the couch and he landed on me!  Buster sure does keep us busy.

In other news, I go back to Duke on Wednesday to meet with my doctor and have a bunch of tests run.  Buster will go to doggy day care for the day since Eric will be in Vegas.  I know Buster will have fun, it's the same place we boarded him at when he was a puppy.  They sent me pictures of him last time and he had his silly puppy smile on in everyone.   I need to get some pictures of Buster, his breeder wants to see how he looks now.  The breeder has declared Buster their favorite puppy, they almost kept him for themselves.  I keep in touch with them because they are really nice people, they love to see Buster pictures.  They sent me a picture of their newest fawn female.  For a second, it made me want to breed Buster but I think it would be best if we just neuter him.

Well that's all I have for today.  I hope your week starts off right. Much love from 6119.

Day 98

Hello Friday, I am so ready for the weekend.  It's been interesting to adjust to life back home.  Now all my responsibilities are back, I no longer have a care giver and I can do regular house work.  I was very bummed to learn that fact in my discharge class, I can clean now but I still can't garden or have flowers.  I say if you can clean you should be able to have flowers.  Oh well I'll follow the doctors orders.  As for dealing with everything else, I'm expecting things to just fall in to place.  However, next week I'll begin to tackle my responsibilities and start studying for the GRE.  I'm going to start using a day planner again and start being productive with daily tasks.  Now that I'm well it's time to get moving on some things.  

Plus, Buster keeps me responsible, no more sleeping in for me.  Luckily, Buster has been really good in the house as long as I keep him occupied with a toy or play with him he'll tire out and let me do my chores.  He is my shadow but I like that, I'm never alone. 

In other news, I would like to give a huge thank you to the New Life Sunday School Class in Pearland, TX.  They sent me a beautiful love quilt that has messages of encouragement written on the squares.  It's so nice and comforting.  They belong to the church with my Aunt Jane and Uncle Scott.  I've also been on their prayer list since all this began, so thank you for your support.  

I also need to thank my cousin Cynthia for the Cesar Millan book, "Cesar's Way".  For those of you who don't know Cesar, he is the Dog Whisperer from the TV show.  I love his show and he truly works magic with dogs.  Cynthia said it would help me learn the best way to train Buster.  I totally agree and am excited to start reading.  Cynthia and Randy just got a one year old pup so they are training too.  It's nice to know we have people who we can relate to.  

Well other than that we are going to have Swiss Mushroom Burgers tonight, it's so nice to have our grill again.  I hope you all have a Friday night full of fun, love and relaxation.  Peace out from 6119.

 

Day 97

I have the best dog, I am so proud of Buster, he is doing really well adjusting to being back home.  The only problem I had was he snuck out the door twice on me.  The first time I got him back easily but the second time he gave me a run.  I would get close to him he would look at me and take off again.  He sure loves to run, he went all the way down the block.  Eric had to get the car and a squeaky toy to get him to come.  I was terrified, I was so sure one of the many dogs in our neighborhood would come out.  Buster does well with other dogs, it's the other dog I worry about.  So I learned my lesson, don't let him near the door without a leash.

Other than that Buster is great, he's so sweet.  I know he remembers me because as a puppy he would always curl up in my lap when I sat Indian style.  I sat down like that and he immediately jumped in my lap.  As big as he is he makes it manage, it's adorable.  Buster is really calm, unless a new person comes around.  We'll work on that, I'll get him into classes soon.   I know Buster is going to be a great dog and an important part of our family.  Buster shows a lot of love to both Eric and I, he used to only come to me but now he loves his Daddy just as much as Mommy.

Today, I'm going to see Dr. Miller, I'm looking forward to visiting with him.  I don't have any major issues so he'll probably just take my blood and look me over.  Other than that nothing is new, just enjoying life with my favorite men.  I hope life is treating you well, much love from 6119.

Day 96

Buster is home!  He is being such a great dog, he just keeps sniffing everything in the house.  He now has free reign, when he was a puppy he was confined to the kitchen.  So far we haven't had any accidents.  It's so nice to have him home and I think he's happy to be home too.  He did really well on the drive back, I didn't have any problems.  We went to Pet Smart and he got a bath and his toe nails clipped.  We stopped twice for a pee and he did really well both times.  I'm amazed at how well behaved he has been.

Even in the house he goes all around but hasn't messed anything up.  It's raining out so we'll have to wait on the walk.  Hopefully, it clears up some time today.  I'll have to work on getting a good picture of him.  I posted a few on Facebook but I need to get my real camera out and take some of him at home.  He is so big but just as handsome.

Other than Buster coming home life has been pretty uneventful.  I'm still feeling good but still have the annoying mouth issues, bad taste and texture that makes everything taste weird.  In the discharge class which I attended yesterday, I learned that this might continue for awhile.  The chemo effects last the longest of any other drug.  Also some of the medications I'm on may be adding to the mouth problems.  They cut out three of my medicines but I still take about 10 pills twice a day.

Tomorrow, I will visit Dr. Miller, he will be doing my weekly check ups.  At least I think it will be weekly, I guess I'll find out.  I'm looking forward to seeing Miller and his nurse Anastasia, they have been really good to me.  Plus, maybe I'll see my old friend Norm.  At least I'll find out how he is doing, hopefully he is in remission by now.

Wow, it's hard to believe I've come this far.  I've been really blessed as everything I've gone through has been under a year.  Some people don't finish treatment so easily and quickly.  I had terrific doctors who caught my disease early and moved quickly to treat me.  I'll miss my doctors and definitely my nurses.  I got to say goodbye to my favorite nurse at the clinic, Kim, she hugged me forever!  Then I was lucky enough to see Dr. Long, who took care of me in the hospital.  I hugged him, he was my favorite doctor because I saw him every day and he kind of reminded me of my grandpa, who I adore.

Well Buster is passed out under the coffee table in front of me, this seems to be his favorite place.  Now I can get some work done, until he wakes up.  Otherwise, I find myself just walking behind him making sure he doesn't get into any trouble.  I hope you all have a great day, I know I will now that my buddy is back home.  Peace out from 6119.

Day 95

Hello friends and family, sorry I haven't written in a few days.  I've kind of felt like I didn't have much to say.  Now that I'm home I'm not going to clinic every day, it makes me not feel sick.  Now that I don't have my PICC line, I'm just like everyone else, except for my lack of hair.  It's so good to be home, I think it makes you feel better to sleep in your own bed.  Waking up in our own home, taking our typical Dunkin Donuts drive on the weekend.  It's all so fabulous.

Tomorrow I will bring Buster home!  I can't wait to see him.  I will leave early to drive up to Duke, my discharge class is at 10:00, once I'm done with that I'm going to pick up Buster.  We are going straight to Pet Smart to get his nails clipped and a bath.  Then we'll hit the road back to Charlotte.  Once he is home our life will be complete again.

Today, I've been super productive.  While I unpacked from the apartment I also cleaned out old clothes that I don't wear any more.  I even got Eric to get rid of a few items, a 1990s Structure rugby was one of the items.  We thought it might be considered a classic at this point.  Anyway, we ended up with 8 bags to donate to Good Will.  I just got back from dropping them off.  I still have a lot of unpacking to do but at least now I have more space.  Moving back here made me realize that I don't want to have all this excess stuff for our next move.  It feels good to get rid of old things, it's amazing how everything builds up and the next thing you know you have more stuff than you need.

Well that's it for today.  I'm so happy to be home and I'm feeling great.  Recovery is heading in the right direction.  I hope you all have happiness and peace in your life.  Much love from 6119.

Day 93 - First Day Home

This morning I woke up in my own bed in my own house, it felt wonderful.  Eric and I went to bed early last night so we were up early this morning.  We did our grocery shopping at 7:00am, of course we also went to Dunkin Donuts and took the long way home.  It's good to be back in Charlotte.  I was impressed, we made it out of the apartment and to Charlotte by 3:00pm.  I was exhausted after packing the car and driving close to three hours.  I even took a nap before finishing the unloading of the car.  It was amazing we got every thing in our cars, they were packed full to the top.  It's a good thing we didn't have Buster, there's no way we would have been able to make it all in one trip.

Tuesday I get to bring Buster home!  I can't wait to pick him up, I'm sure he's going to be a little wild so I may need some help getting him into the car.  First, I have to go to the discharge class at the Duke clinic.  I think that's at 10 or 11am.  It only lasts an hour, then I'll go get Buster.  I'm hoping to take him to PetSmart and have his nails clipped and a bath.  I'll also pick up some things he might need, like a new collar.  Apparently, Buster broke his collar while escaping from his leash.  It sucks because that was his Buffalo Sabres collar that Eric's sister, Jenn, bought for us.  I'm a little worried at how strong he is, if he can break through his collar and he also broke a leash.  He's only 8 months old, we are going to have a big strong dog on our hands.

Well Eric is about to cook dinner, so I'm signing off.  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  Peace out from 6119.