Every day further from Xeloda is a better day!

I just can’t get over how much better I feel everyday without Xeloda. This is usually the day I feel the lowest from chemo…2 days out…and I know the day is young, but I’m feeling good. I’m sure the wall coming down a bit and the weight just a little lighter is helping also…but I just want to feel good while I feel good!

Last Saturday Mike and I celebrated 29 years of our first fix-up. We were both working at the EEU and a couple of our friends, Jennifer Annable and Debbie Sherwood thought we would be a good match. Jennifer would talk to Mike about me and Debbie would talk to me about Mike. Then at happy hour they crowded us into a booth and we couldn’t get out…the rest is history! So I braved the world Saturday, practicing my new hat with fringe. We walked up to Westy’s on 35th for dinner. Here is a selfie of Mike and me with my new “hat”.

On Monday I went out to run errands like I often do the day before chemo. I went to great harvest and they have a bulletin board I glanced at. Below the bulletin board was a poster that caught my eye. Sure enough, a classic thank you poster from the Salmon Clan. I had to tack up a few items that were hanging down covering it up so I could take this photo. I’m having a hard time pining this group down. I do believe they are sophomores in high school this year. A lot of these kids moved on from Pathfinder and didn’t stay through elementary school or middle school, so I’m not positive. If any of you positively ID these signatures and know for a fact what grade they are in let me know.

Late Monday night we got a text from Betty. She called 911 scared of a possible heart event (this story has a good ending, so no worries!). She had some wicked high blood pressure and pain in her left arm off and on all day. When she tried to go to bed the pain got worse and would not let up. Firefighters and Paramedics showed up. They decided she was safe for us to transport. We took her to the ER at Swedish Cherry Hill and she ended up getting admitted. Like the good doctor said, it takes just one or two tests to show there is a heart problem, but it could take a number of tests to prove there is not. Some of the tests just aren't available at 1 or 2 in the morning. We left her there, got to bed about 3 and up at 6 for chemo. 

Betty was going to go to chemo with me so Mike had to miss out on some meetings in order to go with me. I told him I was quite ok to go on my own, he could drop me off then I’d take a cab or shuttle up to Cherry Hill…but he’d have none of that. We were first in line for chemo and when I told them of our ER story they offered us a room with a bed. I asked if they might have a room with 2 beds, they gave us a room with a bed and a recliner. It was a relaxing quiet time with a few short naps for each of us. 

We finished up about 12:30, grabbed lunch for us and Betty and went up to Cherry Hill. When we arrived her room was empty as she was finishing up some tests. We started eating and she arrived shortly after. Gillian also showed up. Mike had to leave for a meeting in Renton and Gillian had to go to work so Betty and I were left with my activities planned for chemo. 

In cleaning out some crap in the basement I had found a shoe box (kind of a big shoe box) full of letters and notes from my college days and even a pile from notes passed in high school. Who moves a box like that to Seattle from Kansas City…oh that would be me!!

We were laughing so hard trying to figure out what we were talking about back in the day! We didn’t make it far into the pile what with the nurses and doctors, so we have plenty of laughing left to do soon!

The doctor showed up and proclaimed her to have a young and healthy heart!! Good news! So what was it…he couldn’t tell us. Probably stress related and possibly muscle or nerve stuff, too. But the good news, time to go home and find ways to reduce stress. We’ve been talking lately about how Betty works too much! We’d just talked about it the night before when Lizzy and June were over for dinner. I told Betty that was an angel talking to her and it was time to listen. She has some ideas for strategies to balance it all out. The good news…her heart is strong. But I knew that!! Every health care professional praised Betty for going to the ER because it is so difficult to diagnose heart events in women. So way to go Betty and let this be a wake up call to us all!

Another layer to this story is that Carrie had informed me that “my” firefighters, who had been my heroes on June 28 were on duty Monday. She knew I’d been wanting to make them cookies to thank them. On Sunday I had the energy to follow through. I made 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies…the real deal…and packed most of them up for the firefighters. On Monday as I was heading out on my errands my first stop was at the firehouse. I had  big box of cookies, a bag of little cutie oranges and a thank you note. I was hoping just to drop them off but the lovely paramedic lured me in and started asking me about my story. Well, you know I had to cry first. I can never quite keep from crying when I start my story. I don’t cry long, but I cry. Then another paramedic looked me up on the computer and found 2 of the officers that had come to my house were there on duty. They totally remembered me. One is a friend of Carrie’s so she new more information, but the other one just remembered me. He remembered we were talking about our trip to Ireland and he was planning a trip to Scandinavia. We had a nice chat and I thanked them for taking charge and helping Mike and Michael feel so much better in that scary situation. They were all so lovely!

Then about 11:30 pm there they were at Betty’s! So weird! The one guy said, I thought this address sounded familiar and then they mentioned how full their bellies were from the cookies! Later, while Betty was in the ER the 2 paramedics showed up after bringing another patient and came into her room for a visit.

“These are the people in your neighborhood!” and they are lovely.

So, I’m feeling pretty good this week after chemo and quite grateful for it as well.

Lots of love to you.

Janet

PS I do see all your comments, texts and emails. Please excuse if I do not respond…I am taking it all in and it is making me strong!