Pheeewwwsssshhh!

What a busy time!

I flew in Thursday night from KC, had chemo Friday morning then had an appointment in Wallingford with Dr. Standish on Saturday. Yesterday we had brunch here with Betty and the kids. Jennifer was in town and yes, come on over, which included a short but sweet visit from her sister Ali and family. If I could subtract the chemo, it was all good stuff!

KC was great; exhausting, for sure. There are not many who can keep up with my sister and her daughters (we missed you Jamie), and I knew better than to try. We had time running around a bit and time hanging out at mom’s, which is just what the doctor ordered. Mom and I joined in when we could and rested when we needed to, just like I had hoped. I saw my brother Paul several times and had time with his kids. I saw all my silly, funny, crazy aunties and many of my cousins. Actually I saw a few of those folks multiple times, which was awesome. Mostly, I hung out with mom and Matt, which was the original point of the trip. I ate BBQ, of course, more than once. Had my Winstead’s burger with just a few fries, I stayed mostly away from pastries and candies (mostly). I went to my most recent favorite spot, The Blackdog Coffeehouse for toast and a macchiato. When we weren’t eating out I kept to my usual healthy food. The trip was terrific! Can’t wait to see you all again!

At the airport I started my fast to prep for chemo. I fasted from about 1:00pm our time through chemo and then 3 more hours after that. That was about a 27 hour water only fast. You know, I have no idea if it helps, I can only hope, and since I am resolved it was not difficult to do at all. I have to fight cancer. I have to try what makes sense to me. Since then I’ve stepped back into the keto-diet. Over the weekend I eased into it without logging every bite into the app on my phone. Today I opened up the app and started logging, just to be sure I am remembering ingredients and portions correctly. Hopefully I’ll burn up my glucose and rely on ketones for fuel. Cancer eats glucose, not ketones! We’ll never know if it is really working, but I’m giving it a try!

Originally my taxol was given to me at 80 units (what kind of units? I do not know!). After my February stint in the hospital it was cut in half to 40. Now that I've tolerated it and we think it might be working, he's upped it to 50 units. I seem to be handling it just fine. I really don't feel any different than after the last treatments. What I have learned is that the effects can be cumulative, so we shall see! So far so good!

My favorite student of Dr. Standish, Breanna, was with her on Saturday. They both took me in the little room of the clinic in an old building in Wallingford and listened to my update. I had not seen them since the scan. Dr. Standish understands and agrees with Dr. Kaplan’s plan. It is always nice to get this kind of reassurance. They are both so encouraging and supportive, I so appreciate their part on my healing team. After updates, Dr. Standish put in some acupuncture needles to help me with my energy and Breanna gave me a reflexology session. It was a little like a spa appointment…lovely!

On a completely different note: Eva and Michael have wanted a dog so very, very much for a very long time. Now their wish has come true. Yesterday afternoon a rescue organization delivered Petey to their apartment. They had read about Petey on line and had met the foster mom and Petey one afternoon. They fell in love. I worked long and hard to talk them out of a dog at this stage in their life, and I think I helped them put it off for a while, but they fell for Petey online and that is that. Well, many of you might know that Wilson can be reactive to other dogs. And I have figured out that I am a “my dog” person more than a dog person. With that combo I’m not sure how long it will be until we see Michael and Eva again! With that in mind we had a lovely brunch yesterday and when they left here they were full of anticipation waiting to adopt Petey. We have a plan. My part of the plan is to meet Petey and fall in love with him myself, first. Then, as a bit of an anxious person, they all want to do the slow but sure introduction of the two without me. Not sure my control freak self will be able to handle that, but I know I don’t want to express any of my anxiety to Wilson! So we shall see. I’ve reached out to Danielle at Dog’s Day Out who helped us with Wilson. She has sent me some tips and links to help us in the introduction of the two pups…wish us luck!

Jennifer was in town from Bellingham and it worked out for her to come by for a visit later in the afternoon. She always makes me laugh! I really miss spending the better part of the day next door to her and sharing hilarious stories and the trials and tribulations of Kindergarten and first grade. She is a treasure and such a great friend! Her sister and family had dropped her off and when they came to fetch her they joined in for a visit. Ali’s husband Ryan and their two boys went downstairs to find Mike at his lathe. Ryan has a job similar to Mike’s job and they like to connect when they can. Gideon and Kincaid went to work to update our chalkboard wall and Jennifer, Ali and I had a little more time to chat. It was a lovely visit. Thanks my friends!

Today was cool and drizzly, a perfect day to sleep in, catch up and start over.

Sending lots of love to all of you.

Janet