Lovin' St. Augustine.......

Limitations live only in our minds.  But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.  – Jamie Paolinetti

Having a wonderful time in St. Augustine.  Finally made it into "town" on Sunday afternoon.  At first we thought it was a huge mistake because there were people EVERYWHERE, and we’re not too big on crowds.  But we wandered down the “main drag,”

St. George Street,

which is foot traffic only and is chock full of shops, boutiques, restaurants, bars......and PEOPLE.  We stopped at one of our favorite watering holes, Sangrias, even though it looked like the 2^nd floor balcony was full.  Figured we would take our chances.  There are only 2 tables we really like in the entire place – one at each end of the 2^nd floor balcony, in the corner – so it’s pretty rare that we luck out and get one of those tables.  We sauntered out on the balcony and noticed that the couple at one of the corner tables had empty glasses.  Were they going to order another one, or were they waiting for their check?!  Hah!  They were waiting for their check, and we pounced on the table as soon as the stood up!  We couldn’t believe our luck!  So there we sat, looking out over St. George Street, enjoying some of the finest homemade sangria (they have about 8 different kinds – 5 reds and 3 whites, I think) and some of the finest people watching around!  And they even had live music inside the bar.  Since we were outside, the music wasn’t too loud and was most enjoyable.  Yes, I drank more sangria than my onco man said I should, but it was SOOOO fun and such a nice afternoon.  We eventually left there -- sadly relinquishing our corner table (but one can only drink so much sangria!) -- in search of more live music but didn’t find any and went back to the RV to relax for rest of the evening. 

Yesterday we spent a good part of the day trying to get a campsite at Anastasia State Park, one of our favorite parks.  We had to be at the ranger station to put our name on the waiting list at 0800 – we were number 1 on the list for 2 possible campsites.  Then we had to return (in person, no phone calls) to the ranger station at 1300 to see if either site checked out or if they re-registered.  We finally got the word at 1330 that site 72 had vacated, and we could have it!  It was our lucky day again!  Then we had to go back to the other park and pack up the RV, along with ALL the stuff we had outside – carpet, chairs, folding table, bicycles, etc.  It took awhile, but we finally got moved and all settled in to our new site at Anastasia. 

We've had such a nice day today.  This park is SO beautiful.  We took the dogs for a nice long walk on a trail in the woods this a.m.  Then I rode my bike to the beach and went for a beautiful walk on the beach (Ken didn't want to miss the opening of the stock market....LOL).  Then I paid some bills (the least fun thing of the day).  Then we went back to the beach and took chairs, blanket, books, umbrella, etc.  Had lunch at the beach and spent a couple of hours just enjoying the sun, the surf, and the sea breeze.  Even went for a swim in the ocean!  The beach here is gorgeous – miles of unspoiled, undeveloped, pristine beach as far as the eye can see.  We’re actually scheduled to be Workampers/volunteers here in the fall.  We’re still hoping we can do it, although we have to see if we can change our dates a little bit due to my new radiation schedule L.

I’ve been feeling really good, and being in this beautiful park makes me feel even better.  I’ll have to have another blood draw on Thursday, but I’m trying not to think about that.  We’ll head home next Monday, and then I’ll have my 4^th (and final!) round of the A/C chemo regimen next Thursday (6/9) followed by Neulasta on 6/10.  I’ll be SO glad to kiss that regimen goodbye and move on to the next regimen.      

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

We're in St. Augustine for some R&R......

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.  – John Wooden

We met with the radiation oncologist on Wednesday.  The good news is that we liked her and the physician assistant very much – both were very friendly, likeable, and knowledgeable.  The bad news is that I thought I would be doing the radiation at the same time as the next chemo regimen – I could swear that is what the medical oncologist told me on several occasions.  Not so.  I will have to do the next chemo regimen in its entirety, which will probably start on June 24^th (give or take a few days) and will last for 12 weeks.  Then I wait a month – to give my poor abused body some healing/recuperation time – and THEN start radiation.  The radiation will be every day (M-F) for 6 weeks.  It was kind of devastating news because I had gotten in my brain that I would be all finished with this sh*t (pardon my language, but I’m a little frustrated) in the middle of September.  Now it’s going to drag on until the end of November!  Eeeh gads!  What a long year.  Hopefully 2012 will be a much better year. 

There was one other tidbit of good news gleaned during our appointment on Wednesday and that is that Space Coast Cancer Center (the group I go to) is opening a new office in Viera in a couple of weeks.  They are going to have the latest and greatest, state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line radiation equipment available on the market in that office.  It’s actually already there, but it has to be installed, calibrated, calculated, checked, adjusted, aligned, synchronized, balanced, tuned…..whatever…..and won’t be ready for use until August.  That’s okay; I’ll be ready for it when it’s all ready.  I definitely want “the very best” available – pinpoint those beams, miss the heart please, etc. 

I had another dreadful blood draw yesterday.  Went to Quest again, but my veins refused to cooperate, or the phlebotomist wasn’t the greatest, or both.  She said the vein kept rolling away from her, so she kept rolling the needle around trying to find it!  Man, that felt great…….not!  I don’t know the results yet and probably won’t know until Tuesday…..when it’s almost time for another draw…..

Meanwhile we are up in St. Augustine with the RV.  It’s one of our favorite places to come to when we feel like getting “out of dodge” for a little while because it’s only about 120 miles from Merritt Island, and there’s lots to see and do here……including just plain ol’ relaxing “in the woods.”  We just felt like getting away from my medical world environment for a week or so.  We’re supposed to get thunderstorms this afternoon; if so, we hang out inside and read a book.  If not, we sit outside and read a book….or maybe head into town and walk around, go window shopping, listen to live music, whatever strikes our fancy.  Sounds relaxing, doesn’t it?! 

Hope you all have a relaxing, fun, and safe Memorial Day weekend.  And thank you to all our troops, past and present, who have fought for and continue to fight for our freedom (we’re so proud of you, nephew Jimmy!!)   

Three down, one to go.....on this regimen......

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.  – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Okay, well I thought I would be back on here in a day or two, but alas, several days have elapsed.  Chemo #3 went off without a hitch on Friday, although I felt wiped out at various times throughout the weekend.  Took many a nap over the weekend.  This morning I had my Neulasta injection, which is never a fun experience – it’s a painful injection as far as injections go.  And then it totally wipes me out.  I just woke up from a 2½ hour nap! 

BUT that’s three down and one to go with the A/C and Neulasta regimen!  Yay!  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I’m not looking forward to the next regimen, although I’ve been told it is much milder than what I’m doing now.  The biggest “bump in the road” will be that it will be weekly instead of every 3 weeks, so scheduling/timing alone will be a bit tough.  But ya gotta do what ya gotta do! 

We meet with the radiation oncologist on Wednesday morning to see when that will start and what will be involved, etc.  We may move to a different campground because the radiation will be every day (M-F) for 6 weeks, from what we understand.  Talk about scheduling/timing constraints!  That’s going to be rough.  Right now we’re located about 40 minutes (one way) from the radiation machine, so that’s 80 minutes per day just in travel time alone.  It’ll be rough trying to get my work done AND do the traveling, the radiation, the chemotherapy, etc.  Well, we’ll have a better idea of what to expect after we meet with the radiation oncologist, so I’ll quit speculating until then.

Ya know, I forgot to mention a little tidbit about my Texas trip with Nancy – other than it was a fabulous week(!) and I was so sad to see it end – but I think I mentioned that!  I was really a bit nervous about flying with a compromised immune system – you know, all the germy people in airplanes and airports, etc.  Nancy told me that her hairdresser rubs Neosporin around her nostrils before she flies and never gets sick.  Another one of those “worth-a-try” things.  So I liberally applied Neosporin to the nostrils, and I took an Airborne before getting on the plane, and I felt fantastic the whole time! 

Well, I think I’d better go chop up some veggies for dinner.  Kenny is outside waxing the RV – he has been trying to finish one side of it now for about 3 weeks, but the lovebugs have been SOOOOO bad lately, that he couldn’t get it done.  For those of you who don’t live in Florida, count your lucky stars that you don’t have to deal with lovebugs!  OMG!  What a nuisance they are.  Just google Florida lovebugs and see what you’re missing!  Sometimes it feels like you’re driving through a blinding black blizzard!

HUGS TO EVERYBODY!  And, as always, thank you so much for your wonderful blog comments, loving emails, positive thoughts, and good wishes! 

Chemo Round 3 tomorrow.......

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.  – Andre Gide, French Author

I don’t really have much news to report.  It has been a relatively quiet week.  Went for another blood draw today, which I was dreading.  However, I went to Quest Diagnostics (same company I used in Texas), and the girl got it on the first stick, just like the guy in Texas!  So I will continue to go to Quest for my weekly blood work.  Now maybe I can stop dreading it so much.

I’m also dreading chemo round 3 tomorrow (at 1000).  I’ve really been enjoying this “feeling great” stuff, and now I have to go mess it all up again.  WAAAAHHH!  Maybe it won’t be so bad.  Gotta think positive, right?  Right! 

So that’s about all I have to report for now.  Stay tuned…..maybe I’ll be back on here in a day or two…….

Endeavor's last launch a success!

The last launch of Shuttle Endeavor was a success!  Unfortunately, we didn't see ANY of it due to extremely heavy cloud cover.  However, we did hear it, and the sound was mighty impressive.  Just very disappointing not to be able to see it.  We should have watched it on TV instead of walking over to the river hoping for a glimpse of it.  Oh well....so it goes.....just glad they had a successful liftoff.  Hope they have a successful mission and a safe trip home.  And hopefully there will be one more shuttle launch before the shuttle program is forever gone. 

As you might have guessed, I'm back in Florida now, and Nancy is back in San Diego.  We had such a wonderful week together -- sure hated to see it end.  We both shed a few tears at the airport -- hate goodbyes.  Kenny picked me up at the Orlando airport around 1400 and then we stopped at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp on the way home for some gator tail and a beer.  It was a beautiful afternoon, so we sat outside overlooking the St. John's River.  Saw a couple of gators swim by.....felt kinda guilty eating gator tail in their presence.....but it was so tender and delicious.

Got the results of my blood work this morning, and my white count was in the "happy range" of normal.  A few other counts were low, but the doctor's office didn't call me to say I should be worried about anything, so I'm assuming everything is okay.  And I feel really good, so everything MUST be okay, right?!  I'll have another blood draw on Thursday and then chemo #3 on Friday, followed by Neulasta on Monday. 

Just got off the phone with Wuesthoff Hospital (where I had the mastectomy on 2/25).  I've been fighting with them trying to get the $1400 I had to pay before they would schedule the surgery (way back in February).  They said that was the amount I still owed on my deductible (at that time), which they made me pay even though I knew my deductible would be met before they submitted their bills.  Anyway, Wuesthoff was bought out by a for-profit organization last fall, and everything is totally screwed up.....near as I can tell.  After many phone calls to them, I finally faxed them a copy of the Explanation of Benefits 2 weeks ago, which showed that my insurance company had paid them, so I finally got them to realize that they owe me the $1400.....and that I  need it NOW to pay other bills.  They said it was approved and I should have had the check last week.  Guess what?!  There was no check last week!  What a surprise!  Well, it turns out the refund was reversed because there just so happens to be another Suzanne Carpenter -- with an outstanding balance on her account, so some idiot applied the money to HER account....even though the middle initial, DOB, SSN, etc. are different.  So now they have to get the money out of her account and send everything back through accounting.....AGAIN!  So MAYBE I'll see the money in another week or two.....if I'm lucky.  Why am I writing all this in my blog anyway?!  I guess I felt like venting because I'm SOOOO frustrated by this whole thing.  They've had my money for almost 3 months, and I'm tired of fighting to try to get it back.  If it was only $50 or $100, I wouldn't be quite as upset, but $1400 is a lot of money.  Okay, enough on that subject.....

I guess I'd better go do something else to take my mind off this issue.  This is stressing me out too much, and stress is not a good thing.

Still lovin' the Sister Therapy!

Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.  – Unknown

Just a quick update to say that all is well in San Antonio and the Sister Therapy continues to be “out of this world!”  We’ve had a wonderful week…..very sad to see it rapidly coming to an end, but we still have 2 full days left.  Yay!  Today is the first really sunny day we have had.  We had incredibly wicked storms yesterday – more intense than we usually see in Florida (and we get some intense ones there) – really, really windy and dark and cold and sideways rain.  It was really eerie.  So we pretty much just stayed in our room and did transcription training until about 1600 – got a lot accomplished.  Then we went out and did some errands and got a bite to eat.  Came “home” and sat in the hot tub, then played some cribbage, and then called it a day.

Today we are leaving our fabulous executive suite at the Marriott Resort – thank you SOOOO much, Nancy and Mac, for sharing/spoiling me with your Marriott platinum status…..once again!!!!  This place has been awesome, and our suite is just phenomenal.  We’re a little sad to leave, but we really want to check out Austin since we’re only a little over an hour away.  So we’ll head up there today, see what Austin is all about, and spend the night up there.  Maybe we can even find a fun place to listen to live music this evening.  We’ll spend tomorrow night by the San Antonio airport and then fly out on Sunday morning, back to our respective corners of the country. 

I have been feeling great all week, which is a really wonderful feeling – sure makes life a lot more fun when you’re feeling good!  I did go have my blood work done yesterday…..which I was dreading, as usual.  I went to Quest Labs here in San Antonio and warned the guy that I was a “tough draw.”  He said, “Thanks for the heads up.”  And he got it on the first stick!  And plenty of blood.  Woohoo!  He was great!  I think maybe I’ll try Quest Labs at home next week and see what happens. 

In the picture below, I’m wearing my new “halo” wig.  No, it has nothing to do with possessing angelic qualities!  It’s simply a kind of wig that is totally open at the top – it’s like a “ring” of hair, so you have to wear a hat or scarf over it.  It’s cooler and much more comfortable than a full wig.  Looks stunning, eh??!!

Well, it’s time for us to pack up our belongings and head on up to Austin. 

P.S.  I tried to post the above message on my blog this morning, but blogspot.com was having technical difficulties today, and I couldn’t do it.  Anyway, we’re now in Austin – just checked into our next fabulous room at the Renaissance Hotel.  Shortly, we’ll head downtown and walk around town, do a little Retail Therapy, and listen to music, which we understand is “everywhere!”  Should be fun!

Sister Therapy is wonderful!

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back. -Arthur Rubinstein

Nancy and I arrived safely in San Antonio, Texas on Mother’s Day.  We both had uneventful flights – thankfully – although the security line at the Orlando airport was incredibly long.  I was very thankful I was no longer in the Merchant Marine flying to various corners of the world and dealing with all the inherent airport hassles, etc. 

I had about a 3-hour wait in San Antonio for Nancy’s plane to arrive.  Unfortunately, the only place to get something to eat (without going through security) was Starbucks, which isn’t my “cup of tea.”  So I got a bottle of water and a small bag of popcorn and set about reading my Kindle.  The book was really good, so the time elapsed fairly quickly.  It was SOOOO wonderful to see Nancy when she finally arrived!  We picked up our rental car and headed to the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Resort and Spa.  Oh my!  This place is absolutely fabulous, and we have an “executive suite” with a connecting room!  Doesn’t get much better than this.  It was late afternoon by the time we checked in (after stopping at the grocery store to pick up some wine and snacks).  That evening we went down and enjoyed the hot tub for a little while, which was so nice and relaxing.

Yesterday we spent a couple of hours in the morning doing transcription training.  In the afternoon, we drove into downtown San Antonio and walked along the riverwalk, which is a very cool place with lots of little restaurants right along the “canal.”  We took a guided boat ride of the canal/river and learned some of the local history, which was quite fun.  We also walked around the city a bit and went to the Alamo – very interesting.  We did some more walking over to the Tower of the Americas – a very tall tower with a revolving Chart House at the top.  We had a glass of wine at the bar and had a spectacular view of the city.  Unfortunately, only the restaurant revolves/rotates; the bar stays in one place, but it was still a nice view.  Then we walked back to the riverwalk area and had a bite to eat at the Iron Cactus, a neat little Mexican restaurant with an outside patio right beside the canal.  It was a very fun afternoon.

This morning I had several hours of transcription to do, which I just finished a little while ago.  Now we’re thinking of going out and doing a little shopping (because it's a very overcast day -- what better thing to do on an overcast day -- retail therapy!).  Then we'll come back to the room later on for some more transcription training. 

I’ve been feeling GREAT – the best I have felt since chemo #2 – so the timing of this trip was perfect.  And the Sister Therapy is out of this world!  I’m LOVING it! 

Well, that catches you up on things for now.  It’s time for us to go out and have some more fun!

It was a pincushion kind of day......

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.  ~William James

Yes, I felt like a human pincushion going to the lab for my weekly blood draw this morning.  And Katie, the “good one,” was working!  Boy, did she have to work to get a teeny tiny bit of blood from me!  One stick in the arm (elbow joint area) and two sticks in the back of the hand.  She finally had a little bit in 3 vials, which hopefully was enough to run the necessary tests.  It seems to be getting more dreadful each time I go.  WAAAAH!  I’m not sure what I’ll do in Texas next week for my blood draw, but I’ll have to find someplace to do it – hopefully someplace with REALLY GOOD phlebotomists. 

Texas you ask??  I’m in desperate need of some sister therapy!  So I’m meeting my sister, Nancy, in Texas for a week (5/8 – 5/15)!  I’m SOOOOO excited.  The whole adventure started out as a bit of a lark but quickly became reality.  Nancy has been offering to help me with my transcription when the workload gets really overwhelming, so I started explaining different things about the job, my gastro account, the tricks of the trade, etc.  And I said, “Ya know? It would be a whole lot easier to show you everything in person!”  And she said, “Let’s do it!”  And so our Texas adventure was born.  We were trying to think of a convenient place to meet (she lives in California and I in Florida) – someplace where we could find reasonable airfares and nonstop flights (cut down on the germ factor and stress level).  As Nancy and I were discussing it on the phone one afternoon, Kenny piped in and said, “Why don’t you go to San Antonio?”  Well, neither of us has been to San Antonio, it’s about halfway between San Diego and Orlando, and Southwest (one of the most user-friendly airlines these days) flies there nonstop from both cities!  San Antonio, here we come!  Thanks for the idea, Kenny!  And we’re actually going to spend 3 of the nights in Austin, too, which is supposed to be another really cool place.  Two of “my girls” have offered to take on some extra work next week, so Nancy and I should be able to have some quality sister time together, which I am SOOOO looking forward to.  And, oh yeah, I’ll show her the transcription “ropes,” too!  Maybe while we’re hanging out by the pool at the Marriott……J

I’ve been feeling really good the past couple of days, although I was quite tired today – probably exhausted from the tedious blood draw…..although I think it was tougher for Katie than me.  I just had to sit there and watch…..and try to beg the blood to flow.  Other than the fatigue, though, I’ve been feeling great.  One of the ladies in my online “support group” suggested taking Claritin to ward off the bone/joint pain that seems to be a nasty side effect from the Neulasta injection.  Heck yeah!  I’ll try that!  And so far, I’ve had no bone pain at all this time.  Now why would Claritin (for allergies) keep bone pain at bay??!!  Another co-survivor on the website told me about MetroMint water to get rid of the yucky taste in our mouths from the chemo.  Finally found it in Publix yesterday, and it’s wonderful.  A little pricey but tastes so great and definitely gets rid of the yucky taste.  So, combine those tidbits with the lint roller for the head, and I’m learning all kinds of great things to help make this journey more tolerable! 

Well, it’s time to wrap up another day.  Tomorrow I do laundry, Saturday I pack my bags, and Sunday I’m headed for Sister Therapy!  Hugs to everybody!!  Thank you all so much for your blog comments, emails, positive thoughts, and LOVE!

And here's to our Special Forces......

I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. -John Rockefeller

Let me start out today’s blog by saying:  Here’s to our Special Forces……and all of our Armed Forces…..who put their lives on the line day in and day out to fight for our freedom!  Special kudos to the Navy Seals for the capture/elimination of Osama Bin Laden.

Well, it was 3 months ago today that my surgeon uttered the 3 words that nobody ever wants to hear during his/her entire lifetime – “You have cancer.”  And how my life changed with that one utterance.  It has definitely been one heck of a roller coaster ride since then. 

I’m still feeling a little “out of sorts” today but much better than I did over the weekend.  I just seem to be lacking in the energy/motivation department today, and I feel a little queasy, but it’s getting better as time goes on.

This morning I followed the recommendation of a fellow “survivor” in my online support group.  She suggested using a lint roller(!) on the peach fuzz on the top of the head!  What a concept!  It worked stupendously, and I got a TON of the prickly little hairs off my almost-bald head.  Now it’s getting really close to total baldness.  A few more runs with the lint roller, and I’ll be shining….LOL! 

Found my way out of the hole......

Don’t count the days, make the days count.  – Muhammad Ali

Sometime around mid-morning today, I decided that I was tired of having cancer!  I’m not sure why it hit me then or what it was all about.  I guess I was just feeling a little blue and kinda “yucky,” and that was the conclusion I reached.  I don’t suppose it’s all that irrational, but I knew the “woe is me” feelings were not part of the gotta-stay-upbeat-and-positive plan, so I had to do something about it.  I decided that if I took a nice warm shower, maybe I could wash all those negative thoughts down the drain!  Guess what?!  It worked!  I’m back out of the hole and feeling much better again.  And ya know what else I realized in the shower?  It’s so quick and easy to shower when you’re bald.  A little dab of shampoo (my Redken Extreme shampoo…..I guess I’m hoping it will make my hair grow back post haste…LOL) on the bald head, wash the body, and you’re done.  No round brushes afterwards trying to make those flippy things go the other way, no tedious blow drying of the tresses – it’s quick and easy – and I love that aspect of being bald.  Okay, I think that’s the only aspect….but it’s a good one. 

Last night we went to Debbie and Bill’s house for dinner, and Debbie (my bosom buddy) made the world’s best bouillabaisse – chock full of mussels, clams, shrimp, fish, stone crabs – oh my!  It was so delicious!  And a nice relaxing evening sitting outside with Bill playing his guitar.  Of course, I get tired pretty easily nowadays, and we were home with “lights out” for me at 2030.  Slept until 0630!  Woohoo!!  That felt good.

Now I’m going to go outside and enjoy the breeze and read my Kindle!  Fear not…..I’m doing okay now.  Just had one of those “blue” moods this morning, but it has passed…….