Scrupulous -- Word for the Day -- Monday, July 28, 2008

Scrupulous
DEFINITION: (adjective) acting with extreme care.

HOUSTON -- WE ARE READY FOR LIFT OFF! ChemoSabe has a date for the stem cell transplant... Wednesday, August 13.

WBC today is 4.5 with platelets coming up to 60. We start the steroids and Thalidomide tomorrow with half doses than before. Instead of ten Dex we get five and instead of four Thalids we get one for four days each. Then we taper off the other meds into a downward spiral. Sound confusing to you? You ought to see the medication schedule he got today.

He is going to labs twice a week (Monday and Thursday). I marked my calendar today for the 24 hour urine samples to be taken in on those days. That means the collection begins on Sundays and Wednesdays at 7:00 a.m. I would have never thought I would be marking a urine collection reminder on our 21st wedding anniversary which is next Wednesday! ha

We got to ride on Saturday. ChemoSabe had planned for us to depart early a.m. and return before 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. before the heat settled in. Didn't happen. It was so nice when we left and the air had a cool breeze we didn't pay attention to our route or the time. By 1:00 we were about 50 miles from the house on the back highways. We did make frequent stops and drank plenty of water.

ChemoSabe sneaked out and got donuts for breakfast instead of the famous bacon I bragged about. I am hypoglycemic and when I have sweets, etc. I really need a nap as it drops my sugar. So, I ate just one. That combined with the heat... Oh, Man... Then, with ChemoSabe not being use to the heat thus far this summer and the sun, it was starting to take its toll. BUT, we did not get sunburned. We kept that head lathered up real good. I have NEVER been able to pour water on him. I got to then. I told him to bend over and I poured a half bottle of water all over his chrome. Needless to say, we crashed when we finally got home at 4:00. It was like old times.

We wanted to get out Sunday for another "short" trip, but his bones and muscles were hurting. His hip was hurting enough he couldn't stand for long. I took that opportunity to bath Maxie on the deck. I got the three little ones in the shower with me on Saturday, so she was the last. Then I looked around at the deck. Haven't touched it this year. It was loaded with pollen and dust. We have four decks. Couldn't have the four clean kids lying around on a dirty deck. So, I took a pine sol spray bottle and the water hose and did the upper deck and all the patio furniture. I had the blond syndrome because I didn't think about the power washer until I finished.

Today Poppy was here!!! He came home from work and I cranked up the power washer and he did two decks. When he ran out of gas I started it back up and away he went again. Used four tanks of gas. We will do the lower deck tomorrow and the gazebo. He may be worn out in the morning, but he truly enjoyed it. I believe it worked the soreness out of his hip, too.

Billy and Sherry should be back in town tomorrow. Roger is still doing Infusion. He is being scheduled with a heart doctor. There is a new guy that has been visiting the church where I work and he has a neck brace. He can't start MM therapy until he has neck surgery. I believe he may be staying in the cancer guest house across from the church.

ChemoSabe is fortunate. He has been working the last three weeks and he plans to continue on. He basically feels well. He claims he feels better than when he was diagnosed. He has lost most all his muscle. His arms and legs are thin and getting thinner. His arms tired this evening with holding and moving the washer wand back and forth. He is at his normal weight (205), but his slacks, jeans and shirts are becoming empty in the seat. He stills walks and acts the same, just in a thinner body. His skin is immaculate. So moist, clear and smooth, it just shines. He is worried his eyebrows are getting much thinner and thinks he is losing them. I told him he felt the same about his hair and now he loves it! We laughed.

My biggest fear when we started this journey was he would feel so uncomfortable about his appearance when it came time. You who know him can remember how he was about his hair, face, clothes and just his overall appearance. I was afraid he would let that somehow stand in his way of getting better. He's so vain! ha. I don't worry about that anymore. He has accepted the challenge well and has loved every minute of it. He stills worries about a hair sticking up, but instead of pulling it out now, he just runs a razor over it... He even lets the son rub his head when he would get fighting mad if anyone wanted to touch his hair.

He is off to sleep so I better get going. If he wakes up he will be looking for me. I got to stay out of trouble with that guy. Especially this week with all those hormones raging beginning tomorrow.

Oh... Word for the Day? Scrupulous -- We will be quite scrupulous the next two weeks in preparation of the new babies arriving on August 13. Should we have a Baby Shower?!?!? I can't wait to be the proud mom of over 5 million babies. Who would have thought -- 21 years -- I can't have children, the chemo cleaned him out and now this! It all comes back to ---

God is good, All the time!

Good night and love Pepper