Chemo Sabe

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Benton, AR, United States
Diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma-- May 2008

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Hope -- Word for the Day -- Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Hope

Definition:  to cherish a desire with anticipation;  trust;  to desire with expectation of obtainment; to expect with confidence

It has been a month since my last writing.  I am fond of the phrase "No news is good news". 

Weekly Monday visits to lab and Infusion Center has become routing for ChemoSabe.  He totes his folder packed with his lab reports and doctor's order around with him as if it were a part of him job.  The Infusion nurses treat him like the business man he is.

All labs have been coming back with raving reviews.  This week his phosphorus is a bit low so on Monday we ate mostly vegetables.

The house is still a total wreck.  If I were to tell you everything that was happening, we would be here all day.  I will share with you that the den, wash room, and motorcycle rooms are done.  The downstairs shower has been inoperable for three weeks.  Will be glad to get ChemoSabe off my premises, upstairs. 
Den - thus far --  Maxie - welcomes you!

Kitchen and dining areas were ripped out yesterday and tile should be down today with grout tomorrow.  Everything, except for the worker's mess, is looking great. 

ChemoSabe has been good about helping out and his energy levels have sustained.  With the maintenance he is on now, it is my hope he will continue to get stronger.  Yard work is on the horizon, but not on our list of priorities right now with the heat.  I haven't mowed in two weeks.  But, with mortar in your grass from the handy man, it may be hard.

Our family has grown.  Last Friday was ChemoSabe's 63rd birthday so I took him to our favorite pizza place to eat.  Our favorite waitress, (I'll call her Tara, because that's her name :)) decided she had a dog she didn't need.  A white Schnauzer.  She called her LuLu.  We acquired her last evening and we call her "Bootsie" after our beloved Boots.  She is a year old and very hyper.  I was very leery at first when we brought the other kids out, but when they all went outside, they were in their own world.  I hope it continues.

All else is good in our lives.  We continue to ride, even though the heat pulls us down on the bikes.  The wind cools us off, but if we stop, it is "unholy hot". 

I will continue to keep you posted.  It may be boring since ChemoSabe is doing so well, but I will put something in. 

Good afternoon and Love, Pepper



Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Kemo Sabe -- Word for the Day - Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Kemo Sabe
Definition: Ke-mo sah-bee (pronounced /ˌkiːmoʊˈsɑːbi/; often spelled kemo sabe or kemosabe) is the term of endearment used by the fictional Native American Tonto (and sometimes the Ranger himself) in the radio and television program The Lone Ranger, said to mean "trusty scout" or "faithful friend" in Potawatomi.[1][2] Its use has become so widespread it was entered into Webster's New Millennium Dictionary in 2002.

I continue to be amazed at how my ChemoSabe keeps up his pace. Even though he doesn't do the five days/four a day/two weeks on/or of steroids, he has about the same energy. He is now doing the three Dex, one day a week for a year. He has been up today since 1:30 a.m. He left the house at 2:30 and traveled to Greenville, MS. He was driving in the driveway at 6:00 p.m. My word for today should have been "Amazed".

Labs showed that CRP was way below registering, which is wonderful. No infection. I still think it was his dentist visit for the cleaning last month. I'm not the doctor -- I'm just sayin.

We have yet to begin the reflooring of all areas of the house. It has been discovered the foyer was affected, too. It was torn out yesterday. We are back to three big floor blowers and a giant dehumidifier. Last time it was six blowers and two dehumidifiers. These are just as noisy as they sit at the bottom of the stairs. I can't tell when our downstairs or upstairs air kicks on. I would be willing to bet our electric bill will hit $600 this month.

I have been letting all four dogs stay in the sun room every day while we are at work under a floor fan and ceiling fan. Even when I let them out for about 45 minutes when I get home, it is still too hot for them.

My sweet kemo sabe, Billie, that was putting up the fight with brain and lung cancer died peacefully at home last Wednesday. Her funeral was on Saturday. My Kemo Sabe, Kenny, did the services. One of the best services I have ever heard him do. They were close.

We are so looking forward to the weekend which begins for me tomorrow. We are keeping Big E for three days. What a treat. He will be seven in August. I get all melty when I think about him. I can be proud of his daddy setting such a good example.

ChemoSabe is loosing weight steadily, but not quickly. I believe the lower dose of Dex is keeping him from retaining fluid. He doesn't have those chubby Humpty Dumpty cheeks anymore. His hands are not bruising like they were from having thin skin and his eyes are not running, itchy or swelling. The doc told us during the last visit that these were major side effects of the Dex.

He worked in the yard again yesterday afternoon. He weedeated a lot around the house and flower beds. I found myself going to the window every few minutes to make certain he was okay. I am just not use to him being out of my sight very long when we are at home. If we are it is usually because he is asleep in the recliner. He and all four kids are in the bedroom, crashed. Two on the bed with him and two on the floor. I think I will have a little room!  No such luck.  I squeezed in beside ChemoSabe with his mouth in my ear (not by choice).  He awakens slightly and says, "Well, hey Sweetheart" and then burps in my ear. He says 'excuse me' and the next breath out of his mouth he is snoring.  I laugh and he asked what's is wrong.  I tell him he is "so romantic" and that I am going to the spare room so I won't interrupt his sleep.  He is just worn out!!

A kemo sabe of mine disappointed me today. I can't say why or what, but I would ask that you pray for our relationship. My feelings were dampened and I was caught off guard, but I can stand right back up and continue to love them. They probably don't realize what happened, but I know they realize things must change. They have been a kemo sabe to me for too long.

We had a little air conditioner problem on Monday. The dip pipe backed up and caused our bedroom door jam to swell. The AC closet was leaking water onto the stairs also. I called our terrific AC company at 7:00 a.m. and they were here by 9:30. It was nothing major, but when I got the call and the problem, Tony sounded serious. I told him I didn't need any bad news... Well, there was some. Bill, the tech, came down the stairs and tripped on the carpet (that was ripped out) and fell onto the bar and broke a bowl. I told him not to worry about the bowl and asked how was Bill. Bill was on his way to the doctor to get stitches, but he was more concerned about the bowl.

I called Bill that afternoon and he had two stitches. He wants me to send him the bill on the bowl. Gotta love him.

We are going to take E to eat pizza tomorrow night with Stretch and Rainman. He will love that. Heck, we will love it. No better way to spend the evening than with your grandson and friends, eating pizza.

Good evening, Kemo Sabe Kids --- Love, Pepper

Oops... someone shared a cartoon with me this afternoon -- It was a photo of Tonto and the Lone Ranger.  Tonto was sulking and here is what he had to say, "Tonto ride with KemoSabe for years, but KemoSabe still calls himself "Lone Ranger".  Make Tonto sad."  Thank you, JoEllen


Monday, June 21, 2010

Invictus -- Word for the Day -- Monday, June 21, 2010

Invictus

Definition:  unconquer, unconquerable, undefeated.

"Invictus" is a short Victorian poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and first published in 1888[1] in Henley's Book of Verses, where it was the fourth in a series of poems entitled Life and Death (Echoes).[2] It originally bore no title:[2] early printings contained only the dedication To R. T. H. B.—a reference to Robert Thomas Hamilton Bruce (1846–1899), a successful Scottish flour merchant and baker who was also a literary patron.[3] The familiar title "Invictus" (Latin for "unconquered"[4]) was added by Arthur Quiller-Couch when he included the poem in The Oxford Book Of English Verse (1900).[5][6]

I see a miracle in my driveway... ChemoSabe is moving bricks, shoveling dirt and sweating profusely.. I haven't seen this in almost three years.. Thank you, Lord, for remission.. Did he have to chose the hottest day of the year?! :)

The following is a poem from the movie "Invictus", with Morgan Freeman.  It is a true story of Nelson Mandela.  I thought the movie was incredible.  If you look up the definition of "Invictus" you will find another true story of the man that wrote the poem.  Enjoy!

Invictus -- Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gait,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

I see a miracle in my driveway... ChemoSabe is moving bricks, shoveling dirt and sweating profusely.. I haven't seen this in almost three years.. Thank you, Lord, for remission.. Did he have to chose the hottest day of the year?! :)

Good evening and Love to all that love me, for me, as I love you for You!  Pepper