No Suckers

My dad was collecting money for a raffle his men's club was having at his church. Most every day I was in Mankato we would make a bank run and, big kid that he is, my dad would come out with suckers for each of us. It made me feel like a little kid again to be out running errands, just me and my dad, and being treated to a sucker from the bank. How sad on Tuesday when I ran to the bank in Sheboygan - by myself - and didn't get a sucker. Yes, I'm home.

I had a really good week with my parents. We didn't do anything major but it was nice to always have someone around and someone to eat with and play cards with and just sit next to and read the paper. My parents are just plain wonderful and I plan to go back again soon when the walls close in again. As a bonus, I got to spend time with all three of my brothers, their wives, and Mark and Joey. I also was able to visit with my Aunt Midge. It was just the perfect week for me.

While I was there I did battle a low grade fever for about a day and a half. When I got home I thought it was all in my head that I was feeling down and out, but it turns out my blood was messed up again and I ended up in the hospital yesterday for a blood transfusion. I didn't get home until 10:00 last night. Back to reality!

I have decided that I'm probably only going to blog once a week now. My guess is that I'll try to do it on Sundays or Mondays as a re-cap of the previous week. There's just not enough going on in my world to warrant anything more frequent than that. It will also save all of you from checking every day and finding nothing and wondering what's going on.

Time to go pop a pill or two to try and control another fever that's going on right now. It should help with some of these aches I'm feeling also. It may be time to increase the Fentanyl dosage for pain as my hips and legs have been bothering me more and more lately. I'll see Dr K in two weeks and discuss it with him at that time.

You're all in my prayers. I hope I remain in yours as well.

Where's Carol?

I'm not at home. I'm not in Sheboygan County. I'm not even in the state of Wisconsin. I had an opportunity to come to MN with my folks and I jumped at it! I just had to get away from the walls that were closing in on me and the long silences at home being alone all day long. Already this is a great improvement. I really haven't done much that's different here, but the scenery is changed. They have a big, bright window in their living room I can look out and watch traffic go by and hear neighborhood noises and watch the silly chipmunks scurry by. I don't have any of that at home. We're a lot more "private" living where we do than I ever really realized. I'll be flying home on Memorial Day to be reunited with my guys.

I've had some problems with my legs recently. In fact, they gave out from under me one evening. I don't know who it scared more...me, or Deb and Amy who were with me at the time. I haven't had another incident but I am constantly aware of how they feel now and am extra cautious on the steps.

Graduation weekend in Beloit was really nice with my family all together. I'm very thankful that it all worked out and I was mostly feeling up to all of the activities. There was still napping involved and I was worn out by the time I got home, but it was all worth it. I also was able to see my brother-in-law, Anthony, graduate the following weekend as part of this trip to MN. It just worked out since I was traveling with my parents.

It was 80 degrees here yesterday with a nice breeze blowing to keep the air moving. It was a perfect day. I was even comfortably warm (while everyone else was hot). Today is supposed to be similar, but with a slight chance of rain. Nephew, Mark, has a program at school tomorrow night which we're going to try to attend. I ran a bunch of errands with my Dad yesterday and that was nice. Even here I still need to get out of the house.

So I guess that's about it for now. My tumor marker number is up to 944, but no one seems too surprised by that since we're not doing any treatments right now. I am getting a boost for my red blood cells every other week with a shot of Aranesp. I just wish I would start to get some of my energy back...soon!

Have a good week everyone and a safe holiday weekend. I'll check back in once I'm home. Please keep the prayers coming my way. I need some strength and energy and peace of mind at home.

I Feel Good!

That's all. Just wanted to post something 100% positive! I feel good today, the weather is beautiful right now, and all is well in my corner of the world. Hope you are feeling the same!!

Loooong Weekend

Yes, it was long. Why? Because I was stuck in the hospital from Fri at 3pm until about 9 this morning. I developed a fever of 103.7 on Friday and I couldn't get it to come down. So they admitted to the hospital to get iv antibiotics. I was really ready to come home yesterday but they made me stay over one more night.

NOW I need to start the upward trend again and feel like a million bucks by the weekend. I just can't miss out on this family affair that's coming up!

I'm very sleepy as I did not sleep well at the hospital at all. There's definitely a nap in my future this morning/afternoon. At the moment the sun is shining and it looks beautiful outside. Nice to come home to that, rather than rain and grey skies.

I must thank my friend, Kay, for her consistancy in sending me such beautiful and comforting cards. She sends something at least every other week, if not every single week and I always look forward to that. Thank you Kay!! You're so wonderful!

And thank you, also, to Amy and Carol who each came to visit me in the hospital. While they were discouraging me having any visitors besides Brian and Dominic, these two both stopped up to see me and were most welcome and appreciated. So were the phone calls from family and friends. It helped to make the time go a little quicker. I'm sorry I don't always call and let folks know when I'm in there. Most often I don't have my list of phone numbers with me, and I need to get a long distance calling card to reach any of you who are further away. I'll try to remember to purchase one of those next time I'm in the store.

Ok, all for now. Really, really sleepy and the fingers aren't typing so well. I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers!

Lost!

I seem to be missing my ankles, and I have a lot more foot than I need. Things have swollen up with retained fluids now and I have elephant legs! It's terrible. Fortunately, it isn't uncomfortable at all, but it is a challenge to get my shoes on.

I spent Monday afternoon at the clinic with my parents where I received iv fluids and they did more blood work. I did have a "minor" reaction to the transfusion, so I'm not sure what that means for any future blood I may require. I'm just extremely pleased to be past the worst of it all.

I am feeling so much better today. In fact, I even ventured out on my own in the truck to go pick up a prescription at Wally World. It was a major deal for me. I was wiped out by the time I got home...but that store is huge and I needed other things from one end to the other. There was a definite sense of accomplishment that came with the trip!

In addition to my parents being here Monday afternoon/night, my sister, Sue, and her little boy, Owen, were here as well. It was so great to wake up Tuesday morning and have other people in the house. I can't even begin to explain what a difference it made in my mood and my enjoyment of the morning. Thank you to the four of you for being here for me!!

Now the push is on to just feel better and better so I can have energy and oomph for our family get-together over Mother's Day weekend. My oldest nephew, Alex, is graduating from college, and another nephew, Zachary, is celebrating his birthday. It should be quite the party weekend and I can't wait...especially after being cheated out of MN this past weekend. Please keep me in your prayers that this upward trend continues!