All's Well!

Posted Nov 8, 2008 10:08am

It’s another beautiful day in Paradise. Today is “Laurie Day” – It’s a gorgeous early morning, and the sun is sparkling through the trees in the back yard. Once we do a little puttering around the house, Dave & I are heading out to explore nature and the new construction around Folsom Dam and the new bridge.

Yesterday afternoon I went to Sutter Roseville for the Neulasta injection (for white cells). Although I had been warned the injection itself could be quite painful, the nurse was an earthy and gentle goddess and I didn’t feel a thing. The drug info sheet was pretty scary, but fortunately I’m not in the risk category for a rupturing spleen, which was comforting. During the next 6 weeks, I’ll go in every week for a blood draw and Herceptin infusion, and when I’m done with the next 2 sessions of chemo, I’ll just go in every 3 weeks for the next year for Herceptin.

I met a lady in the waiting room who was wearing a purple fleece Disney cap, and she asked for a quick lesson in how to wrap a scarf. Her daughter gave her a 28x72” scarf (the best size!) and she complained that she was all thumbs in trying to wrap it. My gear was pretty colorful today – the base scarf was light yellow-green, and I twisted silky scarf (thanks Harriot!!) of bright orange, black, red and lime around the band. The silky ones are impossible to wear alone, but great fun for embellishment. One of my regular nurses came over while I was getting the injection and said they had all been talking about my colorful scarves, and telling the patients about them! I’m glad I keep everyone entertained - I may never show my hair again :>)

Back to the purpose of the visit, because the Neulasta stimulates the bone marrow to produce white blood cells, the most common side effect is that within 4-5 days, many patients experience moderate to severe bone pain. They don’t anticipate that will happen with me (hahahhaha), since I had 4 days of a milder form of the drug when I was in the hospital, and the marrow is already pumping. Nonetheless, she recommended I take a Tylenol prophylactically every 6 hours; it’s easier to prevent pain than to get rid of it once it starts. I’m such a medication weenie that Tylenol just knocks me out. So after dinner and a couple of Tylenol, I konked out in the middle of a movie, which gave Dave the opportunity to catch up on his recorded episodes of The Unit (too stressing for my gentle spirit).

I felt a little queasy this morning, but I just rubbed the Psi Wrist Bands a few times to stimulate the pressure points, and I was fine. These are awesome!! Food is still a challenge; I crave yogurt and fruit, and love soups. Last night I made a Thai chicken soup that was a combination of some seasonings I have not used before and it was amazing!! Fast, easy, let me know if you want the recipe. There will probably be a few ingredients that you’ll need to add to your cupboard, but it won’t be the last time you use them! It was a pretty light soup; just coconut milk, chicken broth, chicken & seasonings, so I added a pound of mushrooms to give it more substance. Next time around I’ll add more veggies, a little rice, maybe some shrimp. We loved it!!!

Have a glorious day, and be sure to check the photo gallery for new entries – thanks, and keep them coming!Love, Laurie