Too Low for Good

Over the w-e, Holly and I did a run/walk on our usual route that goes up and over the hill behind our house in Asheville. I knew that my red blood cells were low from the lab check on Friday. I was so slow and poky on those hills and had to walk up instead of running. It frustrates me even though my friend Karen Nelson tells me to chill about it since I've had chemo, chemo and well, more chemo. It makes me laugh to read her take on it and realize how silly I am about trying to maintain my previous level of fitness through chemo and low cell counts of all kinds. We did a hike on Sunday that I knew was going to be moderate to strenuous and warned my pals that my counts were too low for me to be good at going up. I was quite self-conscious about holding anyone back. But we all did great, enjoying the wildflowers and the trees and the creek, albeit at a slower pace than usual.

All that being said, I did have a mighty nice run this morning after getting tanked up with blood yesterday. Feels good to be zippy again. It has really given me an appreciation for all my patients have to put up with if they are anemic or have a low heart output. I'm reading a really good textbook right now on the Essentials of Geriatric Medicine, and they talk alot about how to assess if the elderly have the energy and stamina to do their ADL's (activities of daily living, e.g. dressing, cooking, bathing). I think I have a lot better appreciation for how it feels to dwindle. I get to dwindle with each cycle of chemo. At least I get to look forward to rebounding each time too. Nice.

Holly and the kitties were interested in the TV news last night. I'm still working on the Sunday NY Times, my favorite.

Not on My Time

Last week from Wednesday on, I kept waiting for my white cell count to rebound and start coming back up. A rebounding white cell count shows that the bone marrow is recovering again after all that strong chemo. I kept waiting and waiting. Oddly, on Friday, my platelet count was holding steady, but the white count and red blood cell count were lower than the time before. It was like my bone marrow was trying to turn around but just couldn't do it. Since my hemoglobin was low, I felt more tired and short of breath on my runs and walks uphill. I talked to my friend Susan about it over the w-e, and we were commenting on how it is not on my time. It recovers when it recovers. It is that patience thing again, and again, and again. It is obvious that my bone marrow doesn't recover as quickly when the rounds of chemo stack up. I guess that is not really surprising. More hits to the marrow.

But here's the good news. Today my white cell count is up to 0.9 from 0.3 on Friday. And the platelets are up to 67,000 from 21,000. The bone marrow is doing its thing. Yeah! I am going to get transfused 1 unit of red blood cells since the hemoglobin is 8.7. When it is below 10.0, I feel draggy and more tired. I can really notice it when I run hills; I get more short of breath and tired and have to stop to walk some. Later today, I'll be all tuned up after this blood and with my bone marrow doing its thing at last.

I saw my doctor briefly this morning. He agreed to see me in clinic Monday and will admit me to the hospital Tuesday to start the next round of chemo, another 5 day affair like before. I have been studying the calendar pretty closely because I don't want to get backed up on these chemo rounds and end up having my November chemo during Thanksgiving. I want to move, move, move on the next round (see I still haven't learned the patience thing...)

Birdhouses

A few people asked me where I took the picture of the birdhouses. They are on my walking loop through downtown Hillsborough. One of the historic houses has a small driveway on the side of their house. They have lots of nice roses in beds in their yard and the collection of cool birdhouses at the end of their driveway. I just smile everytime I see them. I have this walking loop that I like to do down to a small street called Margaret Lane that runs along the Eno River. The loop from our house to Margaret Lane passes by many beautiful historic homes with leafy trees and interesting yard art. The first part of the walk is a net downhill and obviously the second part is uphill. I like that, because well, I like hills alot. Sometimes we do the loop after dinner too because Locopops, the place that sells homemade palletas or popsicles, is on Margaret Lane. Right now, the Hillsborough public library is about halfway between our house and Margaret Lane, but they are building a big new library on Margaret Lane right next to Locopops. I do really enjoy the walks around town - watching the flowers come and go, the leaves change, and the others walk their loops.

I'm sitting in the clinic waiting for my labs to come back for the day. If things are turning around, then my counts will be coming up. My bone marrow will be manufacturing all of those necessary components that fill me with vim and vigor. I hope that I've already reached the nadir from this last round of chemo and that everything is on its way back up. If we get a break from the clinic, we'll go to Asheville at some point this w-e.

This is a cool piece of yardart that doesn't come out well in the photo. Hopefully you can see metal flower at the end of the tall pole. It turns in the wind producing a changing pattern of flower with time.

Just got my labs, the white cell count is just a smidge lower than last time at 0.3 but the platelets are holding at 21,000 and hemoglobin at 9.0. They have to decide whether to have me come back Sunday or Monday. Arggh! I can to keep (re)learning that I am not in control. We were commenting on the drive in about how this leukemia teaches you patience.

Blustery Day

I guess it's going to really show us that it is fall. We are supposed to get windy conditions all day with rain from a Noreaster on the coast. The grass will quit growing soon, and all those mower sounds will go away until next year.

I've done my workout for the day and now I'm sitting in our living room near the big windows. I'm sipping earl grey tea since I haven't been able to get back to coffee yet since my last chemo round. My stomach can't handle the acid, I think. I get this weird taste in my mouth from the chemo that doesn't mix well with the taste of coffee. Actually the taste is yucky with or without coffee, but it does go away after 7 to 10 days. And I promise you, it is nothing compared to the bad taste I had from the breast cancer chemo. That one stayed with me for a good 2 months or so after I completed the last treatment. So this one is mild in comparison really. Karen and Freddi sent me a care package in July, and I am still using the Lifesavers to mask the taste. It works.

Platelets Again

I am sitting in my usual spot in front of the big sunny window on side B of the clinic. The patient load seems light here today as many of the Duke blue recliners are empty, at least on this side of the clinic. We are all busy doing computer work or reading or studying something. I am waiting on a bag of platelets to arrive from the hospital since my platelet count is back down to 10,000. The other numbers are almost the same as 2 days ago; my hemoglobin is 9.7 and my white cell count is 0.4. This should be the nadir with my counts going up over the next few days. I was hoping they would be rebounding today so that Holly and I would know for sure that we'd be able to go to Asheville this w-e. It's nice to plan ahead when you can. Now we'll have to wait until Friday to see how the counts are doing and whether we'll get the w-e off from clinic to do some mtn traveling.

I received an email today from my clinic supervisor at Piedmont Health Services. She is pretty sure she will still have a place for me at that center when I return to work in January. Great news! I was worried that I might be re-assigned to a different center due to staffing changes.

It was a little chilly on my run this morning. Felt really good to wear a long sleeve shirt for a change.

No Clinic Today

It'll be a quiet day without clinic today. I've done my rowing workout, my pushups, and my stretches. While I was working out, Dad and Lynn took a walk through historic downtown Hillsborough all the way to Weaver St Market and back. They aren't used to the slightly hilly streets here so they got a good workout too.

Dad was busy cooking up a storm yesterday after clinic. He made a vanilla pound cake, banana pudding, and for dinner a baked halibut with tomatoes and onions, oven roasted acorn squash, and brussel sprouts. Very good dinner and dessert. Good thing we all exercise.

Dad and Lynn are heading over to the Duke gardens to check it out since we don't have to go to clinic today. They are also heading to the Nasher museum to see the El Greco exhibit while it is here.

I included another photo from the w-e walk through the Land Conservancy area. As Laurie put it, Tree on tree.

Autumn is Here

This being the first official day of autumn, we can all celebrate the cooler temperatures and the leaves starting to turn. We did a very nice hike yesterday with our friend Laurie in one of the Triangle Land Conservancy areas called Johnson Mill. I'd never been there but both Holly and Laurie had. It was a pretty, wooded trail near a creek for much of the trail. Laurie is in training (perpetually I think) so she carried her backpack with 35# in it. I'm lazy and only carried a bottle of water. But as my Asheville friends know, that is an improvement since I used to do hikes with little or no water. They used to tease me about drinking at home before the hike. My motto "Never Prepared" came about because I was forever hiking without all the extra "just in case" stuff like fleece jackets, raingear, more water, etc that my Asheville pals are so good at taking with them when we hike. Of course, in the mtns you really are more likely to need that stuff. I'm always surprised how much cooler it is once you get to 5000ft. And well, if we're going with Susan, it's likely to rain or snow or something weatherwise, not that it ever deters us.

We got to meet Alex's sister and mother at a brunch yesterday. So glad that I had the day off from the clinic and could join in the fun. They are visiting from Germany until later this week. This trip they visited Charleston, Savannah, and the mtns in addition to the Triangle area of course. Since their currency is worth so much more than ours, I hope they shopped alot while they were here. Maybe it'll help our economy.

I had to get platelets on Sat since they were down to 9,000. My white cell count and red blood cell count were down some too, but I didn't need whole blood. Today my counts were down a bit but again not requiring any transfusions. My next appointment is Wed when I am hoping things will be on their way up instead of down. This nadir thing is tricky. You don't know that you are at the bottom with the counts until they actually start back up.

My Dad and his wife arrived yesterday from Charleston. They are driving me to the clinic this week while my platelets are especially low. The clinic recommends that I not drive when the platelet count is super low, just in case I get in a car accident. I'm not really clear on what difference having someone else drive makes. I mean if we get in a car wreck, I'm going to bleed fast no matter whose car I'm in and regardless of whether I'm driving or not. Maybe they think being a passenger is just safer. Dunno.

Our Hummingbird

We've placed a hummingbird feeder that Marty gave us on the outside of one of the living room windows. Henry, our male cat, loves to sit on the chair nearby and watch as the hummingbird, or birds, move in and out of the feeder. Most of the time, the hummingbird stops long enough to rest and really take a long sip from the feeder. Then he or she flits over to the top of a corkscrew willow tree that is at the edge of our backyard. Back and forth it goes all day long. I'm not sure how long the hummingbirds will stay with us before their winter migration, but it sure is fun and amusing to watch from my reading spot in the living room or the adirondack chair on the porch where I take my lunch. I managed to get a photo of one of the birds, though my zoom isn't very good. Suffice to say that you'd see lots of color and detail if you sat on the porch with me for even 5 minutes.

I saw several new patients at the clinic yesterday and one guy who used to sit next to me everyday in June while I was getting treated for fevers and then pneumonia. He finished up the post bone marrow course and was back to his home in Charlotte until last week when he developed a rash and stomach symptoms. And blam, like that, he was back in the hospital getting treated for graft versus host disease (i.e. his transplanted bone marrow cells were rejecting his own body). And in the space of a few days, he needed not only strong medicines to turn down the rejection, but also antibiotics, anti-fungal medicines and artificial nutrition through a catheter in his vein since he couldn't eat and absorb food. He was already more than 90 days out from his bone marrow transplant, and it had all come on so suddenly. Such are the complications that go with having a bone marrow transplant. And that is why my doctor recommended this multi-round chemo thing for me. It does give one respect for the serious nature of the transplant and how tenuous that course can be. I feel fortunate to be doing pretty well right now - dealing mainly with some fatigue and loss of energy after last week's chemo course. I mean it can always be worse. And I continue to be amazed by how much people can adapt and accept the negative things that happen to them.

Well have a good weekend everyone. I'll be going to clinic tomorrow and expect I'll need a transfusion of platelets. But we'll have fun anyway.

A Gorgeous, Gorgeous Day

Just like flipping a light switch the weather is glorious. The sky is a clear blue and the humidity is low signaling fall. We have a few leaves that have turned color on one of our ornamental cherry trees just as we have crepe myrtles and hydrangeas blooming. The plants seem to have soaked up the rain from a few days ago, and they are flourishing in the low humidity. It's very pretty in our Hillsborough backyard as everything seems to be letting out a big sigh now that the hot, humid weather has passed. I do love fall. It's my favorite season.

I just got back from the clinic which was another in and out quick visit. My labs are continuing to drift down (hemoglobin 12.4, platelets 39,000, white cell count 1300), but I didn't need any transfusions today. If everything continues on its present course, I will probably need a bag of platelets by Saturday. So my next appt will be Saturday. Until then I'll keep myself busy with reading, exercising, watching Netflix videos and bugging my girlfriend. In case you haven't read it, I just finished "In a Sunburned Country" by the travel writer Bill Bryson. He wrote a hilarious and quite informative discourse on Australia. He is really good at telling stories about people disappearing or dying from dangerous flora and fauna, which apparently happens alot in Australia. I know its a big country and everything; well it is a continent afterall. But I never realized, until I read his book, how utterly far apart the cities are. Cool.

Hope everyone gets outside to enjoy the fine day.

The Fatigue Week

Somehow although I just did this 5 day chemo thing last month, I forgot how tired I get the week after I leave the hospital. I keep doing my workout in the morning and then being surprised that I need a nap at some point in the day. I rebounded so well last month once the counts started to come up that I totally forgot how the period right after chemo leaves me feeling washed out. I am using my energy begets energy motto though to push through the tiredness and make sure I do a run or row in the morning. It just takes more out of me than I think it should. My doctor said that I'd get a little more beaten down as the rounds progress. I guess there is something that piles up or accumulates with each round of chemo that entrenches the fatigue just a bit more. But I guess that is one of the reasons for putting 4-6 weeks between each cycle- to rebound as much as possible in as many ways as possible.

I took a walk at lunchtime, and I was thinking about the irony of taking what is essentially a poison to cure yourself from your own rogue cancer cells. I was thinking about how the nurses who took care of me in the hospital would put on a gown to shield their clothes from spills of the chemo as they hooked it up to the catheter in my chest. They also put on two sets of gloves to protect their hands from coming into contact with the liquid. One nurse said they have been taught at conferences to wear a protective face mask since some of the chemo is aerosolized when they push the connector for the tubing into the chemo bag. I find it bit ironic that they take all of those precautions to avoid having even a drip of chemo come into contact with them, while I took it straight into a big vein that runs from my chest directly into my heart. Interesting and amazing that someone even thought of it. More interesting and amazing that it can cure me. Enough about that.

A Rainy Day Outside but Not In

The weather turned cooler, and we are now getting some good soaking rain. I think that both Hillsborough and Asheville could use the moisture. It is nice to see a bit of soaking after days of bright, hot, humid sun. I just got back from my clinic visit which was short and sweet. I was there mainly to have my blood counts checked, since I am still on the slide down after my chemo round. They were efficient today, getting me in and out within about 1-1/2 hours. I still don't need any transfusions, and I've been given a break until Thursday for the next recheck. I am doing well with this chemo round; I just feel a little tired mainly. There always seems to be some delayed fatigue and stomach queasiness after the chemo in the hospital. But it seems to dissipate pretty quickly.

When I walked out of the clinic just now, I saw Holly in the parking circle across from the clinic entrance. She gave a talk first thing this morning at a conference in Research Triangle Park on Rodent Immunopathology. Talk about a specialized audience. Anyway, she had finished her talk and came to meet up with me before going back to work. What a sweet surprise! We drove over to the Mad Hatter cafe for a bakery treat and cup of coffee. I always feel so cosmopolitan when I go places like that because so many people hold their meetings there, or sit and use the wireless connection to surf on their laptops. Everyone looks so busy and consumed by important business. Bakeries and coffee shops are so different from the ones I visited as a kid. You marched in, picked out your donut or elephant ear and went on your way. Coffee was cheap, of course, since it was pre-Starbucks. I know that there are people who go for coffee everyday just as there are people who eat lunch out everyday. I've never understood how they could afford it. I'm happy making my own tea or coffee at home and eating my delicious peanutbutter sandwich on fresh baked Weaver St Market bread. But then I'm thrifty that way.

Still Just a Little Hot

I keep thinking that any day now the humidity is going to plummet and it's going to cool off. It hasn't been desperately hot or anything, but the 90 degree weather with full sun and humidity did make for some warm walks this w-e. Holly and I walked down to the parking deck located next to Weaver St Market on Saturday to attend the Chamber of Commerce chili and salsa cook off. It was held mid-day and there was plenty of sun. It was a little disappointing that they held it in the middle of the deck. None of the booths had a vegetarian chili option (not even Weaver St) so I only tried the salsas. They had a band as part of the event; I felt bad for them trying to sound good in the middle of that big concrete structure. We suggested to the Chamber woman that they consider holding it in October when it's a little cooler. It was a warm day to be trying peppery hot salsas and chilis, but she said that there are too many bbqs that would conflict with an October date.

Sunday we walked right back down there to hear the band Mebanesville who was playing at Weaver St Market as part of their brunch series. Again it was pretty warm, humid and sunny. We managed to find a bit of shade and moved one of the tables so that we could eat our brunch and listen to the americana music. At least they didn't play in the parking deck. Weaver St has a small lawn area just outside the store. There are tables and chairs on the sidewalk for people to eat outside and enjoy the music. So we did just that.

Holly and I ran outside this w-e and both commented on how we were ready for some fall-like weather. We'd gotten hot from the runs and walking downtown in the direct sun. The light already seems fall-like, especially with dusk coming earlier and the shadows getting shorter. Fall is my favorite time of the year so I am happy to see it approaching soon. I did a longer run this morning, looking forward to the days when it's cool and crisp.

I went to the clinic yesterday for my blood counts, and everything is still sufficient to avoid needing any blood products. Tomorrow I return for another check and labs. I'll be really happy when I am finished with all of this so that I can get back to yardwork, eating whatever I want, doctoring in the clinic, traveling, and gardening. I love reading and exercising, but there is only so much of that one can do.

Home at Night

My night nurse just hung my last bag of chemo for this round of treatment. They are letting me go home after I finish this bag-a nice treat instead of staying here to be woken up for blood pressure checks, weights, and labs at 4am. Also, I won't have to wait for the team of doctors to come round on me in the morning and tell me I can go home. If they could find a way to give this regimen in the clinic, I am sure I could tolerate it. My nausea has been well controlled with the pre-meds they have been giving me. Maybe one day they'll figure out a way to do the doses at home or in the clinic. It's that 11pm dose that poses a problem; no way to get it in the clinic.

I had a few visitors to my room this afternoon. It was a nice treat to see Karen and Gail and then Miriam just after they left. This little hospital room gets boring and lonely. I finished all of my reading material today so I am currently watching college football-- Kansas vs. South Florida. I'm watching Holly's team while she is out at Miriam's house having dinner & meeting Alex's sister and Mom. But soon enough, she come for me, and we'll go home.

This round of chemo has gone pretty smoothly. At times, I've had a queasy stomach and some fatigue. But thankfully, no nausea. Actually, the most annoying symptom this time has been hot flashes. They have really picked up in intensity and frequency. Maybe once I get all of this stuff flushed from my system, they will calm down again. It's cold to have rivulets of sweat on my bald, fuzzy head.

Last Day of Chemo, then Home Tonight

Well the team is really getting used to me being up and at 'em. When they rounded on me this morning, they gave me the option of going home after my 2nd dose of chemo tonight. So we'll take advantage of their generosity and spring out of here tonight instead of tomorrow morning. We're just whittling this thing down. First a daypass yesterday, and now leaving tonight after I finish my meds.

My hemoglobin level has dropped to 8.3 so they are going to tank me up with 2 units of red blood cells before I leave. My platelets are starting to drop too, but they are still a long way from requiring a transfusion. I probably won't need those for a week or so if they decrease as slowly as last time. My white count is still decent and protective at 3500; I don't need to avoid certain foods or take special precautions yet. Sunday I'll go back to the clinic to have my labs checked and restart all of those visits. Then it will be a waiting game as the counts all head south, only to turn around when my bone marrow wakes up again.

Yesterday, I made good use of my daypass out of the hospital. I did a nice workout on my rowing machine, took an hour long walk with Quigley, read the NY Times, took a nap on the couch in front of the hummingbird feeder, and ate my homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was a very restful day and lots more enjoyable than being here in my little hospital room. I like that daypass idea. I'll have to ask for it again next round when I don't get chemo and just sit around.

Todays photo is another one from the hike last w-e up to Sam's knob. They views really were spectacular. I hope we get the chance to head up there when the leaves are turning. It would be a pretty site with all the layers and layers of peaks.

Daypass

I am doing so well on the days that I do not receive chemo that they are letting me have a daypass for today (Thursday, Day#4 of 5). I don't know all of the details yet, but they will let me go home for the day to return tonight. I don't get any medicines or IV fluids on Days 2 or 4, so I just sit here in the little hospital room or go downstairs to walk around. Lately, I have been taking advantage of this to walk around campus, to see the gardens in full bloom, and to visit the Duke chapel. I do my workout on the recumbent stepper machine, but I really enjoy getting outside for those walks even if they aren't exactly aerobic.

I am sitting in my hospital room right now, drinking a chocolate milk, waiting for Holly and the team to arrive. After the team goes over my labs and listens to my heart and lungs, they'll probably let me go for the day. I don't mind hanging out in here, reading, writiing, etc. but it is nice to have the option to go home and come back. And when I come back, I'll only have one more day of chemo with doses at 11am and 11pm. That will be good.

Hooked Up for #3 dose

And I am looking forward to my #4 dose tonight. They have disconnected me from the IV fluids, so I have been able to roam outside of the room yesterday and this morning. I got in a 45 min walk after Holly left this morning, but unfortunately, I missed a visit with Sandi and Amy, And they brought me a big ole box of Dunkin Donut holes. Yummy! Thank you both, and I'm sorry we missed each other. I like to take advantage of every chance I get to leave the hospital room, which is pretty small. I really like getting outside for a walk around campus or over to the gardens to see what is blooming. Holly and I spent many a friday lunching there 2 years ago when I was waiting to get my chemo for breast cancer. You might think that I'd have funny feelings about being there after such an association, but I love the place. It is always changing, and they have so many new features with ponds here and there which entice many more birds to the banks. I especially love seeing their herons.

We've been following my labs as usual. This round of chemo seems to be attacking my red blood cells most quickly. When I came in, my hemoglobin level was 11.2. Then it went down to 9.9 after 1 day of chemo, and today I am already down to 8.8. I will probably need to be transfused with packed red blood cells tomorrow. Both the white blood cell count (6200) and the platelet count (164,000) are great though. They are well above average and put me in no danger. They will transfuse red cells if my number gets to 8.0 or below. I bet that will be tomorrow.

Feels pretty humid and grey out this morning. I hope we get more rain. I'd like our soil to soften up so that we can put in trees this fall to buffer our house from the playground going up in the lot behind us and to give us more privacy from our neighbors on the sides of the yard.

Well have a good day. It's hump day for all of us. After this I'll only have 2 more doses of chemo on Friday. Then I'm out of here.

Camp Chemo, Day 2

Both of my previous entries for today were eaten by the computer gods. I had a nice picture of the hike we did this past w-e off the parkway. It was from Sam's knob, a great 360 degree view of the area near Shining Rock and Mt. Pisgah.

I also talked about my night-a good one because my nurse bunched all of the labs, vitals, and taking down the empty chemo bag at 1:00 am. No extra wake up at 4am to weigh me, draw labs and get vitals. Yeah!

And I related Freddi's story about her Dad's treatment for Colon Cancer at age 83. He kept thinking it was the cancer making him feel sick when it was really the chemo. He wanted to stop and just give up. Then someone took an interest in his legacy and work as an Anesthesiologist. He perked up and signed on for aggressive chemo-now he has something to live for.

We all need support, social support ,of course, but also a meaning for our life. I think that work or a good metier gives us that. I know that I am very thankful to have both good social support and work serving others.

Camp Chemo

Holly and I were joking last night about the next round of chemo since I am back in the hospital today for 5 days. She had the idea to call it Camp Chemo. Seems to fit actually. It is a place I go away to, and the time does pass in one big time warp. Just makes you think of fun, doesn't it? Wish I got a T-shirt or archery badge out of it at least.

The team just rounded on me, and now they will go behind the scenes to put in my orders for the exact amount of chemo drug I am to receive (it is based on wt and ht). And they will order labs to see what my baseline blood cell counts are. The drug works pretty quickly to lower all of the important counts-my platelets, my red blood cells, and my infection fighting white blood cells. But last time, it took a week for the counts to drop enough to require transfusions of blood and/or platelets. Then the counts started back up within that same week. It was so good to have only a brief need for blood and platelet transfusions. I expect this cycle to be the same.

We had a nice, busy w-e in Asheville. We did some work around the house and yard, got to Bent Creek for a mtn bike ride, ran around Beaver Lake, ate out at my favorite Indian place, and hiked a gorgeous loop off the Parkway (Sam's knob). I wanted to connect with my friends Shannon and Billie, but we ran out of time. It seems we always have more we want to do and more people we want to see than time allows. Oh well, I expect we'll be back there in a few weeks to pick up where we left off.

I am back in my old hospital room, #9202, with the good westerly view. No pneumonia this time, whew! I'll just be hanging out, waiting for my first dose of chemo and reading all the books and NY Times papers I brought with me. That is my Monday back to work routine for today. Hope yours goes well too.

Hair Here to Celebrate

Well sort of hair. It's really more like fuzz. But it is my own fuzz, on my own head, and that's all that counts. I do hope you can appreciate the copious amounts of hair in this photo. I promise it is there if your computer screen just doesn't do it justice. I am not sure exactly why or how I have hair. My last chemo was already a month ago, and usually, it only takes 2-3 weeks for the hair to leave. I guess the double dose a day of Ara-C I had wasn't enough to stop those tenacious hair follicles from producing. Soon I might even need to use shampoo instead of bar soap. Who would have thought? I'll try not to get too, too excited though since I start more chemo on Monday. You know, just in case it all falls out again.

Since we don't have to be here to go to clinic, we're heading to the mtns again tonight for the w-e. It will probably be our last visit there for about 3 weeks or so. I'll be back to everyday clinic visits to monitor my counts after I get out of the hospital next Saturday.

My rowing time dropped again this morning. Now I am only 5 seconds slower per 500 meters than I was before I was diagnosed with leukemia and had to go through all of this chemo. It's heartening to see that the speed and strength come back. Oh yeah, and I can do 50 pushups again. I swear it's all that Furlong's chocolate bark and regaining my usual weight. Or maybe it's all the time in the mtns. They do swear it's therapeutic.

Flexible like Gumby

My doctor's appt was at 12:30p today, but I didn't get home until after 3pm. My doctor sent me for a chest X-ray and EKG at the big hospital in preparation for my chemo next week. I figured it would just be a quick in and out visit to set up the hospital admission next week, but I have learned to ALWAYS carry something to read just in case. It turned out to be a good decision as I had to wait for him a bit. They were still backed up with overflow patients after being closed Monday (Labor Day holiday). Then, of course, I had a bit of a wait for the Chest X-ray and the EKG. Good reading time for the NY Times Book Review from last Sunday. Reminds me how fortunate I am to be flexible-like Gumby - as one of my friends used to say.

Dr Long and I did have a pretty brief visit since I am doing so well right now. I go back into the hospital Monday morning for the next 5 days of chemo. He isn't on the inpatient/hospital service now, so I will have one of his colleagues taking care of me while I am there. We planned out the rest of the chemo courses to occur roughly every 4 weeks. I should finish the fourth and last round at the beginning of November. He'd like me to stay out of work recovering until January 1st.

Wow, I never would have expected to be out of work from June 4th until the beginning of 2009 with this leukemia. But again, I'm not in charge, and it really is best to be flexible (I guess Gumby will go back to work in January of 2009). At least we are getting to Asheville on some of these w-e's when my blood cell counts are good. That has been an unexpected treat. Hopefully we'll get to do that with these coming rounds of chemo too. It has been a real treat to see friends, hike, and be in the Asheville house like old times.

I did a longer Hillsborough run this morning, about 4 miles. I am trying to work back up to 6 miles before Monday. I'd like to run my route around Beaver Lake when we are in the mtns this w-e.

Thanks you Gillian for my Dachshund Mug

Holly, her sister and I spent the long w-e in Asheville doing all the fun Asheville things-eating out, visiting a brewery or two, attending Shindig on the Green ( a weekly bluegrass event put on by the city complete with "pickers tents" for those who brought their own instruments), doing some lovely wildflower hikes, and hanging out in the backyard to enjoy the last of my flowers in the garden. We were blessed with good weather and even got some rain, which is desperately needed out there in Western NC.

Over the w-e, I got an email from Marty letting me know that her good friend Gillian had made me a mug. We met Brian and Gillian (and their adorable twins Iris and Trevor) briefly at Deb's son's wedding (that is alot of degrees of separation I know, but that is how these things go). Anyway, when we got back to town last night, we met Marty and Deb for dinner in downtown Hillsborough at the Wooden Nickel. They brought the ceramic mug that Gillian had made for me-a Beautiful, cool blue pottery piece decorated with long, long dachshunds peering at each other. It is so cute and functional. I used it for my coffee this morning. Again I am touched and amazed at all the kindness and generosity of our friends, and Gillian who is really a friend of a friend. Thank you very much.

I delivered Jill, Holly's sister, to the airport this morning for her flight back to Kansas City. It was a delightful visit with lots of fun outings. I was fortunate to have her help if I had needed it and even more fortunate that I didn't. I'll see Dr Long tomorrow at his clinic and get my marching orders for the next round of chemo which I am told will be next week.

Enjoy the beautiful clear day.