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My Life- Thoughts and Happenings


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  • 2 weeks later...

I have good days and days where I am weak. Hanging in there!

 

My bloodwork was off, indicating a possible infection, so my doctor lowered my dose of chemo. And that helped with the side effects but I actually think I do have a bacterial infection starting up. My temp is slowly creeping up. I’m sure it is not COVID, but symptoms are a bit similar (cough, slight temp). I am supposed to go in for bloodwork on Monday but I will call first to let them know about the slight temp (99-100 in the evenings). They may choose to isolate me for the blood tests.

 

I’m still doing work from home but I have the luxury of resting when needed. If we were not all working from home, it would be a problem - I just don’t have the stamina. Anyhow, I had a pretty productive week last week except for yesterday, so not bad.

 

Have a great Mother’s Day to all moms and sons and daughters.

 

My son’s birthday is this week too.

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Happy Mother's Day, luminousone!

 

Sounds like you're in good hands with that possible bacterial infection--glad to hear!

 

I'm also glad that you are able to work at your own pace and not kill yourself. Take it easy, lady!! You're on chemo!

 

Sending you hugs and well-wishes.

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Mother’s Day was quiet but nice. Younger son stopped by (with mask) and visited with me a bit. I gave him my old folk style guitar for his bday and he was happy about it.

 

He then went and did my grocery shopping for me.

 

Older son called when younger son was here so I put him on speaker so we could all visit.

 

Later, I found out that my friend J texted both of my sons to make sure they called me for Mother’s Day. Haha!

 

Feeling a bit more energy since they lowered my chemo dose. Temp is about the same as it was, maybe a bit better.

 

Got some good work done this week, with a few rests in between.

 

Found out that our state had to reduce the budget so we won’t get cost of living increases next year- but I’m just glad to still have a job.

 

However, they won’t be replacing the assistant that was helping me halftime last year. He is leaving his position and that was one place they could save money. Sigh. More work for me next year...

 

Which could be a problem since I have very little stamina.

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That was sweet of your friend :)

 

Frustrating about your halftime assistant and your increased workload.... sometimes when unpleasant certainties like that loom ahead of me I just shut my mind off to them. Nothing I can do, no need to worry, you know?

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That was sweet of your friend :)

 

Frustrating about your halftime assistant and your increased workload.... sometimes when unpleasant certainties like that loom ahead of me I just shut my mind off to them. Nothing I can do, no need to worry, you know?

 

Good point. Who knows what it will be like in the Fall, anyway. I’m thankful I had his help this year, and we all knew he would be leaving at the end of the year because he has been in school and needs to do an internship.

 

I’m not taking it personally. I get it. His was the last position created, so that would be the first to go, when the budget gets cut.

 

I am not going to stress - I can only do so much and I had a killer year that about did me in last year. This year I had a new boss who really understands how much I do. She told me a few months ago, “You work your a$$ off for this place”. It was nice to have that recognized.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hanging in there.

 

Actually, doing better than I was.

 

Still losing weight- 45 lbs so far. Fortunately I had a lot of excess weight so there is still cushion.

 

With the chemo it is really hard to digest foods and I can only eat a little at a time.

 

I had a good stretch of days last week where I felt better - I’m trying to see what works and what throws me into extreme discomfort. I did pretty well last week, I guess.

 

I did notice I am losing my hair. A little at a time. Most people wouldn’t notice yet - it is just thinner. Not sure how it will look in a few months.

 

For work - contract days are done for the summer, but we are all still working a bit. Preparing for the fall. Admin sent us an email saying that they qualified for some extra funds, to cover some of the extra work. So that is nice.

 

I am taping lots of lessons, to have them banked for later. And that will take the pressure off in the fall. And I already told them I will be working remotely, even if they open up schools. They are fine with that.

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You’re such a brave brave lady. ❤️ If your temperature is coming down does it mean that you are winning this battle ?

Maybe? I don’t think my doctors even know.

Now I am wondering if I had COVID and it just went on and on.

 

I did get out to mow the lawn on Monday, and that evening my temp was back up. But - I felt pretty good. I was tired, but it was a good kind of tired.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Had a doctor appointment last week. I have felt ever so slightly better. When my doc came into the exam room, he said “I’m thinking you are feeling somewhat better”, and I asked him how he knew. They had done a blood draw a few minutes before, and he had viewed the results. It seems like the meds are working a bit.

 

4th of July was fairly quiet around my neighborhood- the rowdy neighbors are all grown up and no longer interested in the big booms and illegal fireworks.

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A week ago I had to go to the DMV yo renew my drivers license in person. I was very annoyed at having to go but I couldn’t very well let my license lapse, since I need to go to doctor appointments every two weeks.

 

The picture was horrific! COVID hair and my eyes looked wild. It is a ghastly picture, haha!! Oh well...

 

Anyhow, I had gotten a battery charger for my car, and the engine started right up so I could get to the appointment. So I won’t have to keep calling AAA to jump a dead battery. I’ve been a frequent customer lately...

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When I got back from getting my new license, I noticed my neighbor’s garage open for a bit, but just figured someone was mowing her lawn for her. This is my neighbor with Alzheimer’s.

 

Later that evening, I gathered up garbage from the house, and went to take it out to the bin. However- I couldn’t find the bin! The recycling can was there, and so were the yard debris bins. But no garbage bin! I glanced up and down the street but did not see a stray can about. Anyhow, I had to hold onto the garbage for a week!

 

I called the garbage company and asked if I had missed paying my bill and she laughed and said I had a hundred dollar credit - because I had it set to autopay, and I had not been paying attention. Anyhow, they were super nice and they brought me a new bin yesterday.

 

But the funny thing was this - I had just figured some kids had fun over the holiday weekend. But - what really happened was something I should have figured out, had I really thought about it.

 

Anyhow, my neighbor rang my doorbell the other evening and wondered if I had any cat food to tide her over until she hit to the store/ which I did. And I figured that was a good time to ask her if she had seen an extra garbage can around, and she said that teenagers broke into her garage and put my can in there. (Which is not true. They would have no way to get into the locked garage). So, duh- the lady with Alzheimer’s accidentally swiped it, lol.

 

I still have not gotten it back (I had my Jammie’s on and didn’t wish to deal with it then).

 

So, she had actually gone up my driveway to grab my can. And the funny thing is that she uses a different garbage company - my can is a different color...

 

Anyhow, mystery solved. I’ll call my garbage company once I get the other one back.

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A week ago I had to go to the DMV yo renew my drivers license in person. I was very annoyed at having to go but I couldn’t very well let my license lapse, since I need to go to doctor appointments every two weeks.

 

That's crummy. Our state actually extended license renewals for a couple of months. But at least you got it done and over with!

 

Anyhow, I had gotten a battery charger for my car, and the engine started right up so I could get to the appointment. So I won’t have to keep calling AAA to jump a dead battery. I’ve been a frequent customer lately...

 

This reminds me of what I went through in high school. My car battery routinely died, especially in the cold months. I started to park my car in the street so that it could be easily jumped. Every morning, I'd back my mom's car out of the driveway, pull it up to my car, pop the hoods and jump my battery before I drove it to school. lol.

 

Sometimes, the battery died when I was out and about, and I'd have to wait in the parking lot for the owner of a neighboring car to return so that I could ask him/her if they would give me a jump.

 

I remember one time, this guy kept trying to give me incorrect instructions. He seemed to think jumping a car was dangerous rocket science magic. He was really annoying. Finally, I was like, "Look dude, I do this every day. If you're afraid your battery's going to blow up, I'll just ask someone else." He finally let me proceed and we both survived.

 

I never did end up getting a battery charger. Although they were appealing!

 

Glad to hear that you've seen some improvement!!

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Re: license renewal

I thought my state would give me an extension, but nope. They instead made everyone come in via appointments. So that worked out, mostly. They only let 5 “customers” in the building at a time, which was surreal. I’ve been there so many times with a packed house, and had to wait a few hours to get my matters resolved. So the appointment was nice.

 

Re: battery charger

After AAA came the third time, I was explaining how I’m on chemo and that I just can’t drive it enough to get my battery charged up. So he thoughtfully suggested a battery charger/maintainer.

 

I ordered one and waited for it to come. And then I forgot about it.

 

The night before my DMV appointment, I thought I better check my car to see if it would start. Of course it did not, so I was resigned to getting up an hour early and to call AAA. But then I remembered that I had ordered the charger. It had not been delivered yet, at least that morning. But just on a whim, I double checked - and there it was! It had come when I was in the garage, fiddling around with my car!

 

So, I opened it up and read the minuscule print in the 2” x 3” manual. The manual made assumptions I had basic knowledge that I do not have, lol. But I worked through it, then tried to figure out information from my car manual. Eventually I opened up the hood and tried to figure out what kind of battery I have, so that I could make sure the settings were correct. Finally, I just sucked it up and used the default settings, because I couldn’t find what I needed. So I plugged it in, and voila! It started working!

 

Later, after dinner, I checked on it. It was mostly charged after 2 hours. But I left it charging all night, just to make sure. And it worked great! That was just what I needed - a charger/maintainer. Because of COVID and my cancer, I needed something to keep the battery charged up. (And by the way, my car is only 4 years old. It really is because I have been sick off and on since January, so I’m simply not driving it enough to keep it charged. And my doctor office is only 2 miles away, if that).

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I’m taping lessons to be used in the fall with my students. Seems silly to use my summer (off-time) to do that. But - I have the energy now, and I do not know how I’ll feel then. So, as I feel up to it, I’m getting it done and banked for the future.

 

My students’ families don’t know I am sick. The kiddos have enough worries as it is. And I am slowly losing my hair. So it is good to tape now, while I still have some hair.

 

Anyhow, my doc had said that he plans to start me on a higher dose in August or September, which means I’ll be hit hard again once he does that. So, now I am glad that I have been plugging away at taping lessons this summer.

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Re: license renewal

I thought my state would give me an extension, but nope. They instead made everyone come in via appointments. So that worked out, mostly. They only let 5 “customers” in the building at a time, which was surreal. I’ve been there so many times with a packed house, and had to wait a few hours to get my matters resolved. So the appointment was nice.

 

I like that idea! Apparently, the lines here have been atrocious. One of my coworkers had to to DMV to get a work vehicle registered the other day. He waited for 8 hours on line, outside of the building, only to be turned away at the end of the day. He was fourth in line at that point. Ugh.

 

Anyhow, my doc had said that he plans to start me on a higher dose in August or September, which means I’ll be hit hard again once he does that. So, now I am glad that I have been plugging away at taping lessons this summer.

 

Probably a good idea. I hear that the cancer medications can really knock you off your feet. Save your energy!!!

 

One of my coworkers lost her hair while going through chemo. When it grew back, it came in curly!

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I had written a thank you card for my neighbor who has been mowing my front lawn for a year. I put $300 in the envelope, because it would have cost me more than that to have it professionally done. And he was using his own mower, paying for the gas, and did it every week.

 

Well, when I went over to deliver the card, turns out they were in the midst of getting ready to move! They found a bigger house for all of their stuff - a motor boat, 2 kayaks, a few canoes, etc.

 

So glad I thanked them for the lawn. It has been a good run while it lasted.

 

We will see what new tenants will move in next!

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