Chemo round three

I went in yesterday to begin round three. I was in a complete sour mood, my "highly sensitive person" was rearing her ugly head, all was bothering me and I wanted to run away. NOT a good way to start a round of chemo, and in fact was offered to wait until Saturday. NO . . . NOW! I had already had a two week delay due to counts too low to subject me to any more chemicals. The shot I had worked and my white count and neutrophils were where they should be and it was safe to start round 3.

I had a reaction to R both previous times but this time, as they cranked it up, I just laid there with my meditation music going, relaxing despite the folks behind the next curtain listening to some show about DNA tests to find out if they were the dads as claimed by these women. Good grief, hang out your dirty laundry, eh?

Anyhoooo, I had not only gotten in early, I also finished in record time. When they shut things down due to reactions, they shut them down for an hour, then start all over. The other benefit of no reaction is no extra meds. I find those to also have side effects that are unpleasant, even though they take care of apparently worse side effects. All a crazy mess.

My doctor has decided to move me to a six week cycle since four weeks seems to not give me enough time to recover. Don't like it as it puts the sixth round into May and I was hoping to finish in early March. MAYBE I won't need all six rounds. MAYBE.

I will also need a bone marrow aspiration/biopsy before the next round to re-stage. Hope for super good news on that account.

That's the update!

My 2010 totals

I decided to compile what I had accomplished in 2010. I am the type of person that tends towards wanting to SEE what I have done. I also loved the rhythm of school. Fresh starts, tests to mark what I had learned (or NOT in my French classes)little breaks before it all started again. And college especially as they give you a list of what you are going to be doing for the semester. I realize that this has nothing to do with what my worth is, or that accomplishing things you CAN'T see are less important, it is just a tendency of mine. I guess sometimes when I am feeling "useless" it confirms something within me. For me it also represents something far more, as I sew (and pray) for the people I love.

I have made

19 men's shirts
19 pairs of pajamas
8 darling little girl dresses (one donated to CASA)
7 bow ties and 1 regular tie
Renaissance outfit for daughter and shirt for her boyfriend
4 shirt waist dresses for oldest for work
2 fancy "prom" dresses for youngest and me
8 baby boy shirts and coveralls
2 diaper bags
3 purses
3 scarves
2 skirts
2 dresses for me
5 holiday kid bags
1 baby sling
1 baby cart seat
1 activity quilt
1 flannel baby quilt
many flannel baby blankets/wipes
many produce bags
many bulk bags
1 hat
LOTS of Hug-A-Bears
1 T-shirt quilt for a friend
decorated three t-shirts for baby D
2 squares for my Baltimore Album Quilt
1 tutu
2 t-shirts
and a pink, sparkley, princess GOD dress!

I think that's it.

Plus I emptied over 30 spools of thread! I am glad I kept them instead of throwing them out. Just a little thought I had at the beginning of the year.




It's fun to imagine what I will create in 2011. Happy New Year!

Not so cheap, not so ugly t-shirt

I had bought this fabric, a knit, hoping to make a t-shirt, but scared. After experimenting with the cheap fabric I boldly cut into this. I love it. I look forward to making MORE t-shirts. They take one and a half yards of fabric.

A cheap ugly t-shirt

A while back I was in my favorite fabric store looking at clearance. If you bought the remainer of the bolt it was 50 cents a yard. I found this knit that FELT like I would enjoy practicing with it, but it is not my favorite pattern, kinda ugly in fact, but I am sure I will wear it some. So last night I made a t-shirt from a pattern I made from one of my favorite t-shirts. I am sure there will be some tweaking, but it wasn't that hard and I like t-shirts. I have enough of the fabric to make another version, so will probably have TWO ugly cheap t-shirts.

Pink Sparkley Princess God Dress

Sometimes when we are visiting the grandkids, we have time to "design" dresses. This following picture is of a "God Dress" that Lulu decided she would like to have. There were many more designs, but I liked this one and set it aside thinking someday I could make a "God Dress" for Lulu.

Of coarse designers (me in this case) must interpret a clients vision and come up with something that hopefully pleases them both and this was my effort.



This bodice detail was left over from some of the bits and pieces I had thought I might use on my oldest daughter's wedding dress.


Sleeve detail, which brings in the "God Dress" theme.

This is definately Kid Couture, as there is lots of hand finishing and the inside of the dress is nearly as pretty as the outside and the extra details which will make the skirt lay correctly are all sewn in. It was a fun dress to make, but took a lot longer than I expected. There is a sparkley over lay that took some finess to get it to lay nicely and the appliques are between the layers.

Princess dresses ARE fun, but not very practical, for sure. I hope she gets many wearings out of it and feels all the prayers like hugs from her Nanut. She will be getting it for her birthday in January. God bless my little Lulu.

Big Foot

My little big foot is gone. I so enjoyed our almost year with him, being able to celebrate birthday number one on Sunday with him and family. What a sweet precious funny little man.

I am thankful to have . . .
kept him when he was nearly newborn to help out
lost a couple nights sleep because of him
seen him in his swim classes, amazing
seen that huge shock of hair slowly rise above his cute little face
written him a little song that he seemed to like
babysat several times
hugged and kissed, bathed and fed him
held him while he was sleeping (his favorite place at our house)
watched him learn to walk
just known him

I know that God loves him far more than I can, I will always pray for him, and keep his picture where I will see it daily. I miss him, and am amazed that we were fortunate enough to have some time with a most amazing little man. God bless all foster parents.

My shot!

Chemo was delayed this week, as white counts were way too low, as were platelets. Ah well, what can you do? Get a SHOT! Then twenty four hours later feel every bone in your body! Something is perking in there and I felt like I really over did in the weight room the day before, but a deeper soarness. Kept me up the second night, but slept fine last, yeah! If they threaten me with it again, I will get it, and maybe in my belly, which is where she wanted to give it to me this time. Just couldn't do it this time. In the arm it went, nice and s l o w ! Ouch!

So revisit chemo round at the end of the month. Hopefully this $5000 shot did it's job.

Tutu

I haven't been sewing much these days. A bit on my quilt squares but not much else. I did want to send something home made to my little baby K for her b-day. Gotta get over the need to always MAKE something, eh? This was a fairly easy, but very cute tutu. She wears various tutus over her clothing, so funny. Hopefully this will be a favorite and not too bulky for fun.

Jammies for the big guys

These are for my oldest and her hubby. Merry Christmas!

Baltimore Album square #3a

This one is going to take a while. It already has and I am still prepping!

Baltimore Album square #2

Love these squares. Not sure what my next will be.

Chemo is complex!

Here I am getting started on round two. There are 13 bags on the towers to start, they added two more during treatment due to some complications!

I finished up yesterday and am feeling much better now than I was the day after the first round. Partly due to some different nausea meds and maybe knowing a bit of what to expect. Must admit there was some anxiety heading into that first round, even with all the meditation and calm I was surrounding myself with.

The first day we got to the hospital around 7 a.m. for labs, then to see my lovely doctor, who remembers us from my youngest!! She was with me for "the visit" when the decision was made to start treatment. This is one of the things he remembers about her and always laughs about them. Her toe shoes.




After all the labs and doctor visits and such, we got started around 11:30 with all the premeds, then on to the real stuff. The "R" that I get takes six hours to give as they start with a small dose and increase slowly to avoid side effects. The last time I reacted quite soon and all was shut down with meds given, then an hour later started up again. This time I went quite a bit longer before I reacted and the reaction was hives, mostly on the inside, except for my face, which was scary looking! But again, stopped the "R", gave the meds and an hour later started up again.

Because this was my second round and I "tolerated" all the meds the first round, we saved a day by doing the other two meds, "F" and "C" right after finishing up the "R". Those take about two hours because I have to have saline between as the drugs don't mix well! Frightening in a way, eh?

So we finished around 10:30 the first night, headed for our cozy loft in town and were back the next morning for part 2 of round 2 and the next morning for part 3. All without incident. I was extremely glad that my vein held up for three days, as the last time it was fine day three, but day four had to be redone. Getting stuck so many times kinda gets old, with labs and all. So I was very thankful for that little gift. It is such a relief when it is removed. Hard to sleep with the covering and movement making it pull.

I am sequestered again as especially my platelets are in a critically low range. I need to make a big chart to follow all the blood components they are keeping track of . . . maybe later. A bit tired, a bit nauseas, happy to have my "little one" here juicing and making smoothies for me and just being a little sunshine in my life. Nice of her to take her weekend to "babysit" me a bit. Hubby of coarse is my rock and patient caregiver. There he sits for HOURS watching as heaven knows what will happen to me next.

I am so thankful for

Prayers, as I am feeling them each and every day.
Family who continue to encourage and love me.
Friends who check in just to see how I am doing.
Cards that come in the mail. I should take a picture of them all lined up.
Doctors and meds
Soothing music.
God's love and mercy.
Healthy food and the desire to make it a priority.
My computer.
Smiling faces on pictures of my grandkids all around the house.
Indian summer and sunshine.
Life.

My freespirited hubby

Hubby in his birthday jammies and Bullwinkle slippers. He's my favorite.

Baltimore Album square #1

I have been facinated with Baltimore Albums Quilts ever since I first saw them. Not sure why, but have dreamed of making one of my own. Recently I found a great book that had simple and very detailed lessons and have begun at the beginning. This is square number 1. I love it.

Green smoothies

I have a new tool, a Vitamix, in my arsenal. You can see the juicer behind the large glass of green goodness. I had my smoothie made in the blink of an eye and even quicker to clean up. I think my juicer may feel neglected after daily use. I will still make sure it contributes at least 2-3 times a week, but I sure do love those smoothies!

Interlude - noun - period in between

A few years ago, I got a diagnosis of cancer! Stopped me in my tracks . . . for a while. Then I learned there are MANY types of cancer and I had one that was "chronic"!! I had never heard of a chronic cancer, but I had it. I was able to live my life without much interruption, seeing my grandbabies, sewing, praying and enjoying life puctuated with trips to the doctor as we watched and waited, an actual term used in cancer circles.

Alas, my chronic cancer finally had enough impact on me to warrent the beginning of treatment, which I began Oct. 21, 2010. This is me just before they began infusing my six hours of Retuxin. The little elephant was given to me by my youngest after a previous surgery. He just makes me smile. He is wearing a surgical cap, a frequent fashion accessory for bald cancer patients and freely passed out by volunteers at the cancer center. I won't know if I will lose my hair for a while yet, it takes one to three weeks for that surprise to be revealed. The coconut juice is a healthier option than gatorade, which is encouraged to avoid dehydration. It worked! Thanks Dewey. The afgan is from my oldest's church's prayer ministry. Looks like I am ready to go!

I had to go back a total of four days for my chemo cocktail. Mine is called RFC. Yummy! Then 28 days later I do it again. Six times, then I will be well again. Complete remission, that's the plan.

This is my in my new look. I have permission to go out, but need to wear this mask and not hug and kiss! Hmmm, I think I can do that.

A selection of my medications. Three of these are for nausea and it STILL didn't work. Next time we'll try number FOUR!

And here are five reasons that I can do this. This is from our recent visit.

I have many more reasons to get well and keep my chin up during the rough bits. I have the most wonderful family. The love of my family is better than any medicine on this planet.

I also have a book,

CRAZY SEXY CANCER TIPS

by Kris Carr and these are a few of my favorites from her book.

Tip # 21. It takes a village, so create your tribe and delegate!
Tip # 41. Journaling is self-therapy on the cheap.
Tip # 42. Take a cancercation. (I LOVE that word, Kris is brilliant!)
Tip # 43. Take some time to quiet your mind. (vital for me as I take in prayers)
Tip # 53. Oxygen and a healthy pH balance are cancer's worst enemies*.

* my youngest has done extensive research and I begin every morning with kale, bok choy, beet tops, spinach, chard and romaine. Right through the juicer, down the gullet and off to fight the foes in my innards. I'll take all the help I can get.

A tie and scarves

We passed a Joann's Fabric that was going out of business and hubby found this fabric that he liked for a tie. You had to buy at least two yards. I saw a scarf making program on PBS and experimented with the rest of the fabric and made some interesting scarves.

This one is made by first making a tube, but rotating the seam on the inside. Hard to explain, but it makes the scarf like a necklace, but twisted in a way that it lays like this! I like it. I think we will wear these with black suits for our church directory photos.

This is a bias scarf. It was tricky to get right and I really didn't make it long enough, but it was a fun practice projects.

This one is just a large triange to thow over the shoulders.

Jammies for the John Deere fan

My oldest grandson is a fan of all that is John Deere and I found "I make dirt look good" flannel. This is the last of the pile of jammies I make to help keep the grandkids warm and snuggy over the winter months.

Bow Ties

I have gotten pretty good at making bow ties. My sister-in-law started it by sending me two pieces of silk. I had no idea that I could make a decent bow tie, but they turned out great. We found an additional piece on sale, a remnent, and hubby now has three new bow ties! My nephew gets one too. Hubby is trying to spread the joy of bow tie wearing.

The Renaissance Fair

My daughter asked me to construct an outfit for her to wear to the renaissance fair. Normally I am not big on "costumes" as they don't get worn often, but since she would do anything for me, I thought I would enjoy making this for her. I might even learn something!

I did learn some things and the project was very worthwhile. Glad I did it, it is beautiful and she will look fabulous in it.

Shirts and a bag

Yesterday was details and finishing. Hug-A-Bears, shirts and a bag, plus work on a quilt.



The bag is extra deep, hopefully will be just what my SIL's sis needs.

Basic white shirt for hubby.

Two shirts for my son. I still haven't sewn the buttons on that will hold down the collar. I will do that when it is ON the model. This was the first time I tried this one. Looks easy, but it seems a bit tricky to get the placement just right.

Diaper Bag . . . maybe

I have been making some bags lately and was asked to make a diaper bag for a young lady who is due in December. I love the black and white and all the pockets, but this one may not be big enough for some folks. It would have worked for me, but I never needed bottles, just diapers, wipes and a spare outfit.






After I have done one according to the pattern, I understand the construction enough to branch out and will try this style in a larger version.

My first bow tie!

Every time my husband buys a bow tie, I think . . . I could do that. But never really attempted them for him. Pretty simple looking, but sometimes those can be the trickiest. My sister-in-law send some beautiful silk and challenged me to finally give it a try. Can't say it turned out perfectly, but he will be able to use it. I learned that these ties are NOT cut on the bias as the long ties are, and I also lined the tie with tricot iron on fused to a very light weight muslin. That seem to give it just the right amount of body. I made the first to fit hubby, but I think I will make the rest adjustable. It was a bear to turn that thing.

Flannel jamies round ONE!

As the weather starts to cool down and school has begun, I begin making flannel jammies for my babies. Not MY babies, my grandbabies actually. I always line them up on a rod in the doorway to my sewing room. It makes me happy to think about our trip to go see them. They are finally used to not really getting toys. Although we can't completely resist something. This year it is things that light up. I still have more to go, as I managed to lose my oldest grandson's pattern. Still can't find it. Go figure.

The next two are for the youngest, baby D. He is two and loves balls. So baseball buttons and a football applique. I don't think he will care that it is on John Deere fabric. He loves balls!



Close up of baseball buttons on snowflakes.

The next three are for Baby K, she is three, but will be four before Christmas. She loves Dora. I made a pillow case to go with the jammies.





The next two are for Lulu. She will turn six shortly after Christmas.



I will let my daughter-in-law try this one on. I think she is an exclusive jammie pant person, which I get as I am an exclusive gown person. If she isn't interested, I will have a new gown for this winter. Cute.

A little dress for me

I changed up the back of this one. The pattern dips down in a V in the back, I decided I wanted it higher this time. Love the purple batik.