Days go by

It's hard to believe three of the six months of chemo have passed. I think I made it through the first three months of "bad chemo" pretty well. They tell me the next three months won't be "as bad." Not as much nausea, no neulasta shot (the shot that makes me feel like a used pinata). And? I say. What else won't I get? Will bloating be a thing of the past?

I hear nothing about bloating but I do hear fatigue will increase. (Insert frownie face here.) Hair won't grow back. (Insert I Am Not My Hair song here.) Muscle pain and numb fingertips and toes. (hmm? When is the better part coming?) Oh yeah, and my nails and toenails will fall off. Ok. I am NOT my hair. I can make due with a wig or hat or scarf. But I can't see myself walking out the front door without nails! I just got used to my plain ol' regular fingernails. Yeesh.

Apparently there is no drinking alcohol with Taxol. I think that'll be ok since I'm usually a t-totaller now. I also think I'll be happy when this three months is up and I can have a nice glass of champagne. (Brings to mind a very good friend who once posted his status on facebook like this: "Relaxing with a nice glass of wine. Who am I kidding? Bottle." :-))

We just had a big, much anticipated weekend with friends, Lon and Mark, who came all the way from Atlanta. Early in the week I had some bad days and just kept saying out loud I was going to feel better by the weekend. And I did! I got to go for a walk with Lon and the puppies on Thursday. Friday I got a long walk in with Lon, then napped while she ran (Go Lon!). Then Friday night the four of us met up with Rosemary and Eddie, and Todd, Yvette, and Abby, to go to this year's Festival of the Trees at the Orlando Art Museum.

For some reason, I had my heart set on going to this event almost like a landmark from the git-go. I mean, the day Yvette and I went wig shopping and I saw the red wig predestined for my head, I said, "I will wear this wig to the Festival of Trees and match the Christmas ornaments." It came as no surprise to me when I pulled up the website to purchase tickets, and saw the theme for this year's gala was "Red Hot for the Holidays." I knew it all along!

We had a lovely time, just laughing and taking pictures. I knew it would be my last hurrah for a while, and I didn't want the day to end. None of us did, I think, because we got home fairly early but didn't quit talking till...very late! Here's a couple pictures from that night. Can you guess which one I am? Hint: I have red hair!

The next day we went to the UCF game. It was an absolutely beautiful day. I felt so good and then...I didn't. One minute I was telling my friend Traci how I wasn't tired at all, the next I was asking Lon if she minded going home early. I took a little nap when we got home, and woke up with Pink eye. Oh well, them's the breaks. I still had an awesome night, sitting upstairs with Lon laughing, watching Bridget Jones Diary and Nine to Five till my left eye didn't want to watch tv anymore. Lon is so good. She never even made me feel like she was disappointed we did nothing but sit together in front of the tube. In fact, I'll wager she had as much fun as me (alot!) just being together. The following morning Richie and I said goodbye to our dear friends, once again lamenting we live so far apart.

I go in for my next chemo on Monday, the 22nd. After that, I will go in for Taxol treatments every week till february 7. As I write this I get a call from Babbette. "I have bad news," she says. Apparently someone she knows is getting Taxol treatments now. Her nails fell off. Turned blue and ripped off, actually, sideways. "Oh." This moment reminds me of the day I called to tell Yvette how awful I was feeling about something I can't even recall now, and she proceeded to tell me most of the movie SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRE, specifically detailing the abject poverty there and highlighting the story about the poor little kid who was forced to swim through a river of poop to get someone's autograph. "Huh," I remembering saying, "Is this supposed to be making me feel better?" There was a beat of silence--followed by hysterical giggling. Tonight, it went the same way. I said, "Ok, well thanks for calling." Pause. Then we laughed, because really, it's all you can do. :-)