August 6, 2021

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It was a long work day. I wanted to button up everything so it was easy for others to take over my workload. I don’t like the idea of putting extra work on anyone, let alone leaving a mess for others to deal with. But I was able to shut down my computer feeling like I accomplished everything I needed to. Hopefully I didn’t overlook anything.

I’m thankful to be able to enter the weekend feeling like I can relax a bit and just focus on getting prepared for surgery and recovery. If only I could have a glass of wine…

August 3, 2021

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One week to surgery and I had my pre-op appointment with my general doctor to get clearance. Unfortunately, I didn’t know I’d have bloodwork done or I wouldn’t have eaten a chocolate cupcake just beforehand. Surprise! My glucose is high. I should just put that on a t-shirt. I’m pretty sure it was high every time I had bloodwork during chemo.

And even though my swollen fingers have gotten a bit better, they’re still not right after several weeks, so I mentioned it to the doctor. She added a couple tests for arthritis to the blood panel, so there’s that. Every week I get about ten years older. The first test results looked normal to my untrained eye, but the other results aren’t posted in my online chart yet. I’d cross my fingers if they weren’t too fat.

The nurse who did my blood draw was flabbergasted by my picture in my chart. She looked at it, then looked at me, then back at my picture. Finally, she asked, Have you seen your picture on here?! I laughed when I realized what she meant and told her I was sporting my chemo hair. I’m pretty sure she thought they hadn’t updated my picture in 20 years. She had the grace to tell me it looked good, and I think she felt bad for not noticing the diagnosis in my chart.

So while I seem to be falling apart bit by bit, I’m still good to go for surgery. The countdown now begins while I keep telling myself it will be fine. All is good. At least I’ll have young boobs when it’s all over.

August 2, 2021

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This was accurate for today. By 7 am, I received a resignation letter from someone at our Florida office. She’s decided to go back to school and found a less stressful position elsewhere that will allow her to do both. While I’m sad to see her leave the company, I understand where she’s coming from and wish her the best. Unfortunately, the timing is terrible since she’ll be done while I’m out with my upcoming surgery. With her gone, it’s a domino effect for the others in my department who need to help cover the workload. Sigh. The work day did not get better from there.

However, I got an unplanned pizza delivery after work, which was a great surprise and pick me up from a friend. I’m so thankful.

August 1, 2021

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It’s August! Ack. Where has the summer gone? It’s like the weekend; it blows by too quickly.

I FaceTimed with my daughter yesterday, and she mentioned how long my hair looked, so of course, I had to measure it. It’s an inch and a quarter. It does look long, considering, but that’s growth over the last three months. At this rate, assuming it doesn’t accelerate, it should be to my shoulders in about 2 years. I’m going to hope it starts to speed up.

It’s kind of fun to see how my hair is growing out. One thing I find crazy is how many cowlicks I have that I never noticed before. The center of my “bangs” points down towards my forehead but the edges wing out like little horns. And now I’m getting a spot on top of my head that sticks straight up. What the actual heck. I heard on Jeopardy that cowlicks are formed in utero so I must have had these prior to chemo. Luckily, they weren’t this noticeable. Slow or quick, I’m thankful my hair is growing, even though it’s still rather white.

July 31, 2021

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Exercise equipment is heavy and tricky. Patrick had to take apart the treadmill so we could get it downstairs, which we did very slowly. I then painted a couple of small furniture pieces while he moved the rest of the stuff. Later we were able to get the guest room mostly put back together. Chance was happy to get his bed back where he can watch the world go by out the front of the house. And I’m thankful we got so much done today, even though Patrick and I are now both sore.

July 30, 2021

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It was such a long, busy work week. Really, just a long week overall that once again, I’m super excited to be going into the weekend. We have nothing planned, and I’m not sad about it. Well, nothing planned outside of the house or with anyone else. We do need to get our guest room put back together for when my mom and sister come to help out after my surgery. Like a lot of folks (I’m guessing) we had the delusion that we would get in shape during the pandemic quarantine and swapped out the guest bed for exercise equipment. Well, that only lasted a short bit, especially after chemo messed with my muscles. At least that’s my excuse. I’m assuming Patrick quit using the equipment so I wouldn’t feel alone in being out of shape, which is really quite thoughtful of him. I’d really hate to be a chubby mess if he was svelte. And since we clearly need exercise, the equipment will go to the basement. As I mentioned yesterday, my muscles and joints are getting better, so I’m optimistic that I’ll use the equipment again soon.

At any rate, outside of moving items around the house, we are looking at an open weekend with sunny skies and cooler temperatures than we’ve had lately. I’m already feeling more relaxed. And I’m thankful for that.

July 29, 2021

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I really think my neuropathy is taking a turn for the better. This week my legs and feet haven’t been bothering me as much at night, nor has it been as difficult to get my joints moving after sitting at my desk for a while. Yay! I’m not sure what’s been making the difference—maybe the soaking or the icing or the constant stretching I’ve been doing. Whatever the reason, I’m thankful for the small victories! And I’m hopeful it continues.