Tuesday and Wednesday: Mixture

Tuesday was our medical day off which means that we did not have to go to any medical center. The day was devoted to REST! I still had a mild cold so you know what that does to your energy level. Yes, a second cold since we came to MDACC and both of them caused by the temperatures in the hospital rooms which I call frigid. I hate being cold. Even with my heating throw blanket I got cold on my face as well as my little pug nose. For those who are caregivers who will stay with their loved ones you need to be prepared to dress warmly. It would not be a bad idea to even have a night cap. Not the liquid kind, but the kind you put on your head.

It is weird when I skip a day writing the blog that I can not remember what happened the day before. On Tuesday we started the day at Panera Bread which both Joe and I enjoy. While we were there, there was a massive amount of water falling from the ceiling next to the window that it looked like a zen waterfall until the ceiling tiles got so soaked that they collapsed with some real loud commotion. The employees were looking for anything that could catch the water and moving furniture and customers out of the way.

Each Tuesday is our weekly anniversary day at the studio suite so that means our room gets cleaned up. Since we had to be out of the room, we decided to go to Wendy's for lunch and take Max to the Dog Park. We get Max his own plain hamburger so he is not left out of having a special lunch. Joe enjoyed the hamburger and fries and real sweet tea! The day was just the perfect temperature for Joe along with a lovely soft breeze. It is fun to interact with the other dogs at the park. There was one dog who loved chasing a frisbee into the dog pool. Boy, he made some big splashes over and over again. When another dog got too close to his frisbee, he would take it to a big mud puddle and cover it with mud. What a sight to see and what a grand mess of fun! Max was way too cautious but he did take five poos which of course I cleaned up. The park wisely has plastic bags in dispensers so owners would have no excuse for not cleaning up after their dogs. Oh yes, there are always people who are not responsible but it is a large park so it is not too bad. I had purchased Max some orange tennis balls to chase after and hopefully jump into the dog pool. He never did jump in but he did get his legs wet up to his stomach so that was progress. He really wanted that ball back. We stayed at the park only for about 30 minutes since I did not want Joe to get worn out. Joe enjoyed watching Max and the various other breeds of dogs.

By the time we got back to the room it was all cleaned up so now it was time to take it easy which we did the rest of the day. Of course, we took a nap. I also did the laundry which there was a bunch. While I was folding the last dried batch, I started a conversation with Lee who is here with her husband from Toronto, Canada. They got here about 11/3 and will be here till the end of the month. Her husband as an advanced stage of colon cancer that has spread to his liver. The diagnosis was found out at the end of October. They have come to Houston to get the best cancer care they can get. She told that 20 years ago her 13 year old daughter had cancer and she had chemo for two whole years. She showed me a picture of that beautiful daughter who is now 33 years old. Lee has faith that they will win her husband's fight against his cancer. She is a very pretty trim lady and so friendly. I hope that we run into each other again in the coming weeks.

Last night Joe and I had dinner at Ninfa's on Navigation where Ninfa originated fajitas many years ago. The place was hard to find but we got to it. We knew that we found a winner since at 8:30PM on a Tuesday night there was a line outside to get it and the parking lot was full. Luckily most of the crowd was leaving so the dining room was not as filled as it could be, They also had a great outdoor patio. The place oozed with friendly atmosphere and also good Mexican food. Joe enjoyed two Chile Rellenos and I had a Chicken Chimichanga. Getting home was a bit of a challenge since I was not familiar with this side of town so we got a bit of a side tour of the downtown business district of Houston. Joe was patient as I used my navigational nose to get us "home" which I did by 10:30 PM. I took Max out as Joe took his handful of medicines. We watched David Letterman for awhile. We really wanted to watch Conan but the TBS station on our TV is just infomercials. UGH!

Today is Wednesday and this is the day of MDACC check in. Joe's hair is getting less and less and his monstrous spleen is getting smaller. Joe is sleeping great but has to wake up many times at night to pee thanks to the latrixPICC lines and give him his shot of Neupogin. Our first stop is the usual Panera Bread then we head off and start our day.

We had about an hour before the FAST TRACK at MDACC so we thought we go to COSTCO but it was too early. Since we had time to waste, Joe says to stop at a Car Wash where the staff was outside waving signs begging for business  so I decided to stop there. Now we have another instance of Divine Intervention. The Owner/Cashier had one of those small white fluffy Bijohn Frischee who was friendly and so kissable as well as hugable which Joe and I enjoyed paying attention to. Joe started a conversation with the owner who has a sister, 43 year old Ellen, who is from Alpharetta, Georgia. She was flying in today to go to MDACC for treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma for the first time and will be seen by Dr. Romaguera. She has the same disease as Joe and will be seeing the same doctor as Joe. The owner asked if we would talk to his sister since she is so scared since she also as Diabetes. We gave him our phone numbers and email address to give to his sister. We warned him that each person reacts differently to their disease and that Ellen may not be ready to talk with anyone but she was welcome to contact us as a mentor and to ask questions. God sent us there. How else can one explain this? How can this all be by chance? Believe! Faith! Love! Compassion! Help thy neighbor!

We did not have to wait very long for Joe to get his vital signs and his blood drawn for Fast Track. About 30 minutes later the APN saw us and Joe's platelet level had dropped from 10 on Monday to only 6 today even after having 6 units of platelets on Monday. Joe and I were not at all surprised since our fellow comrades in the same fight told us what to be prepared for and they were correct. The APN ordered six more units of platelets to be done at the transfusion department on the second floor. It took a total of two hours from check in to check out for the entire process and we were headed out of the hospital by 3:15PM which was great. They gave Joe some Tylenol and benadryl before getting the platelets. The benadryl lowered his blood pressure and Joe took an hour and a half snooze on his back with a warm blanket on top of him as I sat, listened and watched. Joe felt good afterwards and said that he had dreamed of going to Starbucks to get a Caramel Frappucino. His dream wish was granted where he also enjoyed a double chocolate brownie. We stopped at Costco to see if they had some Khaki slacks  but they were all too big for Joe. The only thing we bought there was a case of Caffeine Free Diet Coke for you know who. On the way down Richmond Avenue we stopped at T J Maxx where we were successful in finding some Khaki pants that fit him better with a size 34 waist. The ones Joe had were enormous on him and made him look sloppy and unkempt. I found a large long sweater and pants to keep me warm for the next extended visit a MDACC. I will be prepared for the next chemo on 11/29. From there we went at Joe's request to Sports Authority where Joe purchased some 5 pound hand weights, a pair of gray nylon shorts. He looks good in shorts and way more comfortable in them. I bought a paid of short thick socks since I wore the ones that I bought with me out.

We decided to stay in the studio tonight and watch the Country Music Awards. We had Barry's Pizza deliver a medium pie which all three of us enjoyed.

The weather forecast shows that it will rain this weekend so we are planning to drive down to the Gulf Coast tomorrow with Max and let him experience the ocean. We will have lunch some place down there. The drive is maybe an hour which will not be hard on Joe. If he starts to feel bad in any way, we will turn around and come back. Joe likes the idea so that is the plan tomorrow. We shall see.

Thank you for the positive e-mails, posts and cards. It means the world to us. I read the jokes to Joe and I love hearing him laugh. Our friend, Mike Morton, sends us some really funny ones as well as a bunch of others all over the world. Laughter is good. Love is wonderful. God is good.

Blessings to you all!
Bonnie