Friday, August 22, 2008

Update

This entry is from an email I sent to a local friend. It pretty well covers everything.
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I'm home. My apartment is still trashed, and I'm ok with it.

My bedroom and bathroom are ok. The kitchen and computer area are useable. The dining room furniture is still upside down in the office and the living room/guest room...(shudder!)

Now that the remodel is done, and I no longer have a deadline looming, I need to devote attention to areas of my life that I have been neglecting. It's working well for me, other than the Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Literally. There's nowhere to sit.

Time and distance have helped me get perspective on putting things away in the kitchen. Instead of whining that the place that (fill in the blank) belongs is no longer there, I'm asking myself, "How often do I use this? Where do I use this? Where could it live?" Little by little....

And I'm getting rest. Lots of rest. Which I need.

I'm home for a little less than four weeks, then back to NY for two.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

What is the expected life of a recliner, anyway?

Twelve years ago, shortly after moving into an apartment in the Biltmore area of Phoenix, I went to a thrift store looking for a filing cabinet. I didn't find one, but I did find a recliner, for $13. I called a friend, who called her brother, who picked it up for me. His good deed did not go unrewarded; on the way home he found a torchiere lamp discarded on the side of the road, which he took home and put to use.

Fast forward eight years. My recliner began sticking when I tried to change the position. Then I discovered that a bolt had dropped out. I turned the chair over and searched until I found a likely hole, and replaced the bolt. I could not make it stay in place. I knew that whenever I moved it, and sometimes when I didn't, I would need to turn the chair over again and fix it.

Just before leaving for New York last month I had a sinking feeling. Literally. I suspected that more than the original bolt was in trouble, but didn't have the time or energy to explore. Today I did.

A different bolt had fallen out, and the frame member that's supposed to hold it is split, too.

While I was looking for an empty hole I saw a stock tag, dated 6/23/70. I was still in high school.

What is the expected life of a recliner, anyway?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Why am I yawning?

Might it have something to do with getting up three time zones east of here?

I left the airport at 8:33 pm and had my computer back in its docking station and booted by 9:00. It's now 10:15, and I can't keep my eyes open.

Fortunately, I left my apartment in pretty good shape, with clean sheets on the bed, clean clothes folded in the drawers and all the garbage and trash out.

All I have to do it get off the stupid computer....

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Still here...

Hi,

I made a slew of posts when I got my laptop back in its port replicator, then turned my attention to my current trip to NY.

I've been here a week; I'll be here another week.

We've had some work and some play. I had one bad day, but am feeling better today.

We're enjoying watching the Olympics, staying up much too late at night to watch the swimming live. (Installing the second TV was high on the To Do list.)

More soon.
Flo

Friday, August 1, 2008

Follow up: rescheduling my birthday

I was wildly, insanely optimistic when I thought that I would take in a Diamondbacks game the day after the remodel, and hike a Native American petroglyph site the next.

I spent the first two nights after the remodel at a friend's house. When I returned home to stay I happened to glance at the calendar on my refrigerator. Because it is a scrapbook page I write brief notes in the squares in pencil, as a reminder, then ink the details in once the month is done. It took me several seconds to figure out that "Deer?" meant that I had planned to be hiking in Glendale that evening. It didn't happen!

There are a couple more twilight hikes at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center this season, and a few more Family Friday games at Chase Field. Maybe I'll try for a Rockies game in September.

Follow up: Medical

It's been a busy couple of months, with routine follow up exams and "deferred maintenance," i.e., exams and tests that were overdue.

First, the latest: My primary care physician was wildly thrilled with the results she shared with me today. My osteopenia is completely reversed; in two years I've made up the equivalent of 15 years of bone loss, without drugs! My lab report was the best it's been in probably a couple of years: my total and ldl cholesterol are almost back down to where I want them, my triglycerides are down and my Vitamin D, while still considered low, was at least measurable.

Also today: The sinus infection is better but far from gone. My doctor changed the antibiotic that her partner prescribed last week, and extended it. This one might let me keep food in my system.

The broken toe seems to have improved. I went without the sandals yesterday without experiencing pain today. That's a first.

Then there was the oncology appointment on Tuesday. Not so good.... The bad numbers are now 35% higher than they were in April, when she told me that, if they didn't come down by July, we'd need to "consider more aggressive treatment." They went up 50% in seven weeks, after showing improvement between April and June.

Of course, that seven weeks corresponded to the stress and fatigue of the apartment remodel and the sinus infection, all of which raise my WBC count. I need to go back in four to six weeks to see if the increase was transient.

I did discuss with her what the chemo would entail: one treatment, in her office, every three weeks for six treatments. I would need a ride to the treatments: I would be given the same anti-nausea drug I took before the procedure on my neck, and it knocks me out. I would be immuno-compromised during the entire four months: prophylactic antibiotics, limited contact with outsiders, not even any raw produce!

My primary doctor, however, is not as concerned as you might expect. We know that the increased WBC is due to more than just the leukemia.

The remodel is done; it's no longer hanging over me. I've made my decision and signed a new lease. I was able to install my laptop back in my port replicator (aka docking station) just hours before I saw my oncologist. That has been a huge relief. I'm taking the time to figure out how I want to organize things in the new kitchen cabinets. It's taking longer than if I just hid the mess, but I'm already experiencing benefits from some of the changes.

I'm returning to New York next week with the blessings of both doctors. It was during my first trip to New York that my WBC count actually dropped 10%. I've changed my plans for one of the meetings I have planned from a formal presentation to a more casual discussion of some options available to the group.

This will work.