Still waiting...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I know that we did here. Meghan and Cliff came over on Christmas Eve for dinner and some present-opening. Then Meghan came back on Christmas morning while Cliff went to his mother's house and we opened the rest of our presents. John made a delicious waffle breakfast.

Next year, we'll have to do the Christmas eve dinner at both homes (ours and in-laws) because Christmas day will be at Meghan and Cliff's house. One doesn't want to bring home all those baby toys, etc after opening them. Yes, I did say baby. Meghan is expecting in July. I think I'm more excited than she is. As soon as it was official, I had to buy her her first baby clothes. They don't know the gender yet but that will come in February. They're looking for a bigger place on the other side of the river to make it easier for both to get to work.

Bill has been home the past few days and it's been nice having him here. He had PRK surgery in October and it's still strange seeing him without glasses. His last pair were black rims and he reminded me of Elvis Costello. He's been doing well in State College and has been getting more requests to do camera work.

I haven't started the trial yet. I'm a little disappointed but then again not too. I was supposed to have tests two weeks ago and then start treatment the week of Christmas. I still had so much Christmas stuff to get done that I was somewhat relieved to have the time. I need to call the doctor's office this coming week and find out what's going on. The only thing I can think of is that for insurance purposes they want to wait until the first of the year.

We're all getting ready to go out to lunch today at Max's Allegheny Tavern (German) on the north side of Pittsburgh. Then we're going to the Carnegie Science Museum to see the train exhibit they put up every year. It's pretty phenomenal. I'll try to take pictures.

I wanted to take the time here to tell someone very special to me how much she has meant to me this past year. Maria, the president of NationalLink, has been one of my biggest supporters. It has been a great comfort knowing she was there to listen whenever I needed to talk. She would also take work off of me when the pressure became too great and understood that I needed to work to keep my mind off of things that were happening. She and Lori worked around my schedule and insisted at times that I take time off so that I wouldn't get too tired. My entire team and myself along with everyone else at NationalLink miss you greatly. I wish you good luck in whatever you do.

Well...time to get this show on the road. Merry Christmas everyone!

Good news at last!

I received a call from Dr. Puhalla's office two weeks ago. I was told that they had a spot for me in the clinical trial. Woo hoo~! I had an appointment on Tuesday, December 8th at 4:30 p.m. to meet at Magee Hospital to fill out the consent form for the clinical trial. This is both exciting and scary. I'm excited to get started but also worried on whether or not I will tolerate this treatment as well as I did the last (at least I feel I tolerated it well).

I was put in the exam room at 4:20 p.m. I had just a gown on and those rooms are always cold. I put my winter coat on over it and sat in a chair versus on the table. I fell asleep and woke up about 10 after 5. It was awfully quiet in the offices and I started to wonder if they had forgotten about me. Finally, at 5:45 p.m. or so, the doctor came in. She had to read all the paperwork to me and go over the possible side effects. My favorites were the ones reported in animals but not in humans.
1. Excess production of salvia. Do they make cute bibs for adults?
2. Abnormal gait. The president of NationalLink said that if she saw me walking around the office like John Wayne, she wouldn't worry.
3. Mild sleepiness followed by mild excitation. *Snore* Hey! Are you people working?!?!? *Snore*

After signing the consent form, I left and went over to the Rivers Casino. I had arranged to meet Meghan (MFD) and her husband, Cliff, there. She and I were there first and she ended up winning $61 with a $20. We won't talk about what I didn't win. We had dinner at the buffet and it was much better than the first time when John and I went. I think they're getting the kinks out. I found that it's still too smokey for me there and ended up having an asthma attack walking out to the car. Combination of the smoke and the cold air, I think.

Dr. Puhalla told me that I would have tests scheduled next week and start treatment the week of Christmas. That's not new to me. My first chemo treatment started on December 22, 2008. I'm just waiting for the call for the tests. My creatonine was great; only .90.

I am definitely not looking forward to the queasiness and need to find out if they'll give me the same great drugs they gave me the last time. I'm also not looking forward to the muscle aches and pains and the hair loss. It was coming in nicely and I almost paid Philip Pelusi hair salon $30 to trim it up. Glad I didn't since it will start to fall out again. Maybe it won't...the side effects say "possible" hair loss. We'll see. It's too cold to be bald. Guess I'll have to wear my pink breast cancer awareness Steelers cap (man are they bad this year).

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've last posted. I've just been too tired to go online when I get home. Of course, the office, where the main computer is located, is freezing. I wear a robe and gloves when I'm in there.

Take care everyone and hope you're having a wonderful holiday. As soon as I hear more, I'll post.

-Suesan