Well, I went in for chemo again yesterday - if you remember, the last time they sent me home because my blood counts were too low. This time my blood counts were good, so they got me all set up with some magnesium while the chemo was being made - I'm always low on magnesium; I think it has something to do with avoiding green leafy vegetables.
As soon as they started the first chemo, Gemzar, I started to get really hot and flushed and my left leg started to hurt - it felt like it was swelling up or something. The nurse was still in there - apparently even if epople don't have reactions in the first round they can develop them in the 2nd or 3rd rounds - she said that was especially true of the gemzar. She could se that my face was flushed and immediately stopped the chemo and put me on saline.
Then she called my nurse coordinator to see what they wanted her to do. The coordinater - Heidi/Holly (there are two of them and I can never keep them straight) - said that since it was 5pm and there would be minimal support available in case anything went really wrong, that she should stop the chemo. So, we just finished up some saline and some additional magnesium.
Jess and I kept ourselves entertained by mocking the people on Food Network - if you mimic the hand gestures that Rachel Ray makes you get quite a workout!
I suppose that Heidi/Holly is going to call me on Monday and figure what we're going to do. I'm hoping that I they set it up for next week, since I already told work that I wouldn't be in the office.
I'm going over to Jess's house tomorrow for Dawn's birthday - I got her something she's really going to love, but I can't post it here yet on the off chance that she reads this before the party. And I'm going to do something special with her cake - it's going to be awesome!
That's it for me - I hope to be posting with some good news early in the week!
Showing posts with label Becky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Becky. Show all posts
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
No Chemo
Well, I went in Friday (yesterday) for chemo, but my counts were too low so they sent me home. Apparently my neutrophyls (or something) are really low, which explains why I've been feeling so crappy all week. I went to work on Monday, which was really stupid because my vision was way off from the dexamethesone. I left early and have been home ever since. Mainly I just feel tired and weak - the nurses tell me that's typical for Gemzar and Taxo-whatever. They're going to see how I do over the weekend and then I have a blood test scheduled for Wednesday.
My doctor has been out of the country (in Bangkok) so they're going to check with him next week and see what he wants to do about my chemo and about my port.
For those of you who don't know - I was supposed to get a new port last week but got all the way there (thanks for the ride, Jason!), got an IV put in and a gown on only to have the doctor come out and explain two options for the surgery. Neither of which was what the SCCA team had described to me, so I had him call SCCA. Well, the UW doctors didn't want to do it the way the SCCA team thought it should be done, so I was sent home. That was fun.
Anyway, I'll be posting updates about my health and stuff here - so no complaining about not knowing what's going on!
Post your own stuff - we have this blog for a reason!
My doctor has been out of the country (in Bangkok) so they're going to check with him next week and see what he wants to do about my chemo and about my port.
For those of you who don't know - I was supposed to get a new port last week but got all the way there (thanks for the ride, Jason!), got an IV put in and a gown on only to have the doctor come out and explain two options for the surgery. Neither of which was what the SCCA team had described to me, so I had him call SCCA. Well, the UW doctors didn't want to do it the way the SCCA team thought it should be done, so I was sent home. That was fun.
Anyway, I'll be posting updates about my health and stuff here - so no complaining about not knowing what's going on!
Post your own stuff - we have this blog for a reason!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Going on Vacation!
I'm going down to Lake Las Vegas August 11-15 - I've always wanted to go to this place so I'm finally going. I have some spa treatments booked and am planning some shopping trips to Montelago Village, which is right next door!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
My weekend plans - UPDATED
My friend Jess's birthday party is Saturday evening, so I'm going to spend Saturday morning making this cake. I got this great large cupcake pan online so I'm going to attempt it! I'm making chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting! Yum!
That's one big cupcake!
UPDATE:
I made the cupcake and it turned out okay! I baked each part separately (top and bottom) as some customer reviews on the pan said that they baked for different time periods. I didn't find that to be the case - each side took exactly the same amount. I had to do some trimming ot me the two halves fit together correctly and I ended up not trimming the top part enough, so there was a big gap. Oh well - I filled it in with frosting.
It took 1.5 cake mixes, so I made small cupcakes with the remaining batter - it made about 9 cupcakes. I was going to take pictures once I got it to my friend's house, but on the way there the big cupcake fell over - so everything ended up a little doofed up. But it all tasted good and Jess enjoyed having her big cupcake all to herself while the rest of us had normal-sized ones.
It was a great night! If anyone wants to borrow the pan, it's all yours! My friends have now made requests for various shaped cakes for their upcoming birthdays, so I think I've started a trend. I don't know how I'm going to make an Optimus Prime cake...
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Vegas Pictures
Here's a link to some Vegas pictures:
http://3koehnkids.shutterfly.com?a=1
I've also included a few of my favorites below:
I've also added some videos at the bottom of the page...Enjoy!
http://3koehnkids.shutterfly.com?a=1
I've also included a few of my favorites below:
I've also added some videos at the bottom of the page...Enjoy!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Back from Vegas!
I'm back from Vegas, baby!
It was so great - the Bellagio was beautiful and there was tons to do. The first night, we (my friends Steve and Andrea and I) went to a restaurant called Sensi in the Bellagio. It was so good! I had crispy shrimp to start and then Korobuta (sp?) pork for dinner. It was really tender and yummy. For dessert, there was an option to get a sampler of all the different desserts, so we did that. They brought it out in a tower - I took a picture and will upload it later. Then we went to the Fontana bar - it's right in front of the fountains, so we saw them going off all the time. There was a live band doing cover songs and there were a few couples dancing who obviously had some formal training. It was fun to watch. There was also a wedding party with one guy who kept getting up and dancing...well, dancing isn't quite the right word. More like having small seizures kinda in time with the music. We nicknamed him Corky - I took several videos of him that I'll upload. So much fun!
On the second day, we met for the Bellagio Champagne Buffet. I think we all did a good job of not over-stuffing ourselves so we couldn't even move - it was tempting though. The food was good and there were so many options - I had shrimp, turkey, oatmeal, mashed potatoes and fruit all on one plate!
We made a plan to meet for dinner at The Venetian and then went our separate ways to nap, after Andrea and I did some looking around at the Bellagio shops. It's a good thing that I'm not a millionaire because I would have come home with LOTS of that stuff - they had Hermes, Prada, Fendi, Dior, etc. All those purses!!!!
I decided to head over to the Venetian early to check out the shops there - when I texted A & S I found out they had done the same! When we met up they had already had some adult beverages (okay, one monster adult beverage) and were feeling good. They are so funny! We were all being pretty silly. The restaurant we were going to was really new, so it wasn't on any of the maps. We stopped to ask one of the security guys and he clearly had no idea where it was, but he gave us some directions consisting of 'stay to the right' and we, foolishly, followed them. We ended up in the convention section of the hotel (after a lot of walking) but eventually found where we were going - turned out to be on a completely different floor than what the guard had said. The food was okay - I had deep-fried smoked mozarella, which was amazing, and then gnocci in meat sauce. Then we went to get gellato - yum, yum, yum! I had to head back to the Bellagio at that point because I was going to see O (they had seen a show earlier in the week and O was sold out - I almost didn't get a ticket).
O is a show set in water - there's a big pool and people diving around, doing their Cirque Du Soleil thing. It's really amazing - you should definitely see it if you're in Vegas. However, it was the 10:30pm show and I was tired so towards the end I was just hoping for it to FINISH ALREADY! Finally, it was done and I booked up to my room to go to sleep.
Monday was travel day, so I got my stuff packed, did some last minute shopping, finally faced my hotel bill (eek!) and headed off to the airport. I managed to win back most of what I had lost playing slots at the hotel in a Wheel of Fortune nickel slot machine, so I promptly stopped gambling and sat down to read my book. The flight home was uneventful and when I got home I was greeted with purring and cat fur, so it's possible that the kids actually missed me. The cat sitter left a little note saying that they behaved well, so I guess that's good.
I'm off for the rest of the week and am not looking forward to going back to work. I'll upload pictures and stuff when I have a chance. Viva Las Vegas!
It was so great - the Bellagio was beautiful and there was tons to do. The first night, we (my friends Steve and Andrea and I) went to a restaurant called Sensi in the Bellagio. It was so good! I had crispy shrimp to start and then Korobuta (sp?) pork for dinner. It was really tender and yummy. For dessert, there was an option to get a sampler of all the different desserts, so we did that. They brought it out in a tower - I took a picture and will upload it later. Then we went to the Fontana bar - it's right in front of the fountains, so we saw them going off all the time. There was a live band doing cover songs and there were a few couples dancing who obviously had some formal training. It was fun to watch. There was also a wedding party with one guy who kept getting up and dancing...well, dancing isn't quite the right word. More like having small seizures kinda in time with the music. We nicknamed him Corky - I took several videos of him that I'll upload. So much fun!
On the second day, we met for the Bellagio Champagne Buffet. I think we all did a good job of not over-stuffing ourselves so we couldn't even move - it was tempting though. The food was good and there were so many options - I had shrimp, turkey, oatmeal, mashed potatoes and fruit all on one plate!
We made a plan to meet for dinner at The Venetian and then went our separate ways to nap, after Andrea and I did some looking around at the Bellagio shops. It's a good thing that I'm not a millionaire because I would have come home with LOTS of that stuff - they had Hermes, Prada, Fendi, Dior, etc. All those purses!!!!
I decided to head over to the Venetian early to check out the shops there - when I texted A & S I found out they had done the same! When we met up they had already had some adult beverages (okay, one monster adult beverage) and were feeling good. They are so funny! We were all being pretty silly. The restaurant we were going to was really new, so it wasn't on any of the maps. We stopped to ask one of the security guys and he clearly had no idea where it was, but he gave us some directions consisting of 'stay to the right' and we, foolishly, followed them. We ended up in the convention section of the hotel (after a lot of walking) but eventually found where we were going - turned out to be on a completely different floor than what the guard had said. The food was okay - I had deep-fried smoked mozarella, which was amazing, and then gnocci in meat sauce. Then we went to get gellato - yum, yum, yum! I had to head back to the Bellagio at that point because I was going to see O (they had seen a show earlier in the week and O was sold out - I almost didn't get a ticket).
O is a show set in water - there's a big pool and people diving around, doing their Cirque Du Soleil thing. It's really amazing - you should definitely see it if you're in Vegas. However, it was the 10:30pm show and I was tired so towards the end I was just hoping for it to FINISH ALREADY! Finally, it was done and I booked up to my room to go to sleep.
Monday was travel day, so I got my stuff packed, did some last minute shopping, finally faced my hotel bill (eek!) and headed off to the airport. I managed to win back most of what I had lost playing slots at the hotel in a Wheel of Fortune nickel slot machine, so I promptly stopped gambling and sat down to read my book. The flight home was uneventful and when I got home I was greeted with purring and cat fur, so it's possible that the kids actually missed me. The cat sitter left a little note saying that they behaved well, so I guess that's good.
I'm off for the rest of the week and am not looking forward to going back to work. I'll upload pictures and stuff when I have a chance. Viva Las Vegas!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Testing out mobile blogging
Testing out mobile blogging!
Now I can send messages from my phone directly to the blog! You can see what I'm up to while I'm in Vegas this weekend...or not...
If you want to try it go to go.blogger.com
Now I can send messages from my phone directly to the blog! You can see what I'm up to while I'm in Vegas this weekend...or not...
If you want to try it go to go.blogger.com
Sponsor Candi!
Candi will be walking in the JDRF 2008 Walk to Cure Diabetes on 5/31 in Tacoma. Her sponsorship page is here. How much can YOU donate?
Monday, April 21, 2008
New Party Game
I was at my friend Jess's house this weekend and one of the guest brought the game Apples to Apples. It's really fun and you can play with lots of people. Even kids can play!
Everyone gets a bunch of cards that have various words or phrases on them and when the "Judge" (rotates to a new person each round) picks a card with an adjective everyone puts in a card that matches that adjective in some way. The goal is to get the Judge to pick your card, so you have to try to predict what the Judge will pick - they don't have to go with cards that match the literal definition, they just pick whichever one they like best. You get some pretty funny combinations!
We'll have to have another game night soon and play this game!
Everyone gets a bunch of cards that have various words or phrases on them and when the "Judge" (rotates to a new person each round) picks a card with an adjective everyone puts in a card that matches that adjective in some way. The goal is to get the Judge to pick your card, so you have to try to predict what the Judge will pick - they don't have to go with cards that match the literal definition, they just pick whichever one they like best. You get some pretty funny combinations!
We'll have to have another game night soon and play this game!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Good weekend!
On Friday night I got my hair colored - it's now darker brown. The hair lady showed me a cute way to style it that won't take forever and doesn't involve much hand-eye coordination, so I can kinda replicate it.
On Saturday I went to Isabelle's house for tea and treats during her son Jasper's nap time. It was fun catching up - we only manage to get together every 5-6 months due to schedules, missed phone calls, etc.
Saturday night I went over to Jess's house to watch BSG. The new episodes air on Friday nights so we get together on Saturday nights after her son Gaius (yes, named after one of the lead characters on the show) goes to bed. This episode (Six of One) was a little boring, but the teaser for next week says that they're going to reveal the final Cylon next week.
On Sunday I stayed home and hung with the boys - we did a little laundry (I washed their gross sucking blankets) and cleared out my Tivo to make room for more shows. I watched a biography of Julia Child...okay, it was on Food Network so they call it a CHEFography. Makes me want to do more cooking...okay, some cooking...okay, actually enter my kitchen for something other than ice cream and Doritos.
What did everyone else do?
On Saturday I went to Isabelle's house for tea and treats during her son Jasper's nap time. It was fun catching up - we only manage to get together every 5-6 months due to schedules, missed phone calls, etc.
Saturday night I went over to Jess's house to watch BSG. The new episodes air on Friday nights so we get together on Saturday nights after her son Gaius (yes, named after one of the lead characters on the show) goes to bed. This episode (Six of One) was a little boring, but the teaser for next week says that they're going to reveal the final Cylon next week.
On Sunday I stayed home and hung with the boys - we did a little laundry (I washed their gross sucking blankets) and cleared out my Tivo to make room for more shows. I watched a biography of Julia Child...okay, it was on Food Network so they call it a CHEFography. Makes me want to do more cooking...okay, some cooking...okay, actually enter my kitchen for something other than ice cream and Doritos.
What did everyone else do?
Friday, April 11, 2008
One week old!
My co-worker's new daughter - one week old today!
Emiline Andree Beliard
No, I don't know why she has a doughnut on her.
Emiline Andree Beliard
No, I don't know why she has a doughnut on her.
Treatment update
I went in for treatment yesterday and everything went well. They're still having trouble accessing my port, but since I only need it every 3 weeks (and it's already my third one) the nurse doesn't think that I should get a new one. I agree.
Next treatment is at the end of the month, along with another CT. Sounds like fun!
Next treatment is at the end of the month, along with another CT. Sounds like fun!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Walking the cats
I've been trying to leash-train the cats so that I can take them out for walks without them running away. It's been...interesting. Turns out that Marvin looooves it outside - I have to fight him to come back in and now he's always dashing for the door. Whitey actually hates it outside - he gets spooked by every little noise and ends up climbing me like a tree.
I got them harnesses and elastic-y leashes - Marvin's harness is a little too small and Whitey's is a little too big. But I wanted to try them out anyway. The first time I made the mistake of taking them out at the same time. Marvin was running away from the door and Whitey was running towards it. I was in the middle with my arms stretched in either direction wondering what I was going to do (and laughing hysterically at the same time!). I was bent over so the leashes would stretch farther and Whitey took that as a sign to climb me and hop on my back. This solved my stretching problem, but created a new one...how to hobble over to the door remaining bent over and dragging Marvin with me. Took a little doing, but we got it done - everyone got back inside just fine.
Then I took each one out individually - Marvin first. He loved it. He inspected underneath all the cars, checked out some mud, looked longingly at a bird, etc. All the usualy cat things. Then I took Whitey out. He hated it. He briefly inspected a bush, but then he heard a car start and it was over - I became a tree and his goal was to get to the top. Needless to say I had both hands free to open the door and block Marvin from running out.
Last night after work I decided to try again. I would like to say that I learned something from the first time, but sadly I did not. Marvin and I went a little further this time - he even climbed part way up a tree! I'm working on getting him to come back to me when I stop moving - it's actually going surprisingly well. Whitey and I didn't get very far. We went and sat on the stairs outside my door, with me holding him. He was starting to venture off my lap when a car drove up. That was it - he scrambled out of my arms and up the stairs as far as the leash would let him. I tired to coax him down, but he was spazzing out a little. Finally, I went up the stairs and grabbed him. Right at that moment a car door slammed and he freaked out, climbing up me again. He somehow ended up on my back with me bent over slightly holding on to the leash - I'm sure it looked a little like I had him slung over my shoulder, but he had his claws dug in so the leash was slack. It felt good. We finally made it back inside, managing to block Marvin from running out again.
I think it turned out being slightly stressful for all of us - everyone got something they wanted but no one was completely satisfied. That must mean I'm doing something right!
I got them harnesses and elastic-y leashes - Marvin's harness is a little too small and Whitey's is a little too big. But I wanted to try them out anyway. The first time I made the mistake of taking them out at the same time. Marvin was running away from the door and Whitey was running towards it. I was in the middle with my arms stretched in either direction wondering what I was going to do (and laughing hysterically at the same time!). I was bent over so the leashes would stretch farther and Whitey took that as a sign to climb me and hop on my back. This solved my stretching problem, but created a new one...how to hobble over to the door remaining bent over and dragging Marvin with me. Took a little doing, but we got it done - everyone got back inside just fine.
Then I took each one out individually - Marvin first. He loved it. He inspected underneath all the cars, checked out some mud, looked longingly at a bird, etc. All the usualy cat things. Then I took Whitey out. He hated it. He briefly inspected a bush, but then he heard a car start and it was over - I became a tree and his goal was to get to the top. Needless to say I had both hands free to open the door and block Marvin from running out.
Last night after work I decided to try again. I would like to say that I learned something from the first time, but sadly I did not. Marvin and I went a little further this time - he even climbed part way up a tree! I'm working on getting him to come back to me when I stop moving - it's actually going surprisingly well. Whitey and I didn't get very far. We went and sat on the stairs outside my door, with me holding him. He was starting to venture off my lap when a car drove up. That was it - he scrambled out of my arms and up the stairs as far as the leash would let him. I tired to coax him down, but he was spazzing out a little. Finally, I went up the stairs and grabbed him. Right at that moment a car door slammed and he freaked out, climbing up me again. He somehow ended up on my back with me bent over slightly holding on to the leash - I'm sure it looked a little like I had him slung over my shoulder, but he had his claws dug in so the leash was slack. It felt good. We finally made it back inside, managing to block Marvin from running out again.
I think it turned out being slightly stressful for all of us - everyone got something they wanted but no one was completely satisfied. That must mean I'm doing something right!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Yummy new latte
On the way to work this morning I stopped at Avenue Espresso on Rainier (next to GreenFresh Market) and got a peanut butter latte! It's surpisingly good - tastes like the milk left over after eating PB Cap'n Crunch cereal...but warm. I highly recommend trying this out!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Stephen King on Duma Key
Here's a video that may be interesting to those Stephen King fans in the family.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mMEYZ9FZ5OIHM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mMEYZ9FZ5OIHM
The Cats get Collared!
I finally got collars for Whitey and Marvin - all the ones I'd seen were too girly and I didn't really want ones with bells on them. They already make too much noise! However, now I'm glad I got the bells - it turned into the funniest thing I've seen in awhile.
They're used to playing with things that make noise, so when the noise was attached to them they started squirming around trying to get it. So hillarious!
They're used to playing with things that make noise, so when the noise was attached to them they started squirming around trying to get it. So hillarious!
Here we go!
Okay - here's the blog y'all asked for! Hopefully we can keep it updated with news of Ryan, Jason, Becky, Jenny, Candi, Rachael, Kevin, Sharon, Kyle, Max, Roger and Ellen Koehn. And if this ends up being the only post...well, at least we tried!
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