Best Of

Chris, okay I will concede I am a cold weather wuss, lol. Our temps should be in the 50's at this time of year and we are 20 degrees off that prediction. The winds are not helping because they are making " a feels like" situation less than the air temp. I become a hermit when it is this cold, because once I get cold, I have difficulty getting warm again. Currently I have a long sweater covered by a Heat Holder fleece jacket on and I am freezing.

I met with the pulmonology CRNP today, she reviewed my sleep test results, and have to have a slew of additional tests done to narrow down what is causing my breathing issues. I was able to get a cardiology appointment for tomorrow due to a cancelation, otherwise first available is February, that is early in AM, and then I have a PFT and 6 minute walk test scheduled for the afternoon. I called today and was surprised I had a pick of appointments, including 2 times that were available for tomorrow and more for next week. The sooner I get these done, the sooner I can get a causation, and then a treatment plan in place.

Taco, thanks for the information on the story and what it entails. It sounds interesting. I have some family hx books (sort of along the lines of old baby books) that ask questions like these and have started those, but sadly have not finished them. It is a nice gesture to leave to your DD.

harely07, good to see you back.

Guess that's all for now. Hope everyone had a great day and waving "hi".

Marti, we don't live very far apart. I live in Monroe County Wisconsin, just east of La Crosse County. All these people saying it is cold at 32 degrees are so funny. It is -8 deg F right now.

A port is essential, because the poison then dumps into the largest vein in the body, diluting quickly to avoid damage to the circulatory system.

My daughter got me some beanie-style caps, very soft because the skin on my head was sensitive. Otherwise, my skin was plenty. I was sad when the curls grew out.

I love your creative visualization. Shows a sense of humor in difficult situations. My reaction is to grimly soldier through, not as adaptive, I think.

Harley and Cindy; beautiful travel pictures!!

I only have religious Christmas decorations this year. Tossed my little tree, it was getting ratty looking.

I got myself a 1 1/2 quart French press. It is very fussy if you use it for coffee, according to the directions, but I am using it for tea (decaffeinated). I was well-hydrated last night and slept very well. But I keep forgetting my early afternoon gabapentin, so things have not yet reached a state of balance. I ran out of tea, but have plenty in the fridge.

My SIL's family is building a family vacation home in Hawaii. It will be a duplex, with a caretaker's home on the other side.

Great pics of PR and Spain. Spain is one place we didn't spent enough time in.

About StoryWorth. I don't know what it cost as it was a gift but I have found it a very good thing to do. It's encouraged me to really look at our lives. Ken isn't a writer but I've been able to ask some pointed questions and after 60 years I know a lot of answers. I have written from my perspective, sharing stuff from his life too. If you don't like this week's question, you can look for another one or just write about whatever you want. Or skip a week. And it's set up so DD can submit questions too. My problem is taking pictures of pictures to include. I'm afraid they are going to be very blurry.

Great pictures of Seville and PR. Wish we'd spent more time in Spain when we were traveling.

Marti - I'm not familiar with the chemo you are getting, but different ones do different things to hair and nails. Talk to your MO or nurse navigator about what you can expect. I lost all my hair but was fine being bald - what I hate is having a bald spot on the top now (probably from genetics and too many non-related surgeries.). I was getting fake nails and my guy managed to save all my fingernails and I lost only one toenail. I don't what he did but I suggest that you talk to your nail person now. The one thing I wish I had done was get my eyebrows tattooed. I missed them the most.

I was never nauseous but did have trouble with the constipation/diaherra syndrome. I found that if I was sure to empty my bowels (even if it meant taking a strong laxative) the day before chemo, I did much better. I was very glad I had a port put in. I suggest you start interviewing BS before too long to be sure you have one that's on board with the DBX. When my DH was practicing surgery, insurance was also a problem but I think the guidelines have been relaxed on that now.

We'll all be here cheering you on. I hope your friends, family, and coworkers are as supportive as mine were.