Getting Excited!!

I am getting very excited about the baby. The "big" 20 week sonogram is on October 17th. I am going to go to Little Rock, Arkansas to see it. I am going to fly down on the 16th, stay overnight, see the sonogram and fly back. There are no direct flights from any of the New York airports to Little Rock. This means you have to change planes somewhere. The best airfares have you changing planes two or three times, but that is too much for me even if it is a big savings. I am still seeking out the airfare, stealthily checking various sites at all hours of the day and night. This method has worked for me in the past so I am hoping it works again.

My stepmother Betty has shingles. She is in a ton of pain. I went over there yesterday so she could go to the doctor. They confirmed it was shingles and gave her an anti-viral and pain medication. She is currently having very severe flu-like symptoms, fever and bad nerve pain. Of course this disease is stress induced. Her stress level is super high. If you can get the shot for this I would suggest it, it is a terrible illness. I called my pediatrician immediately because someone who has not yet has chicken pox can get the chicken pox from someone with shingles. She cannot transmit the shingles to anyone who has had chicken pox. In that case the disease is already dormant in your body. Julianna has not had chicken pox and her whole immunization schedule was disrupted, first because she was a preemie and needed RSV shots and then because I was having chemotherapy and she was not allowed to have any vaccines during that time due to the extreme immunosuppression from the chemotherapy.

We went to the pediatrician this morning and it turns out she actually had the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine right before I was diagnosed with the breast cancer. Score! But they did give her her last hepatitis B vaccine and a flu vaccine. She was a trooper as usual and we are finally all caught up with all shots. I wanted her to get caught up for her health as well as the new baby's health.

Tierney is super busy but she is feeling good. It is amazing that we are almost half way there!

Good News!

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
 ~ Henry David Thoreau


I had my MRI. I had an appointment for Thursday at 7:30 am in the Nassau Radiology (NRAD) Garden City office. Just as I was about to pull in the parking lot they called me and asked me to go to the Woodbury office instead due to some problem with the machine. So off I went to Woodbury in the heavy Long Island morning rush hour traffic. I got there and there was a wait due to them moving everyone around. The MRI tech marked the spot on my clavicle by taping vitamin E capsules to the spot. The MRI took about 40 minutes. It was super loud and they put a head immobilizer on me right before they slid me into the tube. I was happy to get out of there.

I went back to work after it. I had to give a lecture and just as I was walking out of it my cell phone rang. It was Desiree from Dr. Citron's office to tell me that the MRI was negative. They don't know why it is swollen and tender but its not cancer. Big relief!! That is an area where breast cancer often goes. I don't know why it is swollen either but a few weeks ago I had an incident where my elbow swelled up. It was very swollen, red and hot. I had not injured it as far as I knew. I went to the orthopedist and they said it was infectious bursitis. They put me on an antibiotic and antiinflammatories and it went away, but it took awhile to go away. So now I am wondering if the two things have anything to do with each other. I do not know but I am just happy it is not cancer.

I like to think I beat the cancer but it does creep in to mess with my head. Just when everything is great it seems like it creeps in to remind me, "not so fast, I can take it all anytime." I don't let it take me over. I really do my best not to think about it too much but sometimes there is no choice but to think about it. It does remind me about how lucky I am and how grateful I am for everything in my life.

Good Things and Bad

Tierney is feeling good. The baby is getting bigger. I am going to try to get to Arkansas for the 20 week sonogram.

I went to Dr. Citron, my oncologist, yesterday. I have some pain to my right clavicle that has been bothering me for about a month. He said it does appear to be inflamed there and is sending me for an MRI. He said it could be an inflamed sterno-clavicular joint. Of course they never tell you what else it could be.  But I already know that. They can't do the MRI until Thursday due to having to wait for insurance approval. Then I will have to wait for the results. I hate waiting for these tests, it is torture.

My Dad's Alzheimer's disease is progressing. Betty has been considering a nursing home. While that is probably a good idea it is very tough. He has been getting harder ans harder to care for which is what led to that decision. So she got to the point of making that decision and suddenly he started to get easier. It is like he knows and doesn't want to leave. I had him on Friday. I took him to lunch and for a drive. Then I got a pizza and picked up Julianna and we all ate together. He really was easier. It was hard to believe. We are still going to check into places so we are ready but for now it is on hold. I was happy that we got to have such an enjoyable visit.

All these things going on help me to put things into perspective. What matters, what doesn't. Julianna is involved in a lot of activities and I love watching her discover new things. She is such a happy little girl!