Medical Update,fallout of doing the right thing and why cat sitting is fun...

Its 5: 27 pm

   Its the coldest day of the year so far....zero degrees and a wind chill of -15. Pretty much says it all...its damn cold and we aren't expecting a warm up until next week.

 After a promising start to the 5th chemo,it has taken a fast nose dive. Lori is pretty weak and can't keep anything down this week. We are scheduled for a hydration therapy this Thursday but that can't come fast enough. Despite sleeping for the past 2 days she still has little or no energy and she came home early yesterday because she was feeling so crappy.
  Really just trying to grind this through but I have to be honest,its really rugged now...seeing her in so much discomfort and so scared is a heavy load to handle...just have to keep putting one step in front of the other,one day at a time.
We still managed to get out and go a couple of places,to the local Macy's to exchange a pair of slippers I received on Christmas,return a towel we bought that was just too thin for our tastes and use a 10.00 coupon that Macy's sent us.
   I was trying to get Lori to use the coupon on a new ice scream scoop she has been looking for a while now...


But it turned out she ended up getting me another sweater I really don't need except it was on such a good sale that even I had to admit it was too good to pass up.



The clerk at Macy's was a real saint,she took care of our towel return as well despite that her department was Men's. Normally they want you to return to the department you made your purchases at but with Lori not feeling her best,she went ahead and did the return herself.
  Next we ventured to Randazzo's where we picked up a fresh fruits and veggies plus a couple of pantry items. We decided some homemade soup was just what the doctor ordered so that is what we did. Randazzo's was packed,we have never seen the place so busy and we have shopping there for over 4 years now.



We even had to wait in a line that was 8 to 10 people deep which was actually sorta cool. Most of the cashiers are very fast and so we were through before you knew it.
I unloaded the veggies and pointed the car towards the grocery store where they had a nice sale going on. Picked up a few items and then Lori's energy meter hit empty and we went home.

Once there I got Lori on the couch,warm and comfortable while I unloaded the car and put away the stuff we had gathered. I opened the box of the new heater that her dad has thoughtfully bought us,we had returned the small heater we had tried from one place that didn't really work very well and went ahead and bought a Eden Pure heater.


Talk about a nice heater! This is what we needed for the cold nights in our family room. Once on,this heater can really get a room quite cozy very quickly.Between this heater and the Mary Tyler Moore DVDs that my brother got her for Christmas,it really has help keep her morale up. That is such a key this for a cancer patient,as a caretaker,you have to keep your chin up at all times when you're around a loved one who is sick...if you show any weakness,discouragement or gloom,you can really affect the mood of the patient in a negative way.

   Thank you so much for the kind comments from the last post,Renee,your words meant so much to me. I hope that your daughter wakes up one day and realizes just how lucky she is to have you as a momma. To stand behind her while she battles her drug addiction and mental health issues takes a lot of courage as well. I only pray that you don't let this consume your life,there is a limit on how far you should go before you put yourself in danger. Keep your chin up,both you and your husband!

So the first step of Obama's healthcare reform hit today.



  My job told me today that after next week,no part-time worker will be allowed to work more then 25 hours a week.We won't be allowed to trade for a full shift with a full-time employee. Now mind you,my company prides itself on taking care of its employees. It prides itself on its "core values" and the fact that if we can drive sales,we get a share of the profits twice a year. It values loyalty and honesty.
  But all that was swept away today,they have completely stabbed us in the back and using healthcare reform as the knife. Its complete bullshit what companies are doing,instead of blaming the President of trying to bring affordable healthcare to the American people that the drug,insurance and medical industries refused to do,the companies should practice the free market system themselves....to shop around and see who have the best and most affordable coverage for their employees. Image if a company of 200,000 workers suddenly told Blue Cross or Humana that they were pulling out because their fees were too high and they were taking their business elsewhere,just how fast they would they react to offer the same price? Or if an insurance company told a hospital system that they were no longer covering any patients going there because they think a CT test that cost 12,000 is a obscene amount of money,that the hospital would think twice about its pricing?
  The facts are this,no one is going to willingly stop making money no matter the moral cost,as long as its legal,what doctor,drug maker,insurance company is going to lower costs?
Yes,I am impacted by this reform but I'm not blaming Obama....the pure greed of the healthcare system is beyond appalling and it needs to be checked. For companies not willing to admit that and punish their own employees ...we just took our step towards being a Wal-Mart nation which encourages its workers through low wages,no benefits and hostile work environments to make the social safety net stretch even more.
  Its going to turn this nation into the land of the part-time worker...


   I got to cat sit again last Saturday as our neighbor had a birthday and a funeral to go to. So her cat Crash and I got to chill for a while. We had got him a new food bowl for Christmas as his as was too small and he was scooping the catfood on the floor. Seems that the new bowl is a hit with nary a piece of cat food on the floor...we checked out the new basement layout Marlene had laid out for her son and while I emptied the litter box,Crash meowed and attacked his scratch pad with gusto.
  While I feel I should pay her for letting me cat sit,she disagrees and tonight she dropped off two Slurpees


despite the fact its zero degrees out here!! Talk about a good neighbor!

Caught Scorpion's newest blog and this time he was asking his readers for their Bucket Lists of 2013,as in which celebrity will kick the bucket in 2013. The landslide winner was Lindsay Lohan (I also added the NHL and Lady Gaga's career but those were disqualified...prompting me to attack Ural from India)
George Bush the First was also a popular choice being he has been so ill as of late....but Satan might be pushing for a delay while he still building that special wing for Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. I think George might eek it out til 2014....




I finally got my newest "8 Questions with....." interview back and hopefully I'll be posting that next week....I think it will be a great read and will help kick start me into sending my questions to singer Cat Beach.


Alright,that is all I have for now....


Kerri- thanks!!!!!!
Scorpion - I maybe should have listed the Red Wings on my list
Adrian C- Holy crow! If the Niners win,will you get a Super Bowl Ring??
Jill- thanks for the posting tip....hope it works!
Cliff- Thanks for starting the new group....and I already see you had to put in conduct rules. Not so easy is it? *LOL*

Of Medical Update,Hostess and fun at Busch's Supermarket

Its 7:20 pm on Thursday

   Its a chilly night here in SE Michigan...its around 40 degrees and feels like winter except just like last year,there really has been no real weather to speak of. We had one day of decent rain and last Saturday we spotted our first snowflakes,which I could count on two hands.

  First off,my biggest fear about undergoing a second round of chemo is coming true. This has been far worse then what Lori went through the first time around. And we are meeting new "friends" that we hadn't met before.
   Monday saw us at the local UM infusion clinic for the first time. This is where we went for the last 5 treatments in the first go around and with a little luck,this will be the last go around. She checked in at 9:30 for labs and I joined her at 10:15 am in time for the chemo treatment. The room was pretty full and our favorite nurse Mel (Melanie) was able to not only steer Lori into her section but also place her by the bathroom. This is nice because at having so much liquids pumped into a person,a close bathroom is a must!
   The treatment went by nice and slow,Lori slept once she got her heated blanket and I continued to try and slog through my Martha Grimes mystery novel.
  But I had to work at 4 pm so I had to leave at 2:30pm in order to get ready,Mel said that Lori would be home at 3 pm....3 pm arrives and still no Lori. I knew she had one more I.V. drip to go and maybe they were running a little behind but I had to leave for work so I did.
During my break I was able to call home and Lori was there...she was upset because she had a bad reaction to the chemo. Simply put,she didn't a good breakfast and the chemo upset her stomach so much that she had to vomit. Her blood pressure also spiked high and after slowing the I.V. down,she was able to finish the treatment and get home at 5:30 pm!! Needless to say,I was pretty worried at first but Mel explained that a chemo patient has to eat a good meal before coming in. The clinic has muffins/bagels but those are mostly for the caretakers and not the patients.
  I wrote in a earlier entry about how we ended up at Oakwood Hospital because of a unrinary tract infection. Well Lori shared that with Dr. Johnston,including the mucus discharge. Dr. J said that was actually normal and not to worry too much,some things just have to be allowed to run their course.
 But this week Lori had a hard time in the bathroom,cancer patients often has this problem,this is why they are given stool softeners . This happened the first time as well. but despite going through this doesn't make it any easier.
  To help her system out,she also took Mulax...which opened her up in a big way. Good news,yes? Not all of a sudden that discharge is now looking like her poo. This was very alarming and once again we call the UM and explain was going on. Now we know....its called a "fistula in ano". Basically its a fissure between the rectum and the vagina. It causes fecal matter to come out both the rectum and vagina. Her radiation had weakened the area there and add the constipation,it caused the fistula.
  We will be getting a MRI scheduled where as they'll shoot a dye to track the fissure and schedule a small surgery to try and fix this problem.
  The condition is very painful as it totally irritates the tissue around the vagina. To help out,I had to install a new portable showerhead to help keep the area clean.
  Today has been very quiet,we were going to try and set up Christmas today but she has been too weak,she has almost no energy to speak of. The good news (I know,about time,right?) has been that the Nulasta shot aftereffects have been much better then last time because of a tip Mel gave us....to take a Benedryl BEFORE the shot. This has really helped as far as the pain goes but as far as the energy go....its just not happening.
   I brought down our two little trees only to find that one of the leg stands is AWOL. I have to tell you,this has not been my favorite week! Got one tree plugged in but will have to wait til tomorrow to see if she has enough steam to decorate,otherwise,I will have her direct me. Lord have mercy!

  Saturday saw us doing some Christmas shopping,Macy's was having a 1 day sale and since we had some great coupons,we went there first. The little Westland Mall was booming and that included Macy's. People were everywhere and they were really shopping hard! Its been a while since we have really seen this kind of activity,there were lines at every register!
   We shopped for Lori's folks,her aunt Emma and neice Carol. We also shopped for our neighbor Marlene as we got her a killer chafing dish for great price. We ate lunch at the Lakeshore and noticed that the gourmet foods were also on sale for 50%. As we were looking the clerk said that certain items were off 70% as well...as in a bag of 11.00 coffee was on sale for 5.50 and then take ANOTHER 70% off that plus our coupon....we got 4 bags of great coffee for a buck a bag! Also picked up some Maurice salad dressing and some honey glaze for 3.00 a jar...just an incredible bargain to find. Very grateful to the clerk for sharing the sale with us. When cash is tight its cool to be able to get some great deals,especially at a place like Macy's!
  But the Force was still strong with us (thanks to fellow cancer fighter and Jedi Master Sean!). We saw that a local supermarket chain called Busch's was having a good sale on meat and we need some items for the deep freezer. We stopped at the Livonia store....but was told it was the Plymouth store who was having the sale as they had remodeled the store and were having a re-grand opening. That store was only 10 minutes away and so we headed there.
  Just like the mall,the store was packed with shoppers. Busch's had done it up right with some great deals,sample tables and drawings for huge gift baskets. They had plenty of staff to help guests and everyone was very cheerful. We poked around and got some items and met Norton the Penguin who walking around handing out popsicles.
  We filled out a card apiece for the many baskets there offered as prizes and then headed up to the check-out line. As we did so,a man grabbed my shoulder and said "Stay here,I'm going to give away a pasta strainer pot and you'll have a chance to win. But I need a big crowd." So hey,what the hell,right?
  Soon he had gathered a nice crowd and grabbed a box. He said he was going to write a number between 1-25 on the box and whoever guessed it first would win...I told Lori to guess 12 and I would guess 25....not only Christmas numbers but also Lori's momma's birthday. We then started yelling out numbers....and the man pointed at Lori and 3 other people who had shouted "12".
  He then said he was going to do a tie breaker by writing a number between 1-10. Now while I didn't SEE him write the number,I could see by how his hand moved what he wrote and I yelled "3".
And that was that.....we had won the pasta strainer bowl!.
  We walked outside and saw the first snowflake of the season....and then we headed home.
Sunday morning...I was at work when Busch's called the house...Lori had won one of the gift baskets! How cool was that?
 
Its 2:00 pm on Friday

   Lori is feeling a little better compared to yesterday but is still feeling very crappy. I set up our little Christmas tree and brought up the decrorations . And that is the extent of what I'm allowed to do..she enjoys fixing up the house by herself. Don't know how much energy she'll have but I know she'll give it her all.
  Yesterday was a complete washout for us...I insisted she rest and take it easy. I don't know how she thinks she will be able to go to work feeling like this and having to deal with the fistula-in-ano.
I canceled the trip we were hoping to make to Eastern Market in Detroit,just feel that would be really pushing the limits of her health as of now.
Am going to try and get out to a movie tonight....but again,just not quite sure if that is a good idea or not.
 
Just read that Hostess and their union can't agree to a new deal and that Hostess will be forced to shutdown. Wow....once again the union workers are showing just how stupid and clueless they are. Instead of taking a pay cut,they rather lose thier whole damn company. So now 18,000 workers are going to lose everything in the middle of the holidays and winter. I can't wait til they try and find another job...good luck with that,especially now in this new underemployed normal we are being forced to adjust to. The old days of striking and forcing companies to increase pay and benefits are long gone and if these 18,000 haven't been paying attention to what has been going on....they're going to find out the hard way.
   That said....we picked up a couple of Ding Dongs for the freezer....

Well,that is all I have time for,need to head to the bank and pick up some plumber's tape. Hope whoever dropped by and read this has a great day and leaves a comment or three. Its nice signing in and seeing that someone did take the time to do so.

peace!

Of shopping,yard sales and seeing a good friend

Its 9:32 am

   Looking outside at a hot muggy summer day....we're expected to hit 90 today and tomorrow. Guess that means summer is now in session,right?

Hope everyone is doing well on Father's Day. I chatted with my pops yesterday and he is doing well. We talked about the U.S.Open and how rough it is this year to play on the revamped course. Pops isn't a big Tiger Woods fan so he was pretty happy Tiger faded a bit. His buddy Coke,who is 73,fell and broke his hip this week and is in a rehab center. I told my dad that the recovery time for a broken hip is so much faster these days and if Coke works hard,he'll be back at 'em in a few weeks. After seeing my mother-in-law bounce back so quickly,I know my dad's good buddy can do the same.

   But that wasn't the only medical issue going on this week...seems Lori had developed a nasty rash on her arm that burned and itched like crazy. It also was painful so that led us to think it was a insect bite of some kind. Now because I had been to a dermatologist for a unrelated matter,we decided Lori should go as well.
Because now the rash had spread to her stomach and when you have recently dealt with a serious cancer scare,you don't want to take ANY chances.
 So Friday afternoon,she went and saw the doctor....I was pretty perplexed to say the least,I thought maybe a spider bite or perhaps bedbugs (God forbid) but I had gotten nary a bite or itch.
  Imagine our surprise when we learned that Lori,who had worked on the yard during the week had stumbled across this bugger






Yep,you're looking at your basic poison ivy plant! Now despite living here for 13 years,I didn't know poison ivy grew in Michigan. I have caught a couple of cases myself in California,didn't think it could grow here because of the weather. And it explains why she suddenly started itching like mad on her stomach. Poison Ivy is such a nasty beast. Hot/cold compresses,Benedyl (from my yellowjacket adventure) and calamine lotion are now the order of the day. Its like our yard is getting revenge for last summer lack of love.

But before this was somewhat resolved,we took a road trip to Fairlane Mall in Dearborn. Macy's was having a one day sale and since we also had coupons,well...I know what some of you are saying "Why Fairlane Mall when 12 Oaks or Westland is so much closer"? We needed to go to Garden Ridge as well,we're looking for a larger,heavier patio table and since the two places are close together. Plus,we were going in the middle of the day so the safety factor was high as well.
   I mean,they don't call this place "Scarelane Mall" for nothing,right? We found a good parking spot and went into Macy's. The store was busy,lot of Middle Eastern moms were out with the kids,school had gotten out for the summer and it was a good time to shop for summer/vacation clothes as the prices were really very good.
  We ended up getting 2 new pillows,a food chopper,a father day gift for my dad and a couple of nice shirts for me. It was a very pleasant experience to shop at such a nice store with friendly and professional customer service. The 2 other Macy stores in this area could learn a thing or 3 about helping guests from the Dearborn store.
   

We said goodbye to Macy's and headed on over to Garden Ridge. Now I have wrote about this store before,its a poor man's Menards/HomeDepot/Party City. We do find good deals here but the place is such a hot ghetto mess its hard to stay in there and shop. Last time we were there,I ended up sweeping up 2 broken plates that had been there for a while,they didn't have enough staff to spare anyone to handle it. Its always a "hold your breath,dash in and out"type of place...
  But wow....were we pleasantly (again) surprised this time! The store was in perfect order and there was a army of workers this time and everyone of them was doing something! This put us at ease and we were able to shop comfortably...but this came at a cost as the prices were higher then before. Of course this being the start of summer and demand being high for summer items,it makes sense,right?
  We walked to the table section and while we saw the perfect table,it was sold out. Now Garden Ridge is sort of like a Dollar Tree,its a "first come,first serve" type of store. You can't find out when the next shipment is due and you can't special order either.




  Now if the store was close to us,this wouldn't be a real problem. But being about 16-18 miles away,its not worth the crapshoot to see if the table is there or not. So back to square one....we'll be looking at stores closer to home for the table. Sort of a shame actually because we really liked the idea of buying from Garden Ridge.
 
   Headed back home to help our neighbor set up her yard sale. We had agreed to to co-host the sale except for one small item. We really didn't have anything to sell! After our yard sale last year,we donated what we didn't sell to the local Goodwill Store. And we have always donate old magazines/books to the Purple Heart guys who call us every six weeks or so...we just didn't have anything!
  But I walked over in time to set up the sale,the neighbor's son,Dylan,was sorting out his Yu-Gi-Oh cards to sell. Now that is one of the few things I did and was going to put out. I have a lot of cards and don't really need so many so it made sense. His mom said he was going to sell his cards for 12 cards for a buck. I thought that fair but I also told her he should hang on to his 1st Edition cards as finally they are starting to gain value. When I read that cards from the first booster set "Legend of Blues Eyes" were worth 50 and 60 bucks apiece,I was pretty stunned.




I went to help sort out his cards and my heart sank when I saw the condition of them. They were in pretty bad shape as far as collectors would look at and even the most casual players probably would pass on them. I still helped sort them out but I told him his mom I wouldn't being mine down...mine are in mint condition and he wouldn't make a dime. I grabbed a few old video games,the light fixture I wrote about in my last blog and a few other things. Lori went over and helped organized the tables. 30 minutes later I came out to carry the stuff over only to see my lovely wife carrying a armful of stuff BACK to the house! Seems like she was the first shopper and bought some very good items,including a brand new Wilton cookie sheet for 3.00! Hard to beat that deal! I had to laugh at that and helped set out our items on the table. Dylan came out and said he wasn't selling his cards after all and I could bring over mine if I wanted to. I went ahead and did so...and he promptly bought 36 cards! I showed his mom the condition of my cards and she said "thank you" for thinking of her son's feelings.I offered to buy her cat,Crash,but was told "no!!!".
   Yesterday was a peaceful day. Spent it puttering around the house....cleaning up,doing light chores and then checking in at the yard sale. So I'm standing there talking to our neighbor's sister who is now helping run the sale. I see a young couple who are debating buy this very cool looking candle holder...so I chip in with "That would look very nice on a kitchen table". They chat a little more and then buy it. As they start walking out,the man stops and says "You're Michael,right?" I said "Yes...I am". He says "You need a haircut" It took me a second to register that and then  it hit me ....it was Sharif! Before the group became "The Inner Circle" and evolved into this blog,I started the group to help support my friend Sharif,whom I met at the place I get my hair cut at. He had joined the National Guard and was deployed to Iraq as a mechanic but volunteered to serve as a gunner in convoy security. He spent a year there and thank God,saw no action and never had to fire his weapon in battle.
   But after he got back last year he deactivated his FB page and I lost contact. So it was just awesome to run across Sharif like that...he looked great and the young lady was his sister who was helping him shop for his new place in Westland. He shared some stories with me about Iraq,some good,some pretty bad. He invited me over for a poker night once he gets into his new place. Not only did he buy the candle holder but also Lori's vase that she hated. Except they did it BEFORE I saw him....
 


Not the actual vase but you can an idea how UGLY it was.....but as the saying goes "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

   Saturday evening saw me head back over to help break down the yard sale,we folded tables and cleaned the garage enough so that my neighbor could park her car. Her sale was a major coup as she made 500.00! We didn't do too shabby consider how little we chipped in....we made 22.00 that is going to a new chair that we are still looking for. Dylan helped me carry our stuff back and I gave him a card he was looking for.
 Lori came home and we zipped over to Aldi's for a few items that we needed. But now I need to wrap this up because I have 2 cats who are flashing massive paws at me and pointing at their mouths....




Guess that means a Petco run!


 Tweets are the funniest things sometimes......and this one from English writer Sarah Pinborough just cracked me up...
"I think I'm getting a cold. That is not in my plans.This is one dull motherfucking tweet".
Way to call oneself out on the carpet there! But we do you feel better Sarah,who needs a cold in the summer?

Rodney King died today,looks like a case of drowning. Sad end to a hard life.

Happy Father's day to all the dads out there.....leaving you a helping of "Your Daily Boo".


New interview with hot designer Evon Cassier coming soon....stay tuned!

Thanks for reading.