I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to hear from me and I bet some of you have been on my blog more than once checking on me. :)

Welllllll.......to start the day off I headed out in the snow and very cold temps in the dark only to "crawl" to the hospital with all the other cars out at that time of the day. Well... because of the snow and slippery conditions I think that the hired help was late getting in. I even made it in before the receptionist in the lab was there. Not quite the routine start that I usually have. Got checked in and waited until they called my name. One stick..... ack.... no good! Couldn't get a blood return.... crap! The lab tech puts a warm compress on my arm in hopes that some big fat vein will appear. ("Have you drank a lot of water?" she says. "It helps to hydrate your veins." What the heck, I am barely awake and breathing at 7 am with only a half a cup of coffee choked down on the ride in. ) She calls for her partner to give it a try. I knew this would be a success as I had this tech last week and she is GOOD! She got an IV line with no problem. I am sent on my way over to the day hospital. When I arrived to my dismay the other 2 people that had their labs drawn are still sitting in the waiting room. Not a good sign when the people ahead of you are still sitting and waiting. I head to the desk to check in. The receptionist here says "Hi Gail, back for another try this week?" Wow! She remembered who I am and that means that I have been there way too much if she now recognized me. LOL I plant my butt in a chair furthest away from the floor to ceiling windows that make up the entire outside wall of this building and they are no longer heating because of the budget cuts(that's a joke but could be true haha). The time is 8:05 am. Time passes, my hands and feet are no frozen solid and I get up to walk around and get my circulation going. The receptionist is talking to a co-worker about how cold it is. I mention that I feel like an ice cube and she runs to get me a warm blanket. Love those warm blankets! At 9:20 I hear my name. A nurse is headed my way with papers in her hand. "Is it a go?" I ask. "Yes" she says. YES!!!! YES!!! YES!!!!
I want to do cartwheels in the waiting room and give the nurse a hug I am so happy. I feel like I am on cloud nine heading in to get my toxic drug treatment. Now tell me if that isn't crazy I don't know what is!!!!!! All of a sudden I had 3 text messages from various friends wondering what is going on, one of them was "please tell me you are having chemo right now!" (one my "sisters" checking in on me.)My treatment was quick and painless. I left the day hospital at 11:30 and headed over to see my friend Connie at Small Stones who was working. She was almost excited as me that I was able to have chemo. (us "sisters" have this common bond. We understand each other like no one else. One of the blessings I have found in this journey--"sisters.") I stopped for lunch (I won't say what is was. I was ravenous having not eaten breakfast. It wasn't the most healthy but I will blame that on the steroids making me so hungry). Nap time for me! I am feeling great now! Just incredibly thankful and happy that I was able to get through another chapter.
ONE MORE TO GO!!!!! WHOOHOOOO! YIPPPEEEE!!!!!! Stay tuned for more updates. Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes!

Crazzzzyyyyy!

"What is wrong with me?" "Why do I feel like this?" "I'm going crazzzzy now!"

These are the words from a song called Disturbia that I like to listen to, not because of the words but because of the upbeat music. I actually have to smile when I hear those words because sometimes I am going crazy during all of this. LOL

January 12th was my 4-month anniversary! My surgery anniversary. Since my diagnosis I have been to a hospital/dr's office 30 times, been in the hospital 11 days and have had 3 surgeries. I have seen over 35 different doctors both in and out of the hospital (that includes residents and interns), I have had 2 of 4 chemo treatments, 2 treatments were discontinued because of an allergy to the chemo drugs, 2 treatments were canceled due to low white blood cell counts. My bill from the hospital for my physician charges is 10 pages long. I get at least 2-3 mailings from my insurance company daily. I have made friends with the pharmacist at Target who knows me by name. My hair has fallen out, grown back some and fallen out again. I have not shaved my legs or arms in over 2 months. I love my recliner. My eyelashes are falling out. I have tried more drugs in the past 4 months than in my whole lifetime. I have to carry a yearly pocket planner now. I have my doctors numbers programmed into my cell phone. I haven't gone to get my hair cut in months. I look forward to the mocha coffee from the coffee dispenser at the Breast Care Clinic. I now only have to wash my hair/wig every other week. I have had more needle sticks than I can count. I can now find my way around the clinical cancer center without asking. Some of the nurses at the day hospital know me by name. I have yet to wear a bra since my surgery. My head gets cold at night. I have had more stitches than I care to think about. I have 2 more surgeries to look forward to until my reconstruction is complete. I have cried, I have laughed and I have screamed!!! Crazy you say! Ahhhhhh yes, some days I can say I am!

My Project 365 kit arrived on Friday. The above photo is the photo I snapped today on my way to work. I sort of feel like I am on that train track going on and on and on. I think this project will get me to be more creative in my picture taking. So far I have been keeping up on a daily basis. Some days I don't think I have anything to take a photo of but then something comes to me. I am enjoying doing this so far. It is a nice distraction for me!

We are expecting some snow tonight with below zero weather coming up later this week. My kids are planning on a "cold day" from school. I laughed when I heard this from my daughter but then my son came home from school and said the same thing. The teachers are talking about having a day off of school because of the cold. Honestly! They have more days off from school than I have ever seen. Keep them in school with less time off and they will get out before June. LOL

Two more days (but who is counting) until my lab work!