Gettin' Things Done At Home

I have been organizing my pictures. I looked through all my photo albums and scrap books (I have way too many) and now I have to put all my loose pictures in picture boxes. I'm not putting them in albums any more since they take up too much space. I bought picture boxes and have them labeled. This is going to take a day or two since I have lots of pictures. I know most people just have their pictures on their computers (and I do also) but I like to have hard copies of some of my pictures. I like looking at them and I think the kids will enjoy looking at them later in their lives. I have albums for each of the grandkids.

I've been at home the last couple of days, other than grocery shopping. It is nice to get some odds and ends taken care of around here. I made reservations to go to Seaside in a couple of weeks with Amy and Carolyn. We went there last year and had so much fun. We like to shop and they have the outlet mall there. Plus, I like the down town area of Seaside. They have really improved it. We always go out to eat and hope to go to a movie this time. We ran out of time last year when we were there. And, boy, are there a lot of good movies to see now. Did you watch the Academy Awards? The review in the Oregonian wasn't very good but I liked them. Haven't seen any of the movies but still liked looking at all the good looking people and the previews of the movies.

My primary doctor sent me an email over the weekend (can you believe he works on Saturday?!) and said that he wants me to start taking a B-12 vitamin because he thinks it might help my red blood cell count. I knew my white count and platelets were low but didn't know that my red blood cell count is also dropping. I have been a little more tired lately, which I absolutely hate. I am also having minor headaches, so hopefully, the B-12 vitamin will help. It is sure worth a try.

Tomorrow we are going to Newberg for Kyle's basketball party. It is going to be at Scott and Julie's house. We are anxious to see the kids. We will stay all night and then I will go to my support group meeting on Wednesday. Julie and I are going to meet Shauna and her friend, Paris, after class. They haven't met Julie and I haven't met Paris. So I am looking forward to that.

Denny is going skiing on Thursday and I haven't decided what I am going to do. .

Hope all of you have a great week. It's raining again. Darn.

Love to you all,

JO

Basketball & Appointments

We had a great weekend. Kyle had a basketball tournament in Aloha. They lost two games and won one. Kyle played great and is getting so much better with each game. He is really playing aggressively and was high point man in two games.

Tori stayed all night with us on Saturday night and we had tons of fun. It seems like we don't get to have the kids here as much as we would like to since they are both involved in so many activities.

Tuesday I had my eyes checked and there wasn't much of a change from last year. That night we went to watch the Roosevelt girl's basketball team play. Steve Duin, a writer for the Oregonian, wrote an article stating that no one ever goes to watch their games and they have lost 18 consecutive games. Well, they didn't win but they played their best game ever and only lost by two points. There were 1,600 people there cheering for them! I am sure it was a once in a lifetime experience for all the Roosevelt girls.

Today I had my yearly physical. I am pleased that my cholesterol is good and has improved from last year. All my blood work was good except for my white blood cell count and platelets. Both have dropped even more. I will have them checked next month to see if they continue to drop. I had a tetanus shot and made an appointment for my mammogram. I then went to my support group meeting and then had my port flushed this afternoon.

Tomorrow I am meeting Amy and Carolyn for some serious shopping and we are meeting Eileen and Julie for lunch at Little Cooper's Town in Hillsboro.

Hope all of you are having a great week. It is suppose to be 60 degrees on Friday so get out and enjoy it. We might go for a Harley ride. Haven't ridden it since last summer.

Love to you all,

JO

Cruise and Update

OMG. I can't believe it has been so long since I have written on my Blog. We have been busy, as usual. I recently had a CT scan, blood tests and an appointment with my oncologist. At the bottom of this posting I will attach a copy of the update I sent out to people telling them about my results.

Our cruise to the Western Caribbean was fun. We went on the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship. It had free style dining, which we thought we would like but every time we went to dinner, we had to wait 30 - 60 minutes. The food was just so-so. The entertainment was awful. But the ship was really nice and we loved our suite.

The weather was a little cool about four days. We didn't like Roatan (Honduras) or Belize. The children of Roatan held up this sign as our ship was leaving.

We liked Cozumel. We were suppose to go to a private island but the weather was too bad so we went to Key West, which was nice. Our cruise ship took off from Miami so when we returned there after our cruise, we went on an excursion to the Everglades on an air boat and saw lots of alligators.

We went on the cruise with our friends, Jan and Dick and Lynne and Bill. Jan and Lynne are the gals I go to Reno with each year.Denny and I didn't have any formal pictures taken on this cruise and I kind of regret it. This is the only one we had taken of ourselves.Last night we went to Arlington to watch Justin coach his varsity Echo boy's basketball team. They won. Today we went to Kyle's basketball tournament in Aloha. They lost and will play two more games tomorrow. Kyle played great. Tori came home with us and Kyle went to one of the other player's house to spend the night. She just beat me bowling on our Wii.

Here is the update I sent out:

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Hi Everyone:

It has been a while since I sent out an update so I thought I would let you know what is going on. I met with my oncologist on Monday. She said my recent CT scan was good. It doesn't show any signs of cancer. This is amazing since I have a "triple-negative" cancer, which is considered a fast growing and aggressive cancer. I think that is why the first two oncologists I met with, when I was first diagnosed, didn't even suggest any treatments for me. Guess I showed them!

The problem now is with my blood. My white blood cells and platelets are continuing to drop. There isn't any reason for this since I am not on any drugs or having any treatments. I had a bone marrow biopsy three months ago, in hopes of finding out what is causing the drops. But nothing showed up...................that's good and bad. So I will continue to have my blood tested every month and will have another bone marrow biopsy (my favorite procedure) in three months. Denny said he will take meds before watching it, even if I don't take any! My oncologist is looking for Myelodysplasia, which is when your bone marrow makes abnormal cells. The symptoms are excessive bruising and weight loss. Duh................don't have those! I think I am an unusual case for my oncologist because I don't seem to "follow the rules." I have lots of energy and think I look okay so I am not exhibiting the signs of someone with Myelodysplasia or any other cancer of the blood. With my low counts, I need to be careful about being around sick people and getting a bacterial infection, since my body might have a tough time fighting it. But, I am around sick people occasionally and don't seem to get sick and when I had a cold recently, it only took me 3 days to get over it. I think my body is stronger than my blood counts are showing. As my granddaughter would say, "Grandma is one tough chick!" So I will continue to have my blood tested monthly, have a bone marrow biopsy in 3 months and will have another CT scan in 4-6 months.

Now on to some fun stuff...............We just got home from a Caribbean cruise with friends. 'Had a great time. Today is our 44th wedding anniversary and we are driving to Arlington tonight to watch Justin coach his basketball team. This weekend we will be watching Kyle play in his basketball tournament in Aloha. I am signed up to participate in the Shamrock Run next month with Julie and Lori. We are looking forward to having fun with the kids during spring break. Might also go skiing at Anthony Lakes near Baker next month. I am helping plan our 45th class reunion which will be in September. As you can see, I am not slowing down and am keeping busy. I just don't have time for cancer in my life right now so I'm planning on continuing to do fun things with my family and friends.

I want to thank all of you for your continued support, friendship and love. I know one of the reasons I am doing so well is because of all of you.

Happy Valentine's Day..........

Love to you all,

JO