Top Ten Reasons You May Want to Go Bald...

First of all...I don't know why I'm having such trouble lately with this layout, but I spend a great deal of time going over it and the blog is just squeezing it all together :( Sorry! If you're considering cutting your hair, you may want to read over the ten top reasons I feel that you should go bald instead... (10.) You never have bad hair days! (9.) Never have to worry about covering up the gray! (8.) Save money by using absolutely no hair care products whatsoever (7.) No more bed head (6.) No more hat head (5.) You can put the top down on the convertible without worrying about your hair (4.) No more tangles (3.) No more brushes or combs (2.) You can look like Demi Moore in G.I. Jane! And the top reason for shaving your head...(drum role please)... (1.) You can leave the house with just a little lipstick and sunscreen! Here's to another beautiful day out there! Don't forget your lipstick and sunscreen :) Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Frustration...

John and I went out to lunch with my sister-in-law Monica today and had a wonderful time. I wish I had "moments" like that all day, instead they're scattered throughout my week. When we got home I guess my stomach thought I'd overdone it and decided to bring my lunch right back up :( What a waste of money! If only we could get refunded whenever that happened! But just spending some quality time with Monica was well worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The other day I got a notice in the mail from EDD saying that they were giving me my final SDI check because they had been informed that I was no longer disabled. WTF?! Excuse the expression, but are you kidding me? They were kind enough to include a page stating that if this was perhaps not the case, that my doctor would have to fill out this form and turn it back in. As if that's not enough, we're trying to figure out the paperwork for Disability Retirement and if you've ever done that before, you know what a huge headache it is. It's not just a little form to fill out, it's doctor's forms, work forms, tons of questions relating to beneficiaries, etc. and it's SO confusing. We're going to walk into CalPers and hopefully they'll be able to help us with all of our questions. Just because I go and get this horrible disease and cannot work as much as they want me to I have no choice but to be out on a Medical Leave of Absence (MLOA). Well, in order to pay for my benefits (which I obviously need) they're "loaning" me money by setting up an Accounts Receivable at work. When my MLOA is over, then I'll have to pay it all back! Since we're not made of money and there's no way I can just continue on like that, we've decided to go with the Disability Retirement option. Of course they don't make anything easy and now I've got this crap to deal with. I'm sorry, I'm just a little frustrated at this point. I'm not the one who ever wanted to stop working in the first place and now it's as if I'm being punished for having cancer :( Not fair. Okay, I'm finished. No more whining. Together we'll figure it out and get the paperwork filled out and turned in. But in the meantime, if anyone happens to have a magic wand, I would love to borrow it :) Peace to you ♥ Love, Genie

No More Bad Hair Days...

As I was showering yesterday clumps of hair were in piles at my feet. I new that it would be my last day with hair (at least for awhile). Sheryl's hairdresser has offered to shave my head today, which is so much easier than waiting for it to just fall out. Besides, it falls out in bunches, leaving patches all over my scalp...not pretty. After I got dressed I went in to take a comb to my hair and there was a part sticking straight up, so what did I do? Just pulled it out :) that was the solution.

I keep reminding myself that no hair is so much easier than dealing with haircuts, dye jobs, and the cost of haircare products. And besides that, you never have bad hair days!

Peace to you all ~ Love, Genie

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Potomac Pl,Gilroy,United States

The Cather's Inn...

We came down to Gilroy last night to spend a few days with my brother Jeff and his family. It's literally like staying at the "Cather's Inn" when we come to visit, it's purely rest and relaxation :) Besides the comfort of their beautiful home, Sheryl is an amazing cook and they feed us very well.

This morning I was going to accompany Sheryl to her hair appointment and I was supposed to be ready by 8:30, but unfortunately I was in a lot of pain in the early morning and automatically turned off my alarm clock when I got up to take meds. What a bummer, I was really looking forward to some girl time with my sister-in-law. Although my hair is about to fall out, I was going to have a nice shampoo :)

I'm using Jeff's iPad right now and I must say it's pretty damn cool! To be able to sit anywhere and blog without having to use a computer or laptop is amazing...I'm a HUGE fan. And to think of all the other features it has on it (video chat, internet, app store, etc) this is pretty incredible. There you go Jeff, a nice plug for you! My brother happens to work @ Apple :)

Well, that's all for now. Who knows, I may even post again while we're here.

Peace to you all ~ Love, Genie

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Potomac Pl,Gilroy,United States

Another Gloomy Day...

I just wiped the speckles of barf from my glasses, boy what a life. Feeling like crap, been sleeping for over a week. When I'm not sleeping, I'm throwing up. UGH!! Yesterday Luanne asked for Dr. Hui's number because she knows there are more meds out there to help me through this tough time and she's determined to get them for me. Thank you Luanne, I honestly don't know what I'd do without a friend like you.

I haven't lost my hair yet, but I'm expecting it to fall out very soon. The nurse during chemo said it would be 14 days afterwards and it's been 9, so I still have a few days, although I know that was just an estimate. I plan to get started on the video taping this coming week (during which John will be on vacation and can help me) and I should still have hair. It's important for me to capture the "before" so that I look normal in the beginning of the taping. Since I have no idea if my hair will come back or when, I want to get some footage in soon.

Well, off to eat some beef broth for lunch in hopes to keep it down. I doubt it, but there's still hope. I will always have hope, prayers, and a whole lot of love.

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Here We Go Again...

Today I started on a new chemotherapy (treatment #46) and it'll be one week on, two weeks off. Along with the new schedule, come a list of new side effects, most of which I've already dealt with. I was warned, however, that I'll be losing my hair in about two weeks :( yay. They also warned me that I would be experiencing more nausea and vomiting than ever before. The two new drugs are Adriamycin and Cytoxan. The Adriamycin (also known as AC) is administered as a "push drug", where they actually push the meds into my port by way of a syringe rather than using a "drip" method that I'm used to. The Cytoxan is in the form of a drip. The whole treatment took 2 1/2 hours because they had to give me the Zometa treatment which is administered every 6 weeks for osteoporosis, to keep my bones strong. Without that, my treatment should last about 1 1/2 hours.

As soon as I got home I started to notice that my stomach was a bit uneasy and before I could even find "the bucket" that I usually use, I had projectile vomiting...in the garage! Luckily, the cat box was close by and so I proceeded to stand there and finish up. I'm sure glad there wasn't a cat occupying it at the time! Boy, this is going to be fun!

That's it for now :)

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie

Feeling Much Better...

Yesterday was Jordan's talent show for school and it blew John and I away. That was not the "depressed" girl we've been dealing with lately up on that stage. She was incredible!! Not only was she the emcee for the show, but she had three acts and she was one of the judges for another couple acts. Needless to say, she was very involved in the show and even was given a bouquet of flowers at the end for her efforts. We are so proud of her, she did an amazing job. Apparently she wrote the entire show (and supplied the students with scripts)! We had no idea she was doing all of that, it's no wonder she feels overwhelmed at times!! Duh!!

As for me...I'm doing much better. The pain in my chest has subsided and my hip has even gotten better. It's not all better, don't get me wrong, but it's improved. I'm still on pain meds, but it's been scaled down, and I haven't vomited in a couple weeks. I go see Dr. Hui tomorrow and will probably start on a new chemotherapy within the next couple days. Who knows if I will lose my hair again, but as Luanne has always said, "at least you know it's working if you lose your hair"! So...in that case, I'm looking forward to wearing hats again :)

Another thing that I'm dealing with, is the fact that apparently I'm not working enough these days to cover my health insurance (which is VERY frightening) and so I was given the choice to either (a) work a minimum of 40 hours in a month, (b) go out on a medical leave of absence, or (c) go out on a disability retirement. I was devastated!! First of all, although 40 hours seems like a piece of cake (and it used to be), it's very difficult for me to do that nowadays. I can barely get in 6-8 hours a week, let alone 10 and if I can't for some reason make it in, I would be behind in hours and wouldn't be able to make them up. Because of chemo, it limits a lot of my time (due to the treatment, the downtime, etc.). So John and I spoke about it and decided that I would probably go out on a medical leave of absence and I called work to tell the timekeeper my decision. Well, apparently, the person who works in HR who knows all about that and who can answer all of the questions that I had, works limited hours and won't be back until Tuesday. So...we have to wait until Tuesday to get this rolling and then I will feel much better, just knowing that my insurance is no longer at risk.

Well, I wish you all a very happy day. Enjoy your Sunday!!

Peace to you all ♥ Love, Genie