Chemo Round One, Day 3. Things it would be fun to do on a sunny day in Portland, except that it is supposed to be 100 degrees today. It was 103 degrees yesterday! Three cheers for the window unit!

Chemo Round One, Day 3. So far, so good. No nausea. No other side effects, really, except for feeling a bit achy, sort of like I have a teensy bit of the flu. I am hoping this continues throughout the day. Rachel, Leland's girlfriend, brought over a delicious beef barley stew that she cooked at home, some fresh blueberries, and then made some zucchini bites in my kitchen, from a recipe in the What to Eat During Cancer Treatment book that Julie from work loaned to me. They were delish, too!



Eating watermelon with Mama over where my sons live in Southeast Portland, like this we enjoyed one Labor Day weekend.



Eating a plate like this, over at the guys, one Memorial Day weekend. Those sons of mine can cook! Mama made the deviled eggs, but before she died those little beauties became my contribution since her stamina waned over the years.



Eating a plate like this, over at the guys, one 4th of July! See what I mean about those sons of mine and cooking! We moved here in June, 2006, and didn't cook a holiday meal until Thanksgiving, 2010. Those sweet sons of mine treated us every single time!

Anyway, Rachel's taken such good care of me that in a little while I think I'll take a short nap in the recliner. Oh, I ate all of that good food she made without even thinking of taking a photo of it--I was that hungry. Every bite tasted tasted just right!

Chemo Round One, Day 2. Three cheers for the window unit and the anti-nausea meds!

I slept from 11:30 until 4 a.m. When I woke up, I was hungry. I toasted a King Hawaiian bun--there really is very little Land o' Lakes butter on that bun, I have no idea why it looks so shiny--put a few blueberries, grapes and cherries with it on my sunny yellow salad plate, filled up my cup with hot Twinings English Breakfast Tea and my mug with 28 ounces of water. Before I took this photo, I ate two bites of half of the bun. Between 4:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., I ate the rest of this, interspersed with napping in the recliner and talking on the phone with Lamont to be certain that I understood my meds' schedule for Day 2. I believe I finally have it straight and have entered correct reminders in my phone in case I'm napping. I want to take those anti-nausea ones on schedule since I'm getting ready for Day 3 which could be the day that I get hit with nausea, etc.



I was told yesterday to not go out in the sun without sunblock. Since we are supposed to get to 100 degrees, or at least close to it, today, I will not be wasting any sunblock just to get in some walking. I have a great place to walk indoors, through the hallways and up the various carpeted stairs. Here's a photo looking down onto my apartment's windows, to the left. You can see my splendid window unit in place and doing its wonderful thing for my little studio. Three cheers for the window unit! When I took this photo at 8:34 a.m., I checked the weather app--it was 73 degrees.



I walked through that multi-glass-paned door, across this landing and explored the hallways off it. Then I took this photo so that you could get an idea of how great a place I have for indoor walking, with carpet and stairs and handrails almost everywhere. My window unit is peeking through the bottom right corner of the rightmost window. Three cheers for the window unit!



One more photo from the landing before I explored some more. You can see someone who lives upstairs from me has a window unit. I also know that the people who live next to me, as you look to your right, have a window unit. They also have a darling little pug named Charlotte. Their window unit is not visible in the photo, like mine and my upstairs neighbor's. Three cheers for all of these window units! Not everyone in the building has one, though, so I hope all of them have lots of fans and/or shade from trees to help them out during these continuous days of mid-90s.



This is the first floor vestibule--the sun coming through the front door makes a sort of church-window-like impression on the tile floor. I like this vestibule a whole lot, especially that brown bench on the left which is a great place to sit for spell if one is spent, energy-wise. I had plenty of energy and walked through the multi-glass-paned door and up the five stairs you can sort of see through it, at least the white-painted wood not covered by the carpet on each step. I walked up and down my hallway and decided to go out onto the completely shaded sidewalk. I had my keys with me, of course, so I knew that I could get back inside without getting into the sunshine.



Shade to the west.



Shade to the east. Outside that gate I could go either across the street to Albertina Kerr and its rose gardens, or I could sit in my aluminum folding chair. Not doing any of that today unless it is after sundown which is supposed to happen at 8:43 p.m. I'm going to set a reminder on my phone to check it out then, sunwise, especially if I'm going stir crazy in here. Who knows, I might get up early again tomorrow and feel like going out for a bit before sunrise. I imagine it will be close to when it came up today at 5:53 a.m.



I walked east and into the other building in my little apartment complex, straight through it to its front entrance that faces south. I looked out and realized that I could go out there for a short walk in shade. Hooray!



When I reached the top of the stairs, I realized I was going to be holding onto that handrail because these are a bit steep.



Here's the side entrance to my building which I use very often. I like the gate's shadow on the sidewalk. I could tell that it was pretty warm already out there and believe the weather man's report about what we will have here today. As I'm typing two and a half hours after I took these photos, it is already 82 degrees.



I walked in the grass beneath the trees as far as I dared go and was able to at least see Albertina Kerr's building and that massive and well-tended hedge around the front yard. I turned around and walked into my building through the side entrance. I'd have been foolish to have continued up the sidewalk and in through the front entrance which is to the right, off that sidewalk beside the street. I don't want to tempt fate where any possible chemo side effects are involved. So far, so good, y'all! Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.

Dexamethasone, also known as Decadron, one of my pre-chemo drugs. Whew.

Well, y'all, thanks to the pre-chemo drugs, a fine infusion nurse and her compadres. plus the Oncology Pharmacy, all located at Kaiser Oncology Center, I made it through Round One of Chemotherapy. Not without a bit of excitement, well, two bits.

About the first bit of excitement. That drug dexamethasone, whew, was I ever flyin' for hours today! I followed the directions to take five 4 mg tablets of it with supper last night and five more this morning with breakfast, two hours prior to my appointment start time, as directed because it was at least two hours prior to the start of the infusion.

Last night once I got still , I fell asleep, several times--thank goodness--no flying at all.

Today, within an hour of swallowing that last five, I was in the car with Lamont, flying at full speed and talking like a real-life-motor-mouth, causing him to say, "Mom, if you don't slow down . . ." So, I'd take a breath and slow down, for a teensy bit of time. This happened off and on all day, except when I listened to my nurses and my pharmacist and answered their questions. At least, I think I managed to be calmer when talking with them. At least Lamont didn't have to say, "Mom, if you don't slow down . . . " 

The other bit of excitement involved the first chemo, a bag filled with paclitaxel. As I said, I took the dexamethasone, plus cetirizine and famotidine, in order to deal with possible side effects from it.

None of those drugs was supposed to help the only side effect I experienced.

You see, they drip paclitaxel into you very slowly for a set number of minutes, take your blood pressure, repeat with an increase in the number of drops, etc. About the time that they decided I could handle maybe the third increase in the number of drops, my blood pressure said, "Nope."

It wasn't dangerous as in the actual blood pressure numbers, it was concerning in that it kept creeping up. So, it was decided to decrease the dosage again and again until my blood pressure went down. That worked very well! Except doing that meant way more time spent with that bag on the pole, trying to empty it contents into me. So, we were at the center for over 8 hours, from the moment we got there early for check in until I was disconnected from my IV and sent on my merry way.

It was on that merry way when one more ditzy dexamethasone episode took place. I wanted to go with Lamont to Cha Cha Cha which I was certain was on Mississippi, but we finally found on N. Williams. I wanted to eat some real food and I realized we were close to the restaurant I had gone to in June with Leland.

I just knew that I remembered where it was and what I had eaten, but was I ever wrong. I couldn't concentrate enough to type words correctly on my phone to help us find the restaurant once we realized that I hadn't remembered the right street. Finally I got enough into the phone to get the correct street, then we found it!

Once inside, I couldn't find the fantastic burrito on the menu that I was certain that I'd eaten there in June with Leland. Well, at least I couldn't concentrate enough on the menu to figure it out.



So, I order what I thought it was, a Big Mama Enchilada--sounded right to me since I love that word Mama and I thought the ingredients sounded right--that's it above. The food there is always tasty, even when you make a mistake like I did. I ate about a third of it, feeling very normal as long as I wasn't talking. The rest of the enchilada is in the fridge.



Once I had placed my order, I remembered where I could find the photos that I had taken back in June--in a Flickr folder I'd named Food, Cha Cha Cha. (Imagine a head slap of proper proportion once I remembered that--drat you, dexamethasone.) I walked up to the counter and showed it to the waitress, asking, "Is this what I just ordered?" Nope, she very nicely explained, this is a burrito, carnitas with black beans on a wheat tortilla. So, I saved that info in a comment with the photo so that this doesn't happen to me again--there are Cha Cha Cha restaurants all over Portland. No telling when or where I might land at one again. 

We'll see if the chemo side effects show up tomorrow as to whether or not I'll be eating another bite of it. I've got take-home-anti-nausea meds and a calendar created by my Oncology Pharmacist to help me keep up with it--hooray! Friday may be worse than Thursday, so I'll be ready for that, too. I am blessed.

The dexamethasone is wearing off now, as long as I don't talk to anyone--it's been more than16 hours since I swallowed that last five tablets. I've even yawned a few times, so I have great hopes of being able to sleep.

Creative spaces, patterns thereby

Sidewalk diamonds on SW Main, outside the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, looking west.



Looking up at James Carpenter's Spectral Light Dome in Antoinette Hatfield Hall which is the building south of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.



Looking up at the ceiling in the entrance area of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.



Looking up at the ceiling above the theater seating at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.



Looking toward the stage and the ghost light inside the theater at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Seen last week while out and about with Sarah

After we visited Tanner Springs Park last week, Sarah headed for my apartment by crossing the Willamette River on the Broadway Bridge. I haven't paid any attention to the bridge on the rides I've been on with Lamont--the bridge is alongside Interstate Avenue which is the street where Kaiser is located; we've been there quite a bit lately for doctor appointments and blood draws. I will be going on Interstate Avenue to Kaiser a lot between now and probably February, 2016, as I undergo chemotherapy and then radiation therapy.

Seeing these workmen on top of the bridge puts its size in proportion, doesn't it? I mean, we're used to seeing vehicles crossing it, but I've never seen people on it. What a job! When I checked it out at its next-to-largest size, it was easy to see their safety harnesses. Gosh, I remember when my husband used to wear a safety harness, now and then, on his job--he was a construction laborer. Am I ever glad that I didn't witness any of that. Whew.



Here's a 10-second video I shot as we drove out from underneath the cover that protects vehicles while the bridge is being painted.

I read this online: Field work began on June 26, 2015 for a project that will complete the repainting of Multnomah County’s historic Broadway Bridge. The project will repaint the truss structures above the traffic lanes and handrails on three spans: two at the west end and one at the east end. The center spans and the substructure of the entire bridge were repainted in 2004 – 2005.

The bridge was closed to motor vehicles from 7 p.m. on Friday, June 26 until Sunday night, June 28 while the contractor installed traffic control for construction. Two of the four lanes on the bridge will be closed during the work.

F.D. Thomas of Central Point, Oregon, is the general contractor for the $6.9 million project. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2016.

The contractor will remove failed paint from the three spans and apply a new three-coat paint system (featuring the same Broadway Red as the rest of the bridge). After scaffolding is installed, painting will take place within containment structures designed to prevent the release of contaminants. Some steel repairs may also be required where corrosion has occurred. Most work will take place during the day on weekdays.

Traffic Impacts

The contractor plans to keep the two center lanes open to traffic throughout the project, with one lane in each direction. With the two outside lanes closed during most of the project, bridge users will experience some delays, especially at peak commute hours. Other bridge users may want to consider alternate routes to avoid delays. Highlights of the traffic plan include:

The project will shut down Portland Streetcar service across the bridge and to the eastside from June 26 to August 15, 2015 while the contractor paints the area above the center lanes. This will require deactivation of the streetcar’s electrical system. After mid-August, one sidewalk may need to close at times during repainting of the sidewalk handrails. The contractor will keep the other sidewalk open to two-way bicycle and pedestrian traffic. We recommend that large trucks, trailers, campers and buses avoid the bridge during peak travel times to reduce congestion.

After we visited Tanner Springs Park last week, Sarah headed for my apartment by crossing the Willamette River on the Broadway Bridge. I haven't paid any attention to the bridge on the rides I've been on with Lamont--the bridge is alongside Interstate Avenue which is the street where Kaiser is located; we've been there quite a bit lately for doctor appointments and blood draws. I will be going on Interstate Avenue to Kaiser a lot between now and probably February, 2016, as I undergo chemotherapy and then radiation therapy.

Seeing these workmen on top of the bridge puts its size in proportion, doesn't it? I mean, we're used to seeing vehicles crossing it, but I've never seen people on it. What a job! When I checked it out at its next-to-largest size, it was easy to see their safety harnesses. Gosh, I remember when my husband used to wear a safety harness, now and then, on his job--he was a construction laborer. Am I ever glad that I didn't witness any of that. Whew.



Here's a 10-second video I shot as we drove out from underneath the cover that protects vehicles while the bridge is being painted.

I read this online: Field work began on June 26, 2015 for a project that will complete the repainting of Multnomah County’s historic Broadway Bridge. The project will repaint the truss structures above the traffic lanes and handrails on three spans: two at the west end and one at the east end. The center spans and the substructure of the entire bridge were repainted in 2004 – 2005.

The bridge was closed to motor vehicles from 7 p.m. on Friday, June 26 until Sunday night, June 28 while the contractor installed traffic control for construction. Two of the four lanes on the bridge will be closed during the work.

F.D. Thomas of Central Point, Oregon, is the general contractor for the $6.9 million project. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2016.

The contractor will remove failed paint from the three spans and apply a new three-coat paint system (featuring the same Broadway Red as the rest of the bridge). After scaffolding is installed, painting will take place within containment structures designed to prevent the release of contaminants. Some steel repairs may also be required where corrosion has occurred. Most work will take place during the day on weekdays.

Traffic Impacts

The contractor plans to keep the two center lanes open to traffic throughout the project, with one lane in each direction. With the two outside lanes closed during most of the project, bridge users will experience some delays, especially at peak commute hours. Other bridge users may want to consider alternate routes to avoid delays. Highlights of the traffic plan include:

The project will shut down Portland Streetcar service across the bridge and to the eastside from June 26 to August 15, 2015 while the contractor paints the area above the center lanes. This will require deactivation of the streetcar’s electrical system. After mid-August, one sidewalk may need to close at times during repainting of the sidewalk handrails. The contractor will keep the other sidewalk open to two-way bicycle and pedestrian traffic. We recommend that large trucks, trailers, campers and buses avoid the bridge during peak travel times to reduce congestion.

After we visited Tanner Springs Park last week, Sarah headed for my apartment by crossing the Willamette River on the Broadway Bridge. I haven't paid any attention to the bridge on the rides I've been on with Lamont--the bridge is alongside Interstate Avenue which is the street where Kaiser is located; we've been there quite a bit lately for doctor appointments and blood draws. I will be going on Interstate Avenue to Kaiser a lot between now and probably February, 2016, as I undergo chemotherapy and then radiation therapy.

Seeing these workmen on top of the bridge puts its size in proportion, doesn't it? I mean, we're used to seeing vehicles crossing it, but I've never seen people on it. What a job! When I checked it out at its next-to-largest size, it was easy to see their safety harnesses. Gosh, I remember when my husband used to wear a safety harness, now and then, on his job--he was a construction laborer. Am I ever glad that I didn't witness any of that. Whew.



Here's a 10-second video I shot as we drove out from underneath the cover that protects vehicles while the bridge is being painted.

I read this online: Field work began on June 26, 2015 for a project that will complete the repainting of Multnomah County’s historic Broadway Bridge. The project will repaint the truss structures above the traffic lanes and handrails on three spans: two at the west end and one at the east end. The center spans and the substructure of the entire bridge were repainted in 2004 – 2005.

The bridge was closed to motor vehicles from 7 p.m. on Friday, June 26 until Sunday night, June 28 while the contractor installed traffic control for construction. Two of the four lanes on the bridge will be closed during the work.

F.D. Thomas of Central Point, Oregon, is the general contractor for the $6.9 million project. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2016.

The contractor will remove failed paint from the three spans and apply a new three-coat paint system (featuring the same Broadway Red as the rest of the bridge). After scaffolding is installed, painting will take place within containment structures designed to prevent the release of contaminants. Some steel repairs may also be required where corrosion has occurred. Most work will take place during the day on weekdays.

Traffic Impacts

The contractor plans to keep the two center lanes open to traffic throughout the project, with one lane in each direction. With the two outside lanes closed during most of the project, bridge users will experience some delays, especially at peak commute hours. Other bridge users may want to consider alternate routes to avoid delays.

Highlights of the traffic plan include:

The project will shut down Portland Streetcar service across the bridge and to the eastside from June 26 to August 15, 2015 while the contractor paints the area above the center lanes. This will require deactivation of the streetcar’s electrical system. After mid-August, one sidewalk may need to close at times during repainting of the sidewalk handrails. The contractor will keep the other sidewalk open to two-way bicycle and pedestrian traffic. We recommend that large trucks, trailers, campers and buses avoid the bridge during peak travel times to reduce congestion.

River traffic will not be impacted.

Noise

The contractor may work on some nights, usually to set up a new work area. The project has taken several steps to mitigate construction noise and maintain neighborhood livability during construction:

All equipment will comply with US Environmental Protection Agency noise standards, including mufflers. Reduce truck movements at night. Use silent “smart alarms” instead of standard reverse signal beep alarms on vehicles at night. Use portable noise meters onsite to measure noise levels. The containment structures will help contain construction noise. Maintain a 24-hour Construction Information Hotline (503-988-4884) with information on the work schedule. Maintain a 24-hour telephone response line for noise complaints (503-329-5490). The contractor will assist the County to address complaints within 24 hours or before the next scheduled night work. River traffic will not be impacted.

Noise

The contractor may work on some nights, usually to set up a new work area. The project has taken several steps to mitigate construction noise and maintain neighborhood livability during construction:

All equipment will comply with US Environmental Protection Agency noise standards, including mufflers. Reduce truck movements at night. Use silent “smart alarms” instead of standard reverse signal beep alarms on vehicles at night. Use portable noise meters onsite to measure noise levels. The containment structures will help contain construction noise. Maintain a 24-hour Construction Information Hotline (503-988-4884) with information on the work schedule. Maintain a 24-hour telephone response line for noise complaints (503-329-5490). The contractor will assist the County to address complaints within 24 hours or before the next scheduled night work. River traffic will not be impacted.

Noise

The contractor may work on some nights, usually to set up a new work area. The project has taken several steps to mitigate construction noise and maintain neighborhood livability during construction:

All equipment will comply with US Environmental Protection Agency noise standards, including mufflers. Reduce truck movements at night. Use silent “smart alarms” instead of standard reverse signal beep alarms on vehicles at night. Use portable noise meters onsite to measure noise levels. The containment structures will help contain construction noise. Maintain a 24-hour Construction Information Hotline (503-988-4884) with information on the work schedule. Maintain a 24-hour telephone response line for noise complaints (503-329-5490). The contractor will assist the County to address complaints within 24 hours or before the next scheduled night work.

July 26, 2008, out and about with the biggest reason I am me--Mama

Mama wanted to ride the MAX Light Rail and take in the sights. So on that sunny Saturday, we first rode the bus downtown from our apartment in the Alphabet District to have our favorite Portland brunch at the Bijou Cafe. Then we walked a few blocks and boarded the MAX Blue Line, west to Hillsboro. We rode all the way to the end of the line, got off that train and boarded the Blue Line to Gresham which is east of Portland. We didn't ride all the way out there, getting off instead at what was then PGE Park where we caught a 15 bus to get us within a couple blocks of home. We had a blast!



Here's a great example of Mama's outlook on life: Look ahead, take it in, and enjoy the view while you do!

I miss this little ol' lady a whole lot but am equally happy that she's not here to experience this cancer thing up close and personal. I wouldn't want to witness her initial fear and pain when I got the diagnosis. But, knowing her inner strength, I have no doubt that she'd be standing right beside me ready to reach out to squeeze my hand or give me a pat on the back.