UPDATE - And today's reason I went back outside

UPDATE:

I woke up feeling less energy than yesterday but knew that I needed to go out for a walk. I made it OK and came back to the apartment. I've been out for one more walk, a shorter walk.

I still don't feel like I want to feel today--no fever, no particular aches and pains, just don't feel very well.



I like to walk up and down this street which is on the south of my building. There's lots to look at, and, even though this photo doesn't show it, most of the sidewalk is shaded by trees. Yesterday I noticed that one of the trees in front of this building was gone, replaced by a tiny thing that looks to be some sort of shrub. Since a woman had come out to put her trash in the bin and we'd said hello as she passed, I commented, "Oh, y'all have lost a tree." She let me know that a repair person who came to work on something in the building had hit it, and and that was that. We talked for a moment about how sad that was, to lose a tree. She headed toward the entrance sidewalk and I went on my way, turning to look at the building. I've always enjoyed it architectural details.



I looked up and noticed immediately that we had company. I asked the woman if she had a dog on the second floor, looking out the window. She smiled, and without even looking up, said no, that that was Zoe who was a really sweet dog. This is the first photo that I took when I went back outside today, to see if I could get a chance to photograph Zoe.



Here's the second one, not a whole lot better. I didn't want to spook her with my iPhone, so I turned towards my building and walked on home.

UPDATE and why I went outside again this morning.

UPDATE:

Yesterday evening the outer dressings came off my two incisions without any trouble. Hooray! Woke up at 1:45 a.m. and finally got back to sleep around 2:30 a.m. Slept until 6:15 a.m. which means I got some rest. I ate breakfast after I woke up the second time. Still no nausea or taste alterations. The peripheral neuropathy continues to get better--thank goodness. When it does happen, it's mostly in my feet. Since I need to build up my stamina before Chemo Round Two, I walked outside in the shade yesterday for a total of 4583 steps, according to the Health app on my iPhone 6 Plus. That's four times my daily average. Hooray! This morning when I went outside, the skies were overcast, so I was able to walk in my neighborhood and made it 1194 steps in about 20 minutes. I'll be back outside in the shade until much later today because the sun has come out. I am blessed to live where I do, to have the opportunities during my recovery. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern.



Yesterday when I walked outside on the south side of the building in the shade, I made it to the corner of my building and saw the beautiful sunshine in the banana tree in the southern end of the front yard. The two-story Albertina Kerr building across the street makes great early morning shade.



I continued toward the front steps and took this photo at a different angle from all the others I've taken of our front sidewalk and entrance.



Here's the sunshine that I needed to avoid. Isn't it beautiful?



To me, the proximity of these roses and the difference in the age of their blooms makes for a great photo. What do you think, please?

UPDATE - All about the chemo port

UPDATE: Discharge instructions after port placement say it's OK to remove the outer dressing. I cannot get an edge started by myself, so I've texted both sons, saying one of you needs to come by after work and get these off me--y'all talk and decide which one. It will be taken care of, I have no doubt.

I'm on my 3rd 28-ounce mug of water for today. I have not had any hot tea--not sure why, but I haven't wanted any. Possibly the lack of interest in food/drink that accompanies chemotherapy.

Slept from around 10:30 p.m. til 4:30 a.m. the longest span of time I've slept in I don't know how long.

Still no nausea, yea! One mouth sore at the back right side of my tongue--rats. Made a recommended mouth rinse of a quart of water, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking powder. It does make my mouth more comfortable.

My goal now is to build up my stamina, walking. So, I've been out in the shade on the narrow sidewalk on the north side of the building and walked five times for about 10 minutes each time. I'm setting the timer on my phone to go off so that I don't forget to give it a go. One time I walked inside the building, too, up the stairs to the top floor which is only 15 more steps up, then back down, but every step is one in the right direction. With those pinpointed walks and the regular around-the-apartment steps, I'm up to 3,549 today which is right at three times my daily average in August. I'm back, cautiously, listening to my body, one hundred percent.

I am blessed. Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



This is a photo of the port from the Patient Guide that they gave me when I was all done on Wednesday. Dr. Klein showed me one beforehand, and described in detail exactly what he would do and why. He's the same guy who did the needle biopsy--I really like him a lot!



When I go back for Chemo Round Two on August 19, I'll have that sort of needle inserted into my port so that the chemo will get inside me through it. No need to be stuck here and there, trying to find a vein. In fact, on August 18, when I go to have pre-chemo blood work done, they will get the blood out of the port--at least, that's what I've been told. I hope it's the truth.



Here's one of the places that I've been told about the uses of the port. I like that part about being less harmful to my veins. After all, they're 67 and a half years old, like the rest of me.



I felt the three bumps on the sample port that Dr. Klein showed me. I have not felt the bumps on mine because I cannot get the outer dressing off by myself. Like I said earlier in the post, one of my sons will come over in the next few hours and help me remove them. 



More detail about accessing the port. These folks have steady hands. 



My port incision and the other one needed during the placement procedure have been glued shut, after stitches. The stitches will dissolve and the glue will turn into a scab which will eventually come off. That's what the glue did for the six incisions I had after the robot surgery on June 25.



I have my Identification Card in my coin purse, along with my Kaiser Insurance card. I'm not wearing that bracelet because it will get in the way of my acupressure motion sickness bracelets. I slipped the cardboard key ring card onto my key chain--I wonder if it will last throughout this process since my keys get a work out whenever I go anywhere, tucked into my waistband or a pocket or my purse.

UPDATE - Woke up way too early. I'm about to take my first nap of the day, y'all.

--> UPDATE:

Made it through all that went on yesterday without any problems. Got my ride to the hospital for the chemo port placement--thanks to a sweet friend. The doctor who placed it was the same guy who did my needle biopsy on June 17. I really like that guy! And his crew was top-knotch!

I will be able to take off the bandages over the two incisions tomorrow. So far, I have had no pain associated with either incision, although I have no desire to lie on my right side in bed, nor do I want to do jumping jacks or reach too high, period.

Still no nausea, taste alterations, and thankfully less peripheral neuropathy. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern.



I fell asleep between 10-10:30 p.m. Woke up at 2:45 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. So, by 4:52 a.m. I had eaten some oatmeal and prunes and finished off several ounces of water. I decided to go outside since the sun had not yet come up. I checked the temperature on my phone--59 degrees. Wow. I put on my Mickey Mouse sweatshirt jacket, zipped it up, pulled up the hood and walked out the building's front door. At the end of our sidewalk, I could hear the sprinklers to the south doing their thing. They cut off within a minute or two, and then the ones to the north cut on. So, I walked down the still dry front steps and across the street to the front yard at Albertina Kerr's. I sat on the bench for a few minutes because I heard the sprays of water begin to hit the banana tree leaves which are right up against our sidewalk and its steps. I knew I needed to wait for silence before walking back inside my building. When I got across the street once all was quiet, I saw this image and knew that I had to photograph it and share it with y'all. Who in the world wouldn't want to call this building home?

I won't be going here tonight--it's now known as Providence Park. UPDATE.

As a season ticket holder for the Portland Trail Blazers, I had the chance to go see the women's soccer team play tonight--the Portland Thorns. This is one thing I won't be doing because of the cancer and the chemotherapy. Plus I have the placement of the port in a few hours.

As I understand it, the port will be placed just beneath my skin somewhere near my collarbone. It will remain in there until I am done with all of the chemo--presently scheduled for Round 6 on November 11. This port will enable my caregivers to infuse chemotherapy at that site so that I don't have to be stuck here and stuck there. Yea!

Lamont, Leland, Rachel, and Brody are going to watch the Thorns play this evening. I am so happy that they will be there, yelling for me!

UPDATE: Still no nausea, hallelujah! Still some peripheral neuopathy, which continues to wax and wane. Not feeling at this moment that I am wobbly or out of balance. I am blessed.

My ride to the hospital for the port placement will be here soon. Later, y'all!

UPDATE - Lunch and supper today. As of now, no taste alterations. I am blessed.

UPDATE: Slept a bit better last night until 1:45 a.m. when I had a cramp in my left foot and inner right thigh--those cramps that make you think, OK, just cut off my foot, cut off my leg--the pain's excruciating and the muscles become rigid out the wazoo. I did what my little Mama always said worked for her, I licked the salt from a restaurant-size-packet off the palm of my hand. The cramps left and I decided to sleep in the recliner for a while, instead of the bed.

Still no nausea to speak of--hooray! I haven't had to take any meds for that since Sunday.

Still dealing with peripheral neuropathy, which continues to wax and wane. I talked with the oncology pharmacist about it today. She gave me an option stronger than Tylenol in case it gets so bad that I cannot sleep. Here's hoping that doesn't happen.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern. They mean the world to me, y'all.



This is lunch. I decided that I wanted to try to make an egg, veggie, chicken, and cheese scramble, then put it into a flour tortilla. Yummy, so doggone yummy. Cool that I had enough for two! I love having leftovers because it makes being versatile like this easy. I drank water from my 28-ounce mug.



This is supper. More leftovers--the baked chicken, the baked sweet potato, and the steamed broccoli. I added the fresh green grapes and cherries. Believe it or not, the flavors melded in a most pleasing manner. Naturally, I drank some water with my supper.



I'm happy and full and ready to watch some more NYPD Blue episodes on Amazon Prime Instant Video. I am totally blessed. I took this photo of my TV this morning, to share with someone at work--I knew that he'd be thrilled for me to have this beauty in my apartment.

UPDATE - Sights around Portland that I miss right now.

UPDATE: Still sleeping about three hours at a time. Not as much aching in the knees, thank goodness! Still experiencing peripheral neuropathy, though, with the humming mostly on the shins and down into my feet right now, not as much in my hands right now. Still wobbly and feeling out of balance when I walk, but with this perfect-size-for-me studio apartment, there is a sturdy piece of furniture or a wall within easy reach, no matter where I go. I am not dizzy, either.

So far, hallelujah, I have noticed no taste alterations nor have I had enough nausea to result in what could follow it--you know what I mean.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.




I took this photo on June 21, 2012, because I happened to notice that the lights were on in the evening at Albertina Kerr, making a lovely backdrop to the rose blossoms. It's not often that there is an evening event going on there, so I count myself blessed to have been able to get this photo.



I took this photo on March 19, 2011, while I waited for a bus at the roundabout where NE Glisan St. and NE 39th (also known as NE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.) intersect. I love vintage vehicles and couldn't resist this one tootling along.



Here's a view that I'll miss forever, of The Big Pink and the Portland, Oregon neon sign--I took this photo on March 18, 2011, years before the construction of a 19-story building got started. It makes me so sad to realize that when I get well enough to return to work and riding the bus each morning, I won't see this view. I hope to goodness that the building is worth it, as in OK to look at on a week-day-basis which is when I'm most likely to be here. The building is going up at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, smack up against it on the north side of the bridge. I imagine it has already increased by several stories since I was last there and took a photo or a video--probably did that in June, is my best guess.

UPDATE and what I photographed August 2, 2010

UPDATE: Slept off and on. No nausea yesterday or during the night. Felt nauseous a half hour ago, so I took the Compazine which is the one anti-nausea med I've been directed to take as needed, every six or eight hours. I wrote down what time I took it, in case I need it again later today. Less peripheral neuropathy in legs, knees, ankles, feet at present--I am grateful for that. There is a bit of it in wrists and hands, but I'm not dropping things, just feeling twitches and tinges and aches, more on the right--I am right-handed. Still walking a bit off balance, not stumbling but being very aware of what happens when I stand up and move so that I can be ready to react, if need be. So far the food I'm eating tastes like it usually tastes, thank goodness. The only odd taste I've noticed is that sometimes the water in my 28-ounce mug tastes sweet, barely noticeable, not disturbing. Lamont's coming over today and staying with me for a while--I've got a short list of chores for him. Yesterday Leland stayed for hours and went grocery shopping for me, plus he put away everything. I'm blessed to have these sons who have grown into fine men. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



That particular evening I met Lamont and some of his friends at Colonel Summers Park at SE 20th and SE Belmont, to watch folks play softball and dodge ball. This photo sort of shows how I'm feeling, on the lookout--wary and ready.



And this one shows the positive reaction and the fact that still being on the lookout is essential to continued success.

Chemo Round One, Day 4: Flugtag came back to Portland today. I stayed home, but in 2008, I had a blast at the event!

The anti-nausea meds continue to work! Hallelujah! The main chemo side effect I'm dealing with--peripheral neuropathy which is nerve pain. And how!

From mid-thigh down, my legs have been humming since yesterday at 3:30 p.m.--that's the only way I can describe it, underneath the skin it feels like tissues are vibrating slightly, thus I decided the word humming fits. Plus my knees and sometimes my ankles have ached and have not wanted to be stretched out on the recliner or on the bed, so I've stood up and walked around. I did manage to sleep some in both places during the night, after I took some Tylenol. Off and on today, the humming and the aching waxed and waned--thank goodness. Those times of steady humming are not any fun, period.

Another thing that peripheral neuropathy causes is stumbling and balance problems while walking. This has happened enough that I noticed it as I made my way around the apartment, so I decided not to walk in the hallway today--no reason to tempt fate, right? No falls or trips in here--I am blessed. Plus, although I have felt tingles and twinges in my hands, they've been few and far between.

One more good thing, I now only have to take anti-nausea meds as needed, so that means less chemicals entering my body. That's got to be a good sign!



Today's event, covered by all of the local TV stations, evidently drew too many boats to the river to watch, so that the Coast Guard withdrew the event's permit at 4 p.m. The waterways have to be clear for commercial traffic, I think one station mentioned. Anyway, here's a photo that I took of a giant Big Wheel when I went in 2008 and stayed for hours and hours of crazy entertainment.



Here it is as it hit the water. I cannot tell for sure from subsequent photos, but I'm pretty certain that not only did the pilot (the guy on the Big Wheel itself) and the buy you see jumping off in this photo but also those other two in khaki and black jumped into the river. I don't have them jumping or on the way down, but they're not standing with the media crew, so since they were done pushing their Big Wheel off the edge, surely they all three jumped. Crazy folks having fun in Portland. I'll bet that went on today and the fact that the Coast Guard shut down the boaters watching didn't stop the competition from completion. One TV station said that Red Bull will release the results on Twitter.

Here's some info on the event itself, in case you're wanting to understand why anyone would want to get in a crowd of 80,000 people like I did in 2008 and watch folks jump, well, try to fly, off a platform into the Willamette River.

Why You Should Go

Red Bull Flugtag (“flying day” in German) has taken place worldwide for 23 years, entertaining more than 500,000 people annually. Teams of five from across the U.S. can submit a creative concept at redbullflugtagusa.com and if selected begin building their human-powered flying machines. Come August 1, 2015, they will push their crafts off of a 28-foot-high deck into the Willamette River in an attempt to break the world record of 258 ft. Participants will be judged on distance, creativity and showmanship.

Portland is the only U.S. Red Bull Flugtag taking place in 2015. A truly city-stopping moment, Tom McCall Waterfront Park has been filled with up to 80,000 spectators in previous year’s Red Bull Flugtag events. The fun packed event will let the wackiest and most daring participants from across the U.S. make a splash into the Willamette and attempt to break the current 258 ft. world record set in Long Beach in 2013.

Insider’s Secret

Anyone can apply to fly in the competition! Past applicants have used inspiration such as their favorite food, pop culture, technology, and mythology, and have even attempted to drum up hometown support with crafts based on colleges, sports teams, and other elements that their city is famous for – all in the name of testing gravity’s limits for the public’s entertainment.

Your Wallet Says Free to apply and free to attend!