Thursday, March 27, 2008

Almost!!

Well, I am still in the hospital and will be for another 8 days or so. As most of you probably already know I was done with the collection of stem cells in a day so that was a huge blessing and things were able to progress a week earlier! The procedure of the double tunneled catheter wasn't too bad. It only took about 20 minutes! I was sore for several days after but not any more. Chemo went well. I feel a little bit of the effects from it today but they aren't too bad. My counts are slowly dropping. My white blood cell count is at 1.5 today and the normal is 4-11. I haven't run a fever yet, but still may within the next couple of days. It's pretty boring here but at least I have the internet and T.V. if I get too bored. My mom has been staying with me this week and she will be leaving tomorrow to trade places with my hubby who I miss so very much! My friend Laura came to visit me! We had a great time catching up and watching funny videos on You Tube! Thanks for the visit! You are an awesome friend! Well, I guess that's about all I have to say for now. Hope you are all doing very well! Thank you for all of your love and prayers! I see them at work every single day! Love and miss you all!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Saturday was the perfect day for Golf 'n Stuff! Beautiful blue skies and not too hot or cold. We met Jamin, my older brother, Kira & Andrew and their boys Tony & A.J., at the Habit for lunch then off we went to Golf 'n Stuff. I have no idea who got the best score but I do know that we had a blast. After a round of golf Andrew, Jamin, Eric, and I rode the go-carts and Tony rode with Andrew and A.J. rode with Jamin while Kira video taped it. That was tons of fun too! Then we played some arcade games. Eric beat me at air hockey 7 to 0. Argh! But I beat Kira 7 to 5. Hehe! Afterwards we all went to Kira & Andrews to hang out. Oh! I woke at 8:30 Saturday to go to the Farmer's Market with Candace Barton! I only spent $3.60 and I got enough stuff to have salad for a week! YAY! Thanks Candace! Lizette, Candace's I think almost 1 year old girl came along for the ride and she thoroughly enjoyed herself! Back to our day. Eric and Andrew played video games the whole time while we were there and Kira and Jamin and I played Taboo. Later, Kira made some cheese quesadillas for us with salsa & cream cheese. It was a really long day for me so I was really tired by the end of it! I'm so glad we were able to have such a fun day like that since I will be starting the process of the Stem Cell Transplant soon. Thanks for reading and for any comments!

Fun at Golf 'n Stuff

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Sometimes He Lets It Rain

Today I woke up at 6:30a.m. (that is extremely early for me) I met my sister at her house in Thousand Oaks so that she could come with me to the hospital. Traffic was pretty bad but it was really nice having her and her handsome little boy, A.J.'s company. We arrived to the hospital just in time for my appointment at 9:30. I got my blood work done and the results were great, just what the doc wanted to see. I hadn't seen my doctor in quite a while because he had been out sick. I found out today that he too, has cancer now. He had his first dose of chemotherapy yesterday. He said now he is seeing things from the other side of the scale. How ironic. Cancer is way too common. I now have the exact order of events, dates and times for the stem cell transplant procedure. It all begins one week from Thursday starting with a daily shot of Neupogen(white blood cell booster), and they will take my stem cells the following Monday. More to come as things progress. After the hospital we met my dad and brother at Hometown Buffet in Simi Valley for lunch. After that my brother, Jamin, came with us back to my sisters. On the way we were listening to this CD called Women of Destiny...Songs Celebrating the Relief Society Declaration. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, or should I say car...well, A.J.'s may have been dry. All of these songs are so incredibly beautiful. One of the songs on the CD my sister sang at her Stake Women's Conference. I am so sad because I was in the hospital at the time so I missed her performance. When Kira made me listen to a particular song on the CD, I think it was on the way home from the hospital the last time we went, I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out. These are the words, I wish I had written them. The song is probably more powerful with the music behind it but if you're feeling emotional at all or maybe even if you're not, you better grab a kleenex.

Sometimes He Lets It Rain

She sees the storm clouds gather
The sky is turning cold and gray
She knows that something's coming
When she starts to feel this way
She pleads for intervention
But heaven offers no relief
And she would understand if she could only see that

Sometimes He lets it rain
He lets the fierce winds blow
Sometimes it takes a storm
To lead a heart where it can grow
He can move mountains of grief
And oceans of pain
But sometimes he lets it rain

When her heart surrenders
To the Master in control
Her spirit learns the lessons of the tempest in her soul
When it's no longer raging
She can see how far she's come
Through the wisdom and the mercy of the Son

Sometimes He lets it rain
He lets the fierce winds blow
Sometimes it takes a storm
To lead a heart where it can grow
He can move mountains of grief
And oceans of pain
But sometimes he lets it rain

(Tyler Castleton/ Staci Peters)
Vocal: Kathryn Nelson