Wednesday's Update

Just getting ready to head over to my surgeon's office and see if I can have these stitches taken out of my head.  That would be sooooo nice.  Tomorrow I have my 2nd treatment, and then, I hope, we are free to leave and head home!  We are ready to be back in Missouri, although Jeff reminds me daily, we will miss the Final Four if we head back before Friday.  Oh well, such is life.

My first treatment went very well.  It's not an IV, but rather the doctor stands over you and v...e...r...y...slowly injects medicine into my head. It was a little creepy to have someone standing over me for 5 minutes squirting something into my head.  I just shut my eyes.  Even though I was laying down, I still felt a little faint.  It's because I was thinking about it.  Maybe next time I'll take my iPod and put in my earphones so I can think about something else.

 For those inquisitive minds out there, they always draw off as much spinal fluid as the medicine they are putting in so the pressure inside my skull remains the same.  Glad someone was thinking about that! 

Better make hay while the sun shines.  Have a wonderful day.  Thanks for your continued prayers.

Blessings,
Leslie

Abrupt ending

The post below has a very generic ending, and you need to know why. The medical transport folks showed up to roll me doen to nuclear medicine, and I couldnt get my iPad to save it as a draft, so I tied it up with a very sloppy bow before sliding over to another rolling bed and scooted down the hallways of the hospital. And now, I can't get back to it to correct it.

Oh well. Now you know.

In the Still of the Night

Since my diagnosis in September of 2007, I dread nighttime. Not so much when all is well, but especially when I have a new diagnosis or a new treatment. When night falls, and everyone else is snug in their beds, you will often find me puttering around the house or watching TV. I just stay up until I am drop dead tired, jittery with fatigue, because i know I can go to sleep quickly.

When I stayed in Houston with my cousin, Jenny, some of our best visits were after 10pm. I probably drove her nuts, but she didn't complain. She'd fix me a cup of hot tea, and we'd discuss medical issues (she's a doctor), scripture, kiddos. It was one of my favorite times.

Now, though, it is habit to stay up way too late. I mean, I shut down the neighborhood. Not a creature stirring when my light goes out.

Quiet night time promotes vast amounts of activity in my brain. Worry and fear decide to have a footrace through my thoughts. Pictures of the day's events roll through my mind like index cards in a Rolodex.

So,when this began last night, in the quiet of my hospital room (Jeff went to our room to sleep) I decided to fight the rolodex and the footrace. I pulled out my handy dandy iPad, (thank you D & M, and J & J) on the songs I had downloaded, and let the Martin's, Phillips, Craig, and Dean, Laura Story, Third Day, Steven Curtis Chapman, the Sidewalk Prophets, Chris Rice, and the Gaither Vocal Band sing my tired self to sleep. Worry and fear stopped their racing. Pictures of the day slowly stopped rolling. Scripture in song filled the room. And when I shut off the music I felt like
I wasn't alone. And I rested.

Hope you are having a great week. Looks like there's pretty weather at home.

Blessings,

Leslie

Good morning!

Well, nothing says good morning quite likke a needle in the bend of your arm! Hello! I was in the lab at 6 a.m. this morning. Bloodwork done, and off to have my brain scanned at 7. Good news! I have one (a brain). Then Jeff and I grabbed some breakfast, and we are now back at the room. Going to rest for a bit before my next appointment at noon.
In case you are just catching up, when I was here last week for my regular check up, they found even more, new cancer. This time on the surface of the brain. The most effective treatment is to deliver chemotherapy directly to the brain through what is known as an Ommaya Reservoir. Google that phrase if you'd like to know more.

So that is why Jeff and I are back down here this week...to have that placed, and for the physicians here to make sure it's working right before we head home. My local hospital can administer the infusions for me. Surgery tomorrow, then stay for about a week to make sure things are going well, then homeward bound.

Thanks for your prayers and all the ways you are helping our family. We are truly blessed.

I'll write more when I know something new. Have a fantastic week.

Love,

Leslie

My apologies for the typos. Using my iPad, and cannot go back and correct for some reason.

Blessings