Friday, July 22, 2011

Hair Today....Good Grief, Charlie Brown

I had to go get a "hair cut" today. My fuzzy helmet wasn't "fitting" anymore and looked even worse than usual. So Della trimmed it. I'll bet there wasn't a full tablespoon of hair on the floor!!! What a hair cut!!! She didn't even charge me and said "Go home and grow enough hair to help support me." So I'll try. She said it will take a year or more to know what my new hair will be like...so far it is even finer than before, darker, and just plain nappy.

So now I've had to address hairy issues like every other woman. My eyebrow hairs came in dark and all over my eyebrow...what's this about??? I haven't plucked stray eyebrows for decades!!! Now I do like my new eyelashes. They are dark, which is a change from the pre-chemo lashes which were grey. Lashes are not as thick and are shorter, don't touch my glasses. I can use the time I save by not putting on mascara to pluck my eyebrows!!

I've had to shave my legs and pits twice now. And my arms are hairy again. So except for the hair on my head, all is back to some acceptable level of the new "normal."

This heat wave is really doing a job on my lymphodema. I can't get the left arm down to a size that is close to the right arm. The therapist said I will probably have to go back to the ace bandage wraps to get the size down.  Well, that is no fun in 100+ heat!! It is bad enough to wear an oven mitt from finger tips to arm pit all night and then try to sleep with it propped up on pillows to encourage the lymphatic fluid to drain down to the shoulder then trunk and finally out. Do I want to be even hotter all day and all night..............not really.

Bone scan was all clear so the long bone pain is just a result of the aremidex which I have to take for 5 years. That is better than having the bone scan show bone cancer or breast cancer showing up in the bone marrow. I had to go back to hospital for an Xray of my elbow because the scan indicated that the dye collected in the elbow pit OR there was something going on there. It was the dye. It was so hard to get the vein and then get the dye to go in....I'm not surprised that the dye didn't get moved around much. I really should have asked the RNs before I jumped on Dr's idea to take the Port out!!!! It would be much easier to keep the port flushed than to go through this vein stabbing!!!

Geneva update: Our baseball fan is fitting in nicely. She had a vet tech check up for the ears today and there is still some problems. We will continue the flush and treatment meds for another 2 weeks. She is eating nicely even without wet food. No accidents in the house. She is now bold enough to jump up in our bed after we go to sleep. Wonder how long it will be before she claims her own spot in our bed?? Domino "sleeps around" and spends sleep time in various dog beds, our bed, the couch etc. He often goes to bed with me and then back to the living room to finish the ballgame with Husband.

I'm having a good time cooking! Tonight we had sea bass with cumin dusting, saffron rice and a squash corn saute. Fresh peaches and blackberries for dessert. Pinot Grigo wine. NICE. It is good to feel well enough and have enough energy to shop and cook. Slow return to the new normal.

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