Funday Sunday

Ah.... Sunday. We all slept in late, we very mozy-ish about getting ready and went to church at 1pm. Again staying only for Sacrament meeting due to not feeling so hot, although, this time it was my father that wasn't feeling well strangely enough, we were home again by 230ish. My father rested while my mother and I immediately changed into comfier clothing. 

By 315, we were off to my brothers house for a nice evening of conversation, food and fun. The trip to his house took us a good 40 minutes and let me tell you. After the car trip yesterday and driving around the island and such, I am done with vehicle trips right about now. I do have to admit that everywhere we have gone has been absolutely gorgeous, but still, I'm done. Thankfully we don't have any car trips planned again soon. :)

At my bro's we had a delicious dinner. He had asked me what I wanted to eat since my eating is so sporadic as to what tastes good. I just said that as long as he had creamy mashed potatoes somehow involved with the meal, I would be happy. Well, it turned out I was happy with all of it. Yummy Chicken Fried Chicken, Creamy Mashed Potatoes and a scrumptious country gravy. Of course I wasn't able to eat all of my portion, but I did eat enough to feel like I had just finished Thanksgiving dinner. I was stuffed. :) After I rested a bit and let my stomach deal with the meal, B and I went upstairs where he demonstrated his FANTASTIC piano skills. He is so silly sometimes. All nervous and such, but really he does a great job. :) 

Post concert, B and I dueled it out at Phase 10 Twist. He schooled me. While we played, the other B cleaned the kitchen, Momsy chilled in a chair and my father fell asleep on the floor. All in all it was like old days at home with the family playing games on a Sunday night. So great. To say the least though and to be a complete broken record every day...... I'm toast. It has been an adventure filled weekend and now we must rest well because I have a blood draw and a clinic tomorrow. I want the doctors to still be VERY impressed with my improvement.

I didn't do the blog post Bone Marrow Biopsy, but I just wanted to reassure that all is well. I am feeling great and can BARELY feel the incision anymore. One thing though about the actual procedure....Not sure my mother mentioned this. There was one point that I was feeling a little pain because the Tech had to drill REALLY deep into my bone in order to get any. So, in order to distract myself from the fact that my right leg felt like someone was drilling into it, oh wait, they were, anyhoooo, in order to distract, I started singing I'm a Little Teapot. Yes, I did and let me tell you, it totally worked. You should try it some time when you are either in pain or feeling anxious, sing I'm a Little Teapot. Amazing. I guess it DID help that the other Tech in the room did the actions where I could see him. That helped yes. :)

So, I'm feeling well, just a little tired, things are going great other than in the financial section of life, but when IS that going well. Things will be as they will be eh? I am so grateful for the help and love that I receive from all of you and my other friends and family. There is no way that things would be going as well as they are without that. You are all wunnerful. :) Luvs and Hugs and Good Night.

Ferry's are so fun. :)

Today was definitely the day for adventure. Since my father is here we decided to hop on a ferry to Bainbridge Island and go sightseeing a bit. Now, when we say sightseeing, we mean driving and looking at gorgeous nature. We are SOME TIMES ones for the touristy things, but on the whole a drive around on a beautiful island is quite fun. :)

So, we slept in this morning and took our time getting to the ferry. Once in line for the boat we did have a bit of time to wait and all of a sudden I realized we, yes me and my two parental units, were having a conversation about Fairy wings. If any of you know my father you can probably see the connection between waiting for a Ferry and Fairy wings, but the funny part was that we literally spent a good two minutes discussing, seriously, Fairy wings. Yah, we are a strange bunch. :)

Once on Bainbridge we got a full day of beautiful island. We went from one end to the other and off to the sides as much as possible. :) This island is so lush and beautiful it's hard not to fall in love with it.

One little side adventure, while in search of a place for dinner, we stopped at a Casino and Hotel/Spa. I believe my father was thinking that usually the Buffet at Casino's is usually inexpensive, forgetting that I can't eat at Buffets. There was another couple restaurants in the Casino as well, so we sauntered in just to check out the prices of the eating establishments. Now, me, Dani Coles had never been in a Casino. Nope never. Quite the eyeful of people that look very bored but unable to leave. :) I did get a dollar from my father though and play a nickel slot. No judging. I didn't win anything. Total loss, except for a little bucket list check mark. :)

Anyhoo, we ended up eating some Southwestern food in Winslow. Well, I ate like 5 bites of my food and I was full up, but it was yummy. :) Then back onto the Ferry returning to Seattle. We came home and I immediately took a nap. Now, it is time for family scripture study and prayer and then back to bed. Even though most of the day was spent in the car, I'm toast, just from the long all day outing. Toasty Toast. :) So, good night my dear friends and family and we shall hear more adventures tomorrow. :) Dinner at Bs.

Oops! Again.

I blew it again!  Dani asked me last night if I would do the blog as she was very tired, and I agreed.  Then....I didn't do it.  Went to bed instead.  Oh, well.  It won't be the last time I am slow at something.  So here I am, bright and early this Saturday morning with an update.

Dani had her 28-day bone marrow biopsy yesterday morning.  It took a while because apparently her bone marrow is still the consistency of cement.  They actually did not remove any marrow but were able to get a piece of bone, and that's what the doctor's wanted to check.  This is to see if the stem cell transplant actually worked, and is destroying the cancer cells.  We will get the report on Monday at her clinic. We know that her blood type has changed to O Postive, because when they gave transfusions while she was in the hospital that was the type needed.  The report will confirm that we are indeed on the road to complete recovery!

The day started out with an early blood draw, then the biopsy and then we had a few hours before our consultation with the nutritionist so guess what?  There were a few naps taken!  The consultation went very well, she was pleased with the food Dani is consuming, and that she is trying new things each day.  She had a Rainier cherry yesterday morning and pronounced it delicious.  And big move forward...water finally tastes good!  Hooray! Day to day her taste buds seem to be coming back to near normal and we are very pleased about that.  Mashed potatoes remain a staple, with sour cream mixed in, are always a treat for the pallate.

In the afternoon, Vic and I went off for a while on our own, while Dani... took another nap!  We finished our jaunt with a trip to a Chinese restautant, and brought home some orange chicken and fried rice.  We are very glad to have Vic here for a few days, he has been able to meet the doctors and nurses at SCCA, and just spend some quality time with the two of us.  The plan for today is to take the ferry to Bainbridge island to do some sightseeing and then come back and relax.  An update on that will come later.  Sorry about the delay, more later.  Bye for now.

MOM

Quite the active day.... I'm toast

Well, after two days of not much going on, today was FULL. I started it out with a blood draw. I went all by myself. Yay me. Nah, since my father just arrived this morning I thought that I would just let him get settled in and let my mom hang out. It was a quick blood draw and then I walked home from the clinic. A nice brisk walk for the morning. It was nice. It was misting a little, but still really nice after a couple days of not much movement. So, I was only gone for about 20 minutes total for the blood draw. Then immediately, we all decided we needed naps. My father apparently hadn't slept well last night, my mother had to get up somewhat early to get him at the airport and me, well, I'm always up for a nap. Especially after a walk. So, naptime it was.

Our next appointment was at 1:00 for a clinic with my team of doctors and nurses. I just want to say that I heart my team of docs and nurses. I am especially glad that Dr. F stayed my provider from the hospital to the clinic. Apparently that is not a common thing, but I sure am glad things worked out in my favor. I think I have the best team at SCCA possible. You can take that to the bank. :)

So, our clinic meeting went great!!!!!! They lowered me to one bag of IV Fluid again. Apparently I am drinking enough finally. Whew. They say that my counts are still going up, not as quickly as before, but still holding on and doing well. Yay. They were debating about having an Endoscopy done to check for GVHD, but after all the good things I told them I have been eating and drinking and such, they decided not. Whew. An Endoscopy is when they send a tube camera thing down your GI to see if all is well. I hear they are uncomfortable. So, that is a good decision they made. :)

So, once the clinic was over we fled like thieves to go home. We walked home. Again, it was a nice walk and the first time that my father has traveled that little mountain. So, again, once home....naptime. I love this. Naptime is so necessary. Actually I think that my mother started putting a puzzle together. My father and I chose the slacker life. :) This time I napped for a couple hours though. Which isn't normal. I take power naps usually, but this felt good.

Then, we were off to the grocery store. Ok, three stores. To say the least walking from the clinic twice today, then wandering up and down most aisles at three stores, I over did it. I'm ready for another nap, an overnight nap. 

As you can see, an active yet awesome day. I have felt well most of the day. My papa is here. That's pretty much the best thing ever. And tomorrow I get to have another bone marrow biopsy. Wait. I was listing good things wasn't I? Ah well, It might hurt a bit, but it will be a good thing to know what stage my cancer is. Just pray that it is in a better state than it was and I won't have to do this whole thing over again. I'm not quite sure I could handle that. So, tomorrow will be an early morning with and early blood draw and the biopsy at 8. All will be well though. Things have being going so well, that can't stop now. :) I know that all things are in the hands of someone who knows more than I, but I can pray that things just continue on the good road right? Right. :)

So, now I am off to eat again, I know it's way late right? But I must take some pills and food is imperative. Then off to beddy by for that overnight nap. Tomorrow will be another adventure that I will be sure to tell you about. :) Buh By.

Two days of chilling..... Sigh

The past two days have been ever so calm. I haven't felt the bestest ever. Well, actually, yesterday wasn't too bad, but today I have just felt punk all day. :/ Isn't that lame. When you don't feel well, but you can't just pinpoint the problem. Aw well, it's almost bed time then all will be well right? :)

Nah, neither today nor yesterday did we have appointments or blood draws. We literally just got to hang out. We watched movies, worked on a puzzle, went on a walk, etc. Ya know, those kinds of things you do when it's not the smartest thing to be out and about with all the germs in the world and you are totally broke. We make our own fun around here.! Booyah! 

Big news though, my papa is gonna be here tomorrow!!!!!! He's coming to visit until Tuesday morning. I'm SO excited!!!! I feel like I haven't seen him forever! I heart my papa heaps.  We do have some appointments tomorrow and Friday, but my papa needs to experience that as well right? :) Friday is my next Bone Marrow Biopsy. Always a fun time. So, he will be around for a few appointments and get to meet "the team". I think he will enjoy meeting all of them. He's such a people person. :) Yay for papas.

So, other than the anticipation of seeing my dadsy and hanging with him, there hasn't been much excitement in the past couple days. Just working through me not eating very well, although it's better. Working through my drugs. They are so plentiful and kinda make my stomach rumble.... :/ That's about it. 

Lastly, I've gotta go serious for a minute. My mom and I have been reading the scriptures together every night and can I just say??? Love it. I can tell a HUGE difference on those days that we read and discuss the scriptures together and then have family prayer. I just wanted to tell you all that I know that our Heavenly Father is looking out for me and my mine. I appreciate all the prayers that I have been getting from all of you. It's the truth that I can see the difference those prayers make. 

Anyway, I need to go do JUST that right now with my mom. Scriptures and prayer and then bed. So, love you all and thank you all.

Double the Wha???????????

So, it turns out that I'm not getting enough hydration. What? I swear it feels like I drink gallons a day, but alas...... apparently I do not. So, today at my clinic appointment they upped the hydration from 1 liter a day to 2 liters a day. Which means that I have to be hooked up to the little pump for...wait for it..... 8 HOURS a day. That's a full time job. I asked Dr. F. why he hated me, but he said he was actually just looking out for me. As if. :) jk. So, for the next three days at minimum I get to be that girl that has a backpack with tubes all hanging out all over and this little sound that follows me around. That would be the pump. I'm not really complaining, no. I'm just saying..... I totally thought I was drinking enough. Ugh. I'm a slacker.

So, well, today we had a blood draw, clinic with the doctors and a meeting with the dietician. She helped us come up with some great ideas of food to try since it is such a hard thing for me to eat. I'm always full AND food tastes like dirt. So, it was really nice that she could help come up with some ideas of what to eat to get the most out of little amounts.

After the appointments, we walked home, which was fantastic. I enjoyed that, but it wore me out. Since then, I have been chillin' and napping while my mother ran away to the grocery. Now, it is Psych on Netflix time and all is well. I think that is all I have today. Yup. :)

Sundays are great. :) Really

This Sunday was quite a good one. Lovely even. I only threw up once. :) Bonus! Sorry, gotta give the details I've been told.

Today was nice. Woke up bright and early, showered, hooked up to my IV Fluids for 5 hours, yum, then ran away to church. This was the first time I stepped foot in a church building for a month or better and it was wonderful. The Bishop remembered me and said I was looking good, me in my "do rag". However, I could only handle it for about 45 minutes and I had to come home and lie down. It's amazing to me what wears me out these days. Granted I was very sleeepy due to some medication I had taken right before going to church, but still, just sitting up in a chair for an extended period of time wears me out.

Let me tell you, I am Dani Coles, ever going ever doing girly. One of the most frustrating things about this whole process is the weakness. Two types, literal, I can't open my drinkable yogurt bottles. Shaming. Second type, also literal I guess, but 15-20 minutes of LIGHT activity, like moving, tuckers me right out and I have to either lie down or go for full nap mode. So, I actually say that 45 minutes of church was a triumph! Go me. They tell me though that I will eventually be able to keep up with my old self..... Just give it 3 YEARS or so. No really...

Now, I'm not really complaining, ok maybe a little, I'm just saying, that mentally, it's still me and I feel HORRIBLE that I have to ask my doting mother to open a yogurt bottle. I feel bad that she needs to be pausing her life at all to hang out with her 32 year old daughter that should be able to and has been able to for YEARS, take care of herself. But small tasks like picking things up off the floor. Preparing a can of soup, sneezing. Make me tired. Ugh. Enough on that subject.

Sunday's are also good for puzzles. My mother and I are working on a mystery puzzle. One that has a mystery in it that you have to solve. Difficult, but fun. (Again, I personally only worked on the puzzle for about 20 minutes before I had to lie down, but I have all intentions of returning.) 

I have also, FINALLY, been getting to thank you notes. I have been such a slacker in this area. So many people have contributed and helped out that ya'll need to know how I feel about that. Especially now that I have been here a bit and realize how truly expensive everything is. Not just Seattle itself, but just how much my insurance does and doesn't pay. Makes one stress sometimes, so I try not to think to long and hard about that part. It makes me need a nap. (yet another thing) :) But hopefully, I have everyone's mailing addresses so I can send you a thank you. It is SO important.

So, other than naps and weakness realization, today has been great. Very peaceful. As Sunday's should be. Got to have a great conversation with the fabulous T. Always nice to chat with him. He brings a certain calmness everytime I talk to him. He probably doesn't know that, but it's true.

So, now, It's time to take another NAP. well, here in about an hour it'll be a LONG overnight nap. So, I thank you all again for your love and support and we will see you on the flipside. :)