Well, to say this week has been uneventful is an understatement!  One of the lessons I've learned through all this is you have to go with the flow. And once again I'm so thankful I've taken a back seat to my volunteering at the kids schools. No need to call and cancel anything at the last minute if I have nothing planned!  With that said, Monday afternoon my port started getting red and the skin became sensitive. SERIOUSLY?  I'm scheduled to get it out next week, why now?  OK, the timing was great because it served it's purpose, chemo is over. Needless to say, by Tuesday morning the area was swollen, tender, red and I'd been having a fever & chills since Monday evening. My first stop Tues., before taking care of my port, was Dr. Gordley. He has to drain some of the saline in my left expander. He simply stuck a needle in (yes, area still completely numb) and out comes BLUE fluid. I mean Royal blue fluid. Yes, I bleed Mustang (Friendswood-my home town) blue!  Ha Ha!!  I asked why it was blue and he says he puts a blue dye in the expanders so when/if he has to drain them he knows he's getting the expander fluid out and nothing else. As I was leaving his appointment, my nurse called back about the port. I had to go to the hospital and have it checked out by the PA. Once she saw it, they knew it had to be removed on an 'urgent' basis. BUT, first, blood work to make sure my counts look good. And then off to wait for an opening in the radiology department and the surgeon. I was glad to be getting the port out but it really kind of seemed anti-climatic! So during the removal I was awake and only the area was numbed with lidocaine. The Dr. (Dr. Round) who removed it was really nice and just talked me through the entire process. She said the sting of the shot would hurt, and a bit more because of the infection. Great! So, what else to do but pray to God. With each push of the needle and injection of the meds I kept saying 'Please God' and what do you know...nodda, nothing, barely a mosquito bite feel. SWEET....How great God is! Ok, so then, I must've stopped because the 'digging' out of the port didn't feel so good. The Dr. that put it in made a pocket for it to fit in my muscle, and there were no stitches, thank goodness! And my body had 'accepted' the port so it was nice and snug in there. I asked to see the port-gross, yes, I know, don't care, I saw it. It's hard to explain what it looks like, but it's like little cylinder, with a wider base and a softer-rubbery top where the needle goes in and then a long white tube that went down in my vein. The top of it was sent off to be cultured. Along with another set of blood that was taken, again, before the procedure. Once the port was out the open area was flushed with antibiotics and I was stitched, glued and steri-stripped back together and sent home! Once I was home, I felt horrible. I had had a headache all day, but couldn't take anything for it because I'd exceeded the amount of OTC for fever/headache for the day. I was still having chills and fever all afternoon and into the evening. By time I went to bed, out came the real meds. The hydrocodone. Yes, it worked. Within 30 min. of taking it the chills, fever, and headache were all gone and I could actually sleep. That is until I had more chills throughout the night! UGH. This went on throughout Wednesday too. AND, the deflated side actually hurts a little too. By Thursday I was starting to feel normal again, including really eating again for the 1st time since Monday. Today, Friday I feel back to myself again. That is minus the pain from the port removal. The muscle is still very tender and it hurts to stretch my arm out.

Not much else to report on. Except my nails. Last time I said I thought they were getting better-NO, they aren't. Well, a few are but I have 3 that are only connected to about half the skin-you can lift the nail up. And another 2 that are getting close to becoming disconnected. With them painted you can't tell, but I'm about to put tape over them so they don't get ripped off!  Oh the joys of chemo and the side effect that linger. Yes, I'm very thankful they are minor.

Through all this I love listening to sweet little kids and all the things they say about me and my appearance. One of Emma's friends asked her why I had no eyebrows! And on the way to dance Monday, Emma's friend (the same little girl who asks me to take my hat off so she can rub my head) told me how creepy it was to see my without my hat and Nathan and Emma chimed in agreement!  I totally love how they say what they think. It never hurts my feelings because I can only imagine what must be going on in their minds.

All in All, another week has passed since Chemo and off to radiation next week. My marking session for this week got bumped to Monday. So, I pretty sure I'm delayed a few days on starting, therefore I won't be completely finished with radiation until the end of the March. I'm just ready to get started!

I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting to write something and thus I'll have to catch up another time!

I hope all is well and you are finding peace, love and happiness in your day! Please continue to pray for those in need. And don't forget about all those battle cancer.

Love, hugs and prayers to each of you!!!