Looking Forward to a Good Day

It feels wonderful to be able to say that! Granted, for some reason I didn't get a very good sleep last night. That is slightly disappointing and means I will not be able to skip today's nap. Bummer. But still, not awful!

I generally feel much better than I have been, that's for sure. The only minor disturbances are (and just for my records, otherwise, they're mostly too minor to mention):

1. My face is still itchy though not as red or as hot as it was before. My skin where it was the most red is papery and has little raised bumps almost like blisters, though they're not especially visible. I can feel them more than see them.

2. I have a slightly sore throat and ear (left side). What's that about?

3. The bottoms of my feet have been numbish for the past couple of days. It doesn't impede my ability to walk at all but it does feel odd. I noticed it first when I was bathing and scrubbing my feet. No pain, though.

4. Remember that infected blister on my arm from when I was in the hospital? Well, last night I noticed my arm was aching in that spot and when I looked in the mirror, there's a little pink spot in the exact same place as before ... slightly smaller than a dime. This happened a couple of months ago, too. Isn't that weird? It's like that infection has never completely gone away and is just waiting there to emerge again when I have a weak moment. That really bothers me, especially considering that I've been on antibiotics for the past week. What in the heck is it and why isn't it gone?

5. Occasional slight nausea.

6. Some minor gastrointestinal upsets. Meh.

7. Tender skin on my belly and legs. It feels like I'm bruised all over.

8. Major fatigue and considerable weakness ... but those are givens.

What I don't have ... yippee ... are blackened and lifting nails and nerve pain in my hands and feet.

So ... all in all ... the side effects I'm experiencing at this point are very, very minor and I generally feel quite good. I go to the Champion Centre this morning to get my F'in PICC-line flushed and redressed. I'm sure hoping they remove it next Thursday when I get my LAST chemo treatment. I looked up on the Internet how they remove it and it seems quite straight forward. They simply remove the stitches and then pull it out ... very slowly ... and then stick a bandaid over the hole. It shouldn't be an issue unless it catches or breaks and I don't think that happens very often. I will be SO GLAD to be rid of this thing! By the way, there is a YouTube video showing how the PICC-line is removed, but I don't have the stomach for that.

These hostas and impatiens are still looking beautiful and, in fact, are looking better in September than they looked all summer. This is the view that greets me in the mornings when I reach for my newspaper. This is the first year anything has been planted there. Kevin's brain wave. Pretty, huh?