Friends Weekend and new Round of Chemo

I am a bit delayed in getting this post together. As is typical for our life now, no news tends to be good news.

Friends weekend

A group of Michele’s friends made the trip down… because it is a new tradition. Hanging with Michele around her birthday. We almost had a wrench thrown into our plans. Fortunately, it worked out where the weekend proceeded without complications.

Many thanks to Ann Beckett Rodenberg, Gina Bates Wade, Pam Williams, and Kimberly Riggs for making the weekend special.

The weekend typically starts with the girls arriving and much chatter. The lives of 50 somethings is filled with the same drama of every decade. New jobs, new babies (grands this time), and what aches and pains of the season each are experiencing.

Scrapbooks and photobooks. I think we may truly be the last generation that had printed photos in a photo album. It is always great fun to see what each brings. There is always an “archivist” that is told repeatedly either “I can’t believe you still have that” or “I am taking this one out of the collection”.

The other sure thing is that there will be food (and Alcohol). I got to break out the fryer and we feasted on Fried Shrimp and French Frys among other things. I love my fryer. It tends to perfectly cook every time.

You know it was a great night when at the end of the night I was sent for more wine… at 8:40pm. lol.

Boat day

During the pandemic we joined the Freedom Boat Club. It was the best investment that continues to pay dividends. They have pontoon boats to fishing center consoles. On this day we set out for the cove on a pontoon with our Lilypad on board. Clearlake has some good cruising areas and beautiful homes lining the shores. The cove is a happy little place to soak up the sun and enjoy the water.

Close friends know I have an alter ego “Pool boy” that has become incredibly famous over the years. Leave to the ladies of French High to take that and twist it to the redneck version to be from this day forward known as Raymond. Raymond served up the floats, the Lilypad, and the drinks for the trip. I also got to play DJ and keep the mood going as the laughter continued until we had to bring the boat back.

The plan was always to go to the resort pool after the boat ride. We did. But I was successful on the boat trip that slowly, one by one, the girls were tapping out. No shame in it. I have the pictures and will use them for blackmail later if necessary. 😎

Back home for another night of laughter.

I wish I could say I hung with them all throughout the night. After a couple of hours at home, I was toasted and slept allegedly 12 hours. I was still able to hear the laughter every now and then.

In the morning they each headed home with a commitment to do this again. After which we prepared for the coming week.

The Next Chemo

We had an unexpected adjustment in the chemo schedule this last week. It went from a simple one day, 15-minute dose to being five straight days of 3-5 hours. I said unexpected because we did not expect it. The doctors and research nurse did.

We finally got a full projected schedule from the Research Nurse last week. Michele was ready to “give her a piece of mind”. I have learned that the extreme frustrations she tries out by talking through it with me so that the real interactions are better. 8-).

I won’t go into all the details of the treatment. It has been harder on her than the rounds the last couple of months. She has had more Nausea and more fits of hunger, ate a lot, and then regretted eating so much. haha. Sometimes, you must recognize that normal “for us” is that once a month we will feel tired, irritable, and need to slow down a bit.

Now that we have the full schedule, we know we will repeat this 5 day round again for the next one and they will go back to what I call the simple dose.

The coming weeks

I will work on another post as a mid-point check in on how her numbers look. This last week they were lower, but that was expected. She is back working as hard as ever and staying focused on helping her clients. I was speaking with some of our Company Reps recently and showing them pictures from when she was working in the hospital the day before her Seizure. For most people it seems amazing that she would be working during such things.

What I have learned from Michele more in the last 18 months is that “working through it all” is the way to get through the other side. She continues to amaze me daily.