Amazon Link

Hey everyone, this is Ben. The Amazon link is going great, thanks! I heard someone is not seeing the right column on this blog which contains the link, so I'm putting it in this post and at the very bottom of the blog site.

Click Here -> Shop Amazon anytime you're going to shop at Amazon. Amazon will credit Leah's Fund (no additional cost to you) a tiny % for any items thereafter which you add to your cart and purchase.

And to answer a few questions about it:
1) Yes the link simply takes you to the Amazon home page (you won't see any special messages confirming this). From there you can continue shopping as usual.
2) If you already have an item in your cart before following the link, it won't count. You can always remove an item and then follow the link and add it again.
3) You do not have to follow the link before every item you add to your cart. Just follow the link once and you can spend a few hours and shop with any items you add to your cart counting.  Once a product has been added to your cart, it's associated with Leah's link for a number of days, you don't have to purchase it immediately.
4) If while shopping you go to another website that has a link to Amazon and you follow it, then that would take precedence and become the site getting credit for referring you to Amazon for any products you add to your cart thereafter until you followed the link here again.

If you want to read the earlier post explaining more about the Amazon link: click here.

Trying to love it

I continue to have an infection in my port. I was, fortunately, able to get chemo today through it. the dr put me on a new antibiotic and we are hoping it goes away soon.

 

  Unfortunately all of my side effects seem to have intensified this time. I have the daggers in my throat and I can't touch anything cold with any part of my body including exposure to the cold air on my face. My calves continue to ache really bad when I walk. I also somehow have managed to partially dislodge my pump connection to my port and the visiting nurse should be by shortly to help me with that. Overall I am nervous about the days to come and hoping I can continue to do walks outside but I might have to go to a treadmill where it's warm!

Black Friday

I hope everyone had a nice Thanks Giving. I went up to Maine to be with family. I spent most of black Friday in the ER. I had noticed on Thanks Giving that my port looked like it was getting a little infected along the incision. I called my Dr Friday morning and they told me to go to a walk in or an ER up in Maine to get it looked at. The port has a direct line to my heart so getting an infection there is not good. Also my body can't fight off infections like it should because of the chemo.

We headed to a walk in around 10am and they sent us to the ER.  We finally got back to my cousins around 3pm.  They actually did get me right into a room so that was nice.  I had to have a round of IV antibiotic which took about 1.5 hrs to run.  Then they gave me oral antibiotic pills to take home.  They did labwork on the actual wound and lots of blood work.  No results yet.  I plan to go to my chemo appointment as scheduled on Tuesday and the port looks and feels a lot better now.   Not how I wanted to spend part of my trip but I am thankful for the Drs knowing what to do and for antibiotics!

Happy Thanksgiving! Amazon shopper?

Hi everyone, this is Leah's brother Ben. We're having a great Thanksgiving in Maine visiting family and hope this finds you cozy and well fed! This is a quick note about an additional way to contribute to Leah's recovery fund, for free! If you happen to shop on Amazon.com in the coming days or months: Follow the link found a little ways down on the right column of this blog each time you decide to shop and Amazon credits Leah's Fund (no additional cost to you) for any items you thereafter add to your cart and purchase.

This will not change your shopping experience or pricing on Amazon, however Amazon will credit a special account setup in Leah's name ~5% (yeah it's not much but will add up!) of any items purchased on Amazon during that shopping session. You don't have to do it before each item, just do it once before you start adding items to your cart.

Feeling like myself!

Had a GREAT day today!  I was with the kids all day and with Ben's help took care of them all day and didn't even have a nap!  I think I will be going to bed early tonight!  I also went for a 2.5 mile walk with Ben.  I ran a little bit the last few times I went for walks and felt great.  I felt really weak the next day but it felt good.  I really felt like myself today and it was so nice! 
I was trying to come up with a new past time to keep myself busy and someone had asked me, "what do you like to do?" The first thing that came to mind was, RUN! So I hope I can get back into it. They are saying now that exercise is a really important thing to do during chemo, so I am all over that!

Happy Birthday Bryan!

Just had to tell everyone that it's my husband, Bryan's birthday today!  We are now the same age!  And we all know I couldn't do this without him!  Happy birthday Bryan!

more juice!

Here was our first attempt at combining a ton of veggie goodness all in one juice blend. Look at all those veggies!

Cucumber, carrots, celery, broccoli, kale, apples

Ben the Juicer

My brother, Ben, flew into town on Wednesday and is going to be staying with us for a few weeks. He has been talking about using the juicer Bryan's Dad and Step-mom bought me. He is really into juicing and I have been excited about having my own personal juice chef! Unfortunately, no ice cold beverages for me, but I have been OK with room temperature ones and he is willing to accommodate, isn't he awesome :)

I am feeling much better today than the Friday following my first chemo treatment. It doesn't seem as though a trip back to Miriam is in my horizon for this treatment so far! As much as I love them it is so nice not to be feeling horrible!

The visiting nurse came to detatch the pump yesterday and all went well. They say around the time the pump comes off, being 48 hrs after treatment, is when patients seem to be feeling the worst. (which is what happened last time) I did ok so maybe the worst of this treatment is behind me, let's be sure to pray on that one!

Sporting Vera Bradley

Just because I have to carry a chemo pump for 48 hrs doesn't mean I can't do it fashionably! my friend Katie heard me mention wanting a fancy bag for my pump. It isn't hard to beat a black fanny pack, I mean come on, really?! I know I'm too young to get cancer but I'm not 10 and it is not 1990! So she bought me a little hipster vera Bradley bag, how cute is this!? thanks katie!

My aunt Joanne took me to chemo today. It was a long day starting with blood work at 9am and then an apt with my oncologist, who is amazing by the way. He is just awesome, love him, the absolute best. and I'm not just saying that because of his answer to my question of being able to travel. when I asked if my mom could take me back to Tucson with her for a week between treatments he was totally onboard!! Hello 80 degrees and sunshine in the middle of winter, oh yea and I'm not taking the kids, sorry Bryan! So we might be in need of some extra hands that week! I will let you know when I book my trip!

Unfortunately I'm experiencing a few more side effects already after the treatment today. I can't drink anything even slightly cool, it feels like daggers in my throat. They warned me about this last time but thankfully it didn't happen with the first round. I also continue to have my joints in my hand feel like they are locked (which makes texting a little challenging, but don't worry I won't give that up). the other major one is cold sensitivity with my skin. They suggest wearing gloves to get things out of fridge and to open car doors, I think this one is imminent

They weren't able to replace the IV anti nausea that I was allergic to but after last times incident of needing to go in 3 days later to get fluids and meds we have some pill forms I took last time that we are hoping will keep everything under control. If not you know where I will be going,and they will take good care of me!

scrabble mania

I think I am officially playing 17 different people on words with friends, so bear with me if I take forever.  And I am pretty sure I am losing almost every game so even though I've only had one treatment I'm going to claim Chemo brain!  Although if all of you have been playing this forever on there, perhaps I will get better with all my practice!

And no I am still not joining facebook, so I can't play anyone on there, sorry!  Still not desperate enough!

Words with friends

Words with friends it its!  Thanks everyone, my user name is giggleah

word games

Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love scrabble.  I am getting sick of playing the computer on my ipad.  Does anyone want to play online or know of any other word game aps I can get and play other people?  I need a new addictive game!

I have been sleeping a little better and yes I'm taking the pills.  I was touched by how many people contacted me over the post about sleeping and were concerned for me getting enough sleep :)

Heard this on Glee (yes I watch it, no judging) and had to post

Whitney Houston - I Look To You Lyrics

As I lay me down
Heaven hear me now
I'm lost without a cause
After giving it my all

Winter storms have come
And darkened my sun
After all that I've been through
Who on earth can I turn to?

I look to you
I look to you
After all my strength is gone
In you I can be strong

I look to you
I look to you
And when melodies are gone
In you I hear a song, I look to you

About to lose my breath
There's no more fighting left
Sinking to rise no more
Searching for that open door

And every road that I've taken
Led to my regret
And I don't know if I'm gonna make it
Nothing to do but lift my head

I look to you
I look to you
And when all my strength is gone
In you I can be strong

I look to you
I look to you
And when melodies are gone
In you I hear a song, I look to you

My levee's have broken, my walls have come
Crumbling down on me
The rain is falling, defeat is calling
I need you to set me free

Take me far away from the battle
I need you, shine on me

I look to you
I look to you
After all my strength has gone
In you I can be strong

I look to you
I look to you
And when melodies are gone
In you I hear a song, I look to you

I look to you
I look to you

Feeling ok

I am feeling pretty good today. I continue to have a lot of trouble sleeping at night. Not always because I am nauseous, mostly becuase I just can't sleep.  I end up awake for hours in the middle of the night.  Tonight when it happens I swear I am going to try to take one of the pills i have to help me sleep.  I never end up taking them (even though this has been happening pretty much every night since I got diagnosed ) everytime I think, this time I will fall back to sleep and I dont need to get up and go take the pill.  We will see if it helps me tonight, they only last 6 hours so it doesn't work to take it when i go to sleep, if only it were that easy.

I ended up with a pretty bad shoulder/neck ache yesterday. I think it's from over compensating where the port is and trying not to use my shoulder.  It feels much better today.

I am actually going to try to venture out and take Elly to a mommy and me yoga class.  my mom took her when she was visiting and said it is pretty low key and that I should be able to do it if I'm feeling ok, so we shall see. 

Missing sunglasses

The day I came home from the hospital after surgery, the 1st of October, my mom came home with me. She misplaced her prescription sunglasses that day at our house and we haven't found them since. She went home without them and I have still been searching! I can't remember who was around tha week but many people were in and out of the house and we wondered if someone might have picked them up by mistake and now has a pair of glasses they can't even wear and were wondering where they came from! If this is you please let me know!

Day 3 Post chemo

I ended up back at miriam Chemo floor yesterday for about 3.5 hrs. I was extremely nauseous and couldn't eat anything. They gave me fluids and some more anti-nausea drugs. I didn't even feel that much better until hours after I left there but by the end of the night I felt like a new person!

Quite a few of the nurses said they weren't surprised to see me back there. They said with this being first round and being smaller weight wise and having been allergic to one of the anti-nauseas they couldn't give me the day of chemo they expected it would hit me pretty hard. I got new anti nausea drugs to take home and they have been working so far.

Thank God for the people at Miriam being so awesome! They want you to be comfortable and insist you should be so they do everything they can to make you that way!! And they really do!

Halloween

I did end up venturing out to go trick or treating with my kiddos. Here are a few pictures from last night. Elly did Drew's make up and I think she did a great job. Drew was not willing to wear his dog ears so Elly wore them for a photo op, and once he discovered his tail he ripped it right off!