Today was my every 3rd month checkup with my Oncologist, Dr. M. I showed up, cringed at the familiar smell of the building (it smells like plastic band-aids), said hello to my ladies who always greet me and freak out over the amount of hair I now have. They couldn’t understand why I would cover it up with a hat. I told them baldness made me lazy and I didn’t want to do my hair today. So they turned their freak-out to my nails. I love them.
I filled out my forms, looked around and everyone I saw was over 75. Then, a young guy walked in, younger than me. I overheard the front desk ladies ask how he was. He told them the treatment is making him sleep his life away. My heart sank for him. Our eyes met and I gave him a knowing smile.
My name was called. My favorite nurse weighed me, took my blood pressure and temp. She let me keep my boots on when she weighed me–another reason why she is my favorite. I hate taking my shoes off to get weighed.
Off to lab. New lab techs. They loved my lucky vein. They joked at how it has a “poke here” scar and thanked me for that.
My nurse asked if I wanted coffee. I said yes. She brought me HER magazine and took MY coffee. I thought it was weird, she just plopped it in my lap and walked out. I look down to see Antonio Banderas staring up at me, and decided he was a fair trade for coffee. She rushed back in and laughed at her mistake, gave me my coffee and took Antonio–probably a good thing since it was time to change into my gown.
I was happy to have my camera to keep me company. I was so uninspired in this sterile room. It needs a plant.
This was only color I could find in the whole place. Fitting for the occasion, wouldn’t you say?
This is the moment that I realized I am now one of those girls who take photos of themselves in the mirror, with the camera showing. I told my girls not to do this often, and especially not to post a million of them on facebook. Have you seen kids doing this with their iphones? By photo number 212 it seems that one is very self absorbed and worse? Snooki poses. I don’t really know much about Snooki except that she has a bump in her hair, but from the little I know of her, I imagine she may be the cause of all those crazy “look at my body” poses I see young girls doing nowadays. At least one of the causes. Eyyy. Ok, off tangent..
Dr. M checked for lumps and bumps. Her fingers lingered on one that we were already aware of, a lymph node that is staying swollen for some reason but appears very benign in an ultrasound. We talked of removing it. She is very confident it is nothing, but knows I have a close friend who was told this, then got hers removed and it was malignant. She is now finishing up 12 additional chemo treatments. {Love you, KP!} It is hard when the doctor you trust expresses high confidence that it is benign, but then follows it up with, “I can’t ever say for certain.”
It would be a simple surgery to get it removed. It is between my boob and my armpit-just a little FYI tidbit…can you tell I am in a sit and just type whatever mood? Really, I have a super dirty kitchen that I don’t want to clean so I’m drawing this post out as long as possible. Can’t say I didn’t warn you…
I told Dr. M I would think about it and get back to her. Then off to Trader Joes I went. It was a 65 and sunny day, I had the windows down and the radio up! I find myself getting the same foods every week at Trader Joes. I love that place. I didn’t need much today since I put off grocery shopping until the end of the week and will buy a new weeks worth after the weekend.
Here are the foods in the above pic:
cheesy popcorn, peanut butter filled pretzels, tortillas, whole wheat naan, black beans, strawberry jelly, spinach, frozen mangoes, frozen very berry cherry blend, lemons, red pepper hummus, honey almond crunch cereal, whole dried cranberries, salsa, wheat crackers, raspberries, gala apples, pears, broccoli, red pepper, onion, kale, bibb lettuce blend and a bottle of water.
I also grabbed a bag of Easter Bunny Gummy Tummies at the register..I couldn’t resist knowing the smiles it would bring my girls.
See those tall limbs? Those, my friends make me very merry happy. They were for sale at Trader Joes and I had to have them, for they would keep me from thieving, or at least being tempted to. They are Forsythia branches. Every spring I am so tempted when walking through the neighborhood to steal a few branches from the beautiful yellow Forsythia bushes that some of my neighbors are lucky enough to have in their yard. I never have, but the temptation is SO there! Now, I do not have to break the law. Happy!
My dining room screams for some cheery spring color this time of year, and soon, those branch buds will burst open into little smiles of yellow. Yippee!
Until then, I brought in some yellow bowls and filled them with Easter Bunny Yummy Tummies, eager to see my girls reaction…see the time? My oldest will be home in 15 minutes!
Despite these sitting on the table, look what she goes into the kitchen and grabs–organic raspberries. That, my friends, made me very merry happy, too! (notice her back pack is still on. She eats snack somedays with her back pack on, and I think that is strange.)
She eventually got to the Bunny Gummy Tummies, and started to freak out. She said “Mom, this is just WRONG!” I had no idea what she was talking about.
But then I saw for myself…see this precious little Gummy Tummy Lamb? Look what happens when you bite his precious little head off…
…blood. Eww. I was more disturbed that the color was so bright and that it might contain artificial food coloring then how it looked. I checked the package. It is colored with aronia juice, elderberry, apple, carrot and even curcumin! Whew. I decided since there is curcumin in it, (and we all know those who have had cancer should be getting their curcumin in daily–no joke) I decided to have a go at that little lamb’s head.
We tried to enjoyed our little snack, and started saying “blood” like the little guy in
this video. “Bloooood? Bloooo-DA? Not funny. NOT FUNNNNY!!” Oh I love that video, love the dad’s laugh. I belly laugh every time I see it. Love.
Twas great very merry happy fun!
