More Bricks

We scheduled chemo 2 days early last week so we could get to Cleveland for Christmas. It really wiped me out, that plus driving 11 hours over 2 days to get there Christmas night. I don’t know why I got wiped out cause I did not take the wheel for one minute. Andy drove all the way. 

I missed a lot of time with my sisters, Dad and kids, but I couldn’t stay awake. I did manage to say hello to my cousins and some other relatives. 

A peculiar affliction got worse this week. My skin has become very dry and bumpy. But now my knuckles are chapped and the backs of my hands are getting more spotty, sort of like those special photos that show all the subcutaneous age spots in your future. Plus the intravenous sites are getting rough and reddish/purple. Nurse George explained why and that moisturizer would help. Why, I can’t imagine, when it's the veins that are reacting, not the skin. Though I have been lathering on Aquafore, a vaseline like goo, it was Katie’s homemade cream that helped the most.

Dexter spent 2 more lives this week. 

First, we noticed he was missing after a brief stop at Milotn Academy. He was wandering around the house where he once again escaped out a car window without our noticing. How dumb are we? Came as soon as I called him. 

And last night, he was not on Dad’s balcony, where he accompanied Bobbi to "kick the tires.” Complete panic. I raced downstairs where none of the staff had seen him. Went out to the dining terrace and down another flight of stairs to the ground level. I screamed Dexter’s name over and over, my first audible sound in nearly 6 weeks. Climbing back up to the terrace after beating the bushes, I heard him meow and clamber up the steps. We would love to know exactly how he got down those 2 stories and are thinking of getting him a GoPro.

I finally felt myself again Monday afternoon, in time to play some Beggars Whist with Becky, Bobbi, Andy and Dad.

I am keeping Immodium in business and should buy stock. The corners of my eyes keep getting stuck closed, not the inner corners, but the outer corners, very odd. Sores on my tongue and insde my lip. 

Even though food tastes pretty yucky, I haven’t cut down on my intake. I keep hoping and stuffing it in. I am enjoying the textures and warmth or coldth of every dish though, especially those made especially for me by dear friends and relatives.