Month: September 2023

13 September 2023

I feel pretty good this morning even though it started at 3:30 am. Seems the saline solution they give me along with the drug infusion makes up for some of the fluids I’ve lost through diarrhea. I felt good enough to start on my walk and was about halfway through when I got those stomach rumblings. I barely made it back to the house.

In reality, prior to the walk I had one semisolid bowel movement and then the diarrhea hit. After the walk, I had a second bout but I still seem to feel OK. Enough OK that I decided I need to trim the Heliconia. It gets out of control quickly and the dead leaves really detract from their appearance.

I trim with an old home-made knife my Dad had that still can be sharpened to a razor’s edge. It cuts through the leaf bases pretty well and I’ve learned to wear gloves (the hard way) so I don’t slice a finger.

I really enjoy how the leaves poke up under my Bahama shutters in the bedroom and bring a little green into the room.

I’m waiting on AAA Modern Air to show up for a check up of my A/C unit. I have a contract with them and they should call between 8-12 today. They clean the coils, check the coolant, and do a few other things. The main thing is for me to order more A/C filters. I change them once a month unless it’s winter and then it’s every two or three months. As you might guess, the filters are irregular in size so you kinda have to buy them from the company. I get two service calls a year and only pay for one.

I also spent some time on the phone with my insurance company. They send you a questionnaire and then ask you to submit it. Then they call and want to know what you want. I told them I was satisfied with my coverage at present, but who knows. They insure my house through Citizens, so they have no control over that. My car insurance is with them and I don’t think there’s anything I want to change on that. I guess it’s good they at least call you for once.

I’ve now been scheduled every Friday at 1:15 for a hydration infusion to follow up on the chemo infusions on Tuesday. I admit to feeling better after the hydration infusion and since it falls on day 4 when my diarrhea normally hits hard, I suspect I need the fluid replacement. No telling how long I’ll be with the hydration but I estimate at least two hours. I’m glad I no longer need the Filgrastim every three days so I’ve cut my visits to the cancer center down from four days a week to two days a week.

Nancy and Michel came over last night and brought massive amounts of Thai food from Heart Rock Sushi and Thai on Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. I used to go to that place quite often for sushi but haven’t been there since Covid. They brought two containers of Nam Sod Salad (minced chicken, ginger, roasted peanuts, red onion, scallions, cilantro, lettuce and lime juice) and Beef Pad Thai and a Broccoli Stir Fry with Beef. I’ll be eating left overs for a week. It was all delicious.

Better yet was visiting with Nancy and Michel. Today was their anniversary of my introduction of them. I took them on a date to Las Olas Cafe (long since gone) and they seemed to hit it off. Imagine me as a matchmaker! I think it’s now been some 20+ years they’ve been together. They left this morning for a golf tournament in the Dominican Republic and I told them to make me proud. Nancy said about 7 are going from the Fort Lauderdale area but there are 100 entrants from all around the world for the tournament.

We discussed heading to Key West for our birthdays. Michel and I are close on our birthdates and we say all three of us should celebrate in Key West. We did that years ago before Covid and just simply haven’t gotten back. We had such a great time together when we did it before.

Well, the A/C person called and the stomach is making noises.

Stay tuned!

10 September 2023

My cousin Jimmie reminded me that she had stage 0 breast cancer. It was her I alluded to in the last post but I didn’t want to put her name to it unless she was OK with it. She also mentioned our Aunt Edna Lee (her aunt, my great aunt) has “female” cancer which Jimmie suggested may have been ovarian cancer. Cousin Jo and I mentioned Aunt Eddie but neither of us could remember if it was cancer. It now looks like both sides of my family have the tendency towards cancer. Normally, I think mostly of strokes and heart attacks in relation to my family.

Jimmie also mentioned the DDT we were exposed to as kids. Rachel Carson published her ground breaking book Silent Spring in 1962 and before that DDT was the pesticide of choice throughout the U.S. It was quite common for towns and cities to send trucks to spray/fog the area for mosquitos. It was a broadcast spraying and it would permeate the neighborhood. It worked well on keeping the mosquito population under control.

Jimmie, Jean and Jo’s house was a long house with a garage that ran under most of the length of the house where Uncle James parked two vehicles. When the mosquito control came by, and Uncle Jame’s cars were gone, it was common for them to drive into the garage spraying DDT fog. Jimmie and I love the smell of the fog and we would run into the garage and play in the mist after the vehicle pulled out of the garage.

DDT can stay in the soil for up to 15 years and in humans, it is often found in fatty tissue, in mother’s milk, and can be passed on to the fetus. Jimmie and I would certainly have received significant doses. It was banned in the U.S. in 1972.

Again, there’s no way to determine what caused my cancer. It’s just that I’ve had plenty of opportunities over the years for carcinogenic exposure.

The good news of the day is so far I’m diarrhea free! I do admit to low energy today. I think the last few days have really taken it out of me. I slept until 8 am this morning and by the time I was ready for my walk, it was well after 10 am and getting too hot to make the effort. Hopefully, tomorrow will see me on my walk, doing yoga and swimming laps. I did manage to grocery shop today but that pretty much sums up my day.

I wasn’t going to but I ended up watching the Ole Miss/Tulane football game. It was actually a pretty good game, especially since Ole Miss won. Again, college ball has become more semi-professional than amateur but it brought back memories as a college student.

Years ago, I made it to a Tulane game in New Orleans. I think their old stadium was under renovation and the game was played on some small stadium near the campus with metal bleachers. The exciting part was not the game but going to New Orleans. If my memory serves me correctly, it was the first time I’d eaten at the Camellia Grill. Even when I was stationed at the Coast Guard Communications Station in Belle Chase, I would often take the St. Charles streetcar to the Camellia Grill for breakfast or lunch. I’m not sure the food is any better than any other restaurant/grill in New Orleans but the place has presence. It’s also two years older than I am.

Tulane and Ole Miss used to be frequent rivals. Tulane was a charter member of the SEC along with Ole Miss, Sewanee, and Georgia Tech. I also remember listening with my Dad to Ole Miss/Tulane football games broadcast via WWL in New Orleans at the Roosevelt Hotel. Saturday’s game was the 73rd in the series – one of the longest in Ole Miss history. The longest rivalry is Vanderbilt at 97 games.

Several years ago, I met my brother and sister-in-law at the Roosevelt. They took the train which turned into a disaster when they had to disembark and take a bus into New Orleans. In any case, we stayed at the Roosevelt for two nights.

I had a Ramos gin fizz in the history Sazerac Bar in the hotel. It was Huey Long’s favorite drink.

New Orleans is a magical city. I’ve attended 3 Mardi Gras there, was stationed there for two years in the Coast Guard, sailed up the Mississippi River on the CGC Reliance, made lifelong friends in the city, and have eaten some of the best meals of my life there. One item that should be on the bucket list of every person is beignets and coffee with chicory at Cafe Du Monde. I love strolling the market just off Jackson Square and hitting the dive bars all along Bourbon Street. I think back to my first visit to Bourbon Street and seeing all the strip joints for the first time with hawkers outside trying to get you to come in for a drink (although I was much underage – money was money to them).

My cousin Jo introduced Jimmie and me to Pat O’Briens and hurricanes. There were two piano players that night in the main bar and they were kind of dueling. One would break out into a melody or song and the other would interrupt with snide comments and jokes. I remember that particular year, either LSU or Tulane had played Texas and lost. The piano players got into a side gig of talking football and playing fight songs for teams mentioned. For example, one player would say something about the University of Michigan and then play the fight song of Michigan. This went on for a while and they eventually included Texas and “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You.” Then one shouted lets play a song for LSU. They played “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You.” It was great.

Warning! Two hurricanes will knock you on your a**. It was also there at Pat O’Briens that Jo told Jimmie and me that she was going to introduce us that night to the person she was going to marry. She qualified it by saying “He doesn’t know it yet.” That was when we met Ken for the first time. So, you can see, New Orleans holds a lot of memories for me.

Stay tuned!

7 September 2023

So far, it’s been a productive day: morning walk, yoga stretches, laps in pool. Of course, the day started at 3:30 am. I was out of bed by 4, and breakfast, computer stuff, and all the exercising done by 9.

I headed to Walgreens to pick up a prescription of Lomotil and while there got my flu shot. In talking with the pharmacist, I asked about the Filgrastim used to boost my white blood cell count and how that might work with/against the flu vaccine. He said it was perfectly safe but might degrade the overall effectiveness of the flu vaccine to about 50%. I know I’ll be on Filgrastim for quite a while and decided 50% protection from the flu was better than no protection. I’ll be back for the new Covid vaccine later this month.

While at Walgreens, I cruised the anti-diarrhea isle and found buy one Imodium at full price, get 50% off the second so I stocked up and purchased 6. With 24 in a package and now alternating with Lomotil, it should last me a while. Still no word on whether or not my insurance will pay for it so I’ll keep the receipts just in case I can file with Medicare.

From Walgreens, it was breakfast/brunch with Joel and John at Peter Pan Diner. That’s the second time I’ve eaten there this year. It was voted the best diner in the state not too long ago but if that’s the case, other diners must be in real bad shape. The food is OK but nothing to write about so I’ll stop.

Yesterday, Barb stopped by for a visit. I hadn’t seen her since her trip and wanted to catch up. She brought rice pudding from Publix and I made some cheese/turkey/ham wraps and we had those and coffee and caught up on each other’s lives. If you remember, she’s the one who stayed the night with me after my second surgery. She left me with the rice pudding. I have to admit, Publix does a great job with the rice pudding. Just add a dusting of cinnamon and you are good to go.

Barb is so easy to talk with. We’ve been friends for years and every time we get together we have great conversations. I really appreciated the company – and the rice pudding!

Later today I’ll drive to the cancer center and get my second Filgrastim injection. I’ll have a third on Friday and when they do my blood work on Tuesday before my chemo infusion, I’ll find out if it’s working to get the white cell count up. As it is, I now visit the cancer center four of the seven days of the week. Then, this afternoon, I had a call from central scheduling about another echocardiogram (Herceptin can cause heart problems). They, so far, have not scheduled a hydration infusion this week but anything is possible.

The best news of the day seems to be that Hurricane Lee will veer northward before getting to the Florida coast. I have no desire to go through a Category 5 hurricane. Hopefully, it’ll stay out to sea and dissipate. I did fill the jeep up with diesel just in case it changes its mind.

Stay tuned!

5 September 2023

I had one of the most enjoyable evenings last night at the Pillars Hotel and Secret Garden restaurant with great friends, tasty cocktails, and a wonderful Thai dinner prepared by Chef Hammi.

It was a little too warm for outside dining and on the recommendation of Yelena, our server, we agreed to inside dining. We had agreed to meet for cocktails at 5 pm and we requested Yelena, our go-to person at Secret Garden. She mixes some great drinks. We always like to hang out in the lobby for pre-dinner drinks.

Over the years, we’ve gotten to know Yelena quite well and Holley wanted to do something special for her so when she saw a flower vendor along Sunrise Boulevard, she purchased a dozen roses. We haven’t seen Yelena nor have we been to the Secret Garden since before March of this year. Yelena was taken aback by the flowers and kept mentioning how no one ever brings her flowers. They were a definite hit with her.

On Mondays, Chef Hammi does a prix fixe menu and tonight was Thai.

Among the five of us, we managed to hit every item on the menu. As usual, it was excellent. I believe this is the best restaurant in Broward County. It has everything: ambience, great food, and great service. We sat down to dinner around 6 pm and didn’t leave until around 9 pm. Yelena kept telling us to take our time and stay as long as we wanted.

On top of all that, when it came time to settle the bill, Yelena compted us with a bottle of very expensive Reserve Chardonnay. She told us that she gets to do that about once or twice a year and she wanted to do that for us.

By the time we left, the sun had set and you can see the type of view you get when you sit outside and look over the New River and Intracoastal Waterway.

Once I got home, I turned out the lights around 10:00 pm and found myself wide awake at 3:30 am. I seem to be setting a pattern here on chemo infusion days. Subconsciously, I seem to be a little anxious so maybe I need to take advantage of the Xanax prescription and take one the night before chemo treatments. At least, since I got up so early, I may be able to get my morning walk in before I have to head to the cancer center.

7:00 am

I did manage my walk down Riverland Road. It was pitch black but I met three couples out for a stroll. By the time I got back to the house, dawn was breaking.

I had a little time to kill but when it reached 8:30 am, I left the house for the cancer center and made it a little after 9:00 am for a 9:15 check-in. The waiting room was packed. I think most of those waiting were not going for infusions. Stephanie is my nurse today and she said they start infusions at 8 am and are now thinking of starting them at 7:30. I suspect Holy Cross is getting popular as a place for chemo.

I always watch nurses’ processes when getting things ready for my infusion. Stephanie was meticulous and I told her she had excellent axenic technique. She’s thinking of going for her masters in nursing but hasn’t decided what particular specialization.

10:05 am

I’m waiting for the results of my blood test. From there, they’ll determine if I need anything other than the Taxol infusion. The last two infusions they have given me magnesium and for the hydration infusion, they did the same.

10:17 am

The first test results are in. For the CBC with Auto Differential, my white blood cell count is high, my red blood cell count is low, hemoglobin and hematocrits were low, neutrophils relative high, lymphocytes relative low, and neutrophils absolute high.

10:39 am

For the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, my glucose was high (240). Otherwise, everything else was normal.

My magnesium level was also low again, so I suspect I’ll be getting another dose of that.

Stephanie added the pre-infusion drugs: Zofran for nausea, Benadryl (nausea), Pepsid to coat the stomach and Dexamasone (steroid). After the Taxol, she’ll administer the magnesium. I’m also getting a saline solution which should help with my dehydration (magnesium deficiency is the key).

I did ask if I could get a prescription for Imodium. I bought six packs of 24 at Walgreens (their brand) and it was BOGO. That ran to over $60. If I can get a prescription, my insurance will probably cover it at a much reduced cost.

11:40 am

Stephanie began the Taxol infusion. It’s on slow so it’ll take about 1 1/2 hours. If I don’t have any adverse effects this infusion, the next infusion of Taxol will take around 1 hour. Progress! It’s also a good thing I had the dental appointment changed to yesterday instead of today at 3 pm otherwise I would not have made it. These infusions make for long days.

Noon

Danielle, the nurse practitioner in charge of the floor, came by and suggested upping the number of times I take Lomotil to the same frequency I take Imodium. She’ll write a script for Imodium and Dr. Velez will renew the script for Lomotil. That way insurance will cover both.

1:24 pm
The Taxol finished in 1 hour and 34 minutes. Stephanie is now rigging the IV for magnesium. She said my level was very low and I’m to get the full bag and that will take two hours (2 grams/50 ml).

You learn something new every time you visit. Today I learned there is not one bathroom in the infusion center but three! That’s a very important tidbit of information considering how often I have to go pee with these infusions. All three are on the same side of the building. Out of four visits to the infusion center, I’ve been in the east wing (with the bathrooms) twice and in the west wing twice. It’s not really an imposition because the farther I have to walk the better. At the moment, there are two bathrooms on either side of me in cubicle 4D so I feel pampered. Of course, one of the bathrooms doesn’t have hand towels. That particular room has a sign that says “Flush twice.” I’ve read that on some of the paper instructions they pass around but the sign is only in that one room. I’m sure the idea is the chemicals infused are so toxic that the aerosol from the flush is hazardous to people.

For example, Stephanie has just been in a regular (albeit stylish gray) uniform all day until she hooked me up to Taxol when she put on a gown. That tells you something.

I’ll probably stop at the grocery store on the way home. I need some fruit and I’m running low on Blue Bell ice cream. Maybe that’s why my glucose hit 240 today. That and the steroid will probably make it go higher. Again, I figure I need to eat what I want to eat and worry about the details later.

Looks like I’ll get out of here around 4-4:15 pm. That’s eight hours of infusions. Who knew it could be so tiring. Sadly, the Benadryl did not put me to sleep. I suspect I’ll take a Xanax tonight to make sure I do sleep and hope for no hangover. They have not scheduled me for a hydration infusion but I’ve had almost a liter of saline which they would do for a hydration infusion. They also have not mentioned any injection to boost my immune system so they are probably satisfied with the results.

Now, on to the grocery store! Stay tuned!