I will be having my annual Christmas Eve open house December 24, 3-10 p.m. . There will be a pot of Polish mushroom barley soup on the stove, and another pot of soup for vegetarians. Cook your own pierogis, have some ham or kielbasa, and break oplatki with me (if Halina brings it). If we run out of food, we'll order pizza! If you'd like to share the spirit of the season, you're invited to make a contribution to my Zimbabwe families in lieu of a gift to me. I'll match your donations dollar for dollar.
The first (fairly impromptu) meeting of our "share the care" steering committee is happening in a couple of hours. I hope we'll get the beginnings of a system in place for helping out during treatment. As far as I know, radiation starts Jan. 3 at 2:30. I'm meeting Dec. 26 with the oncology nurse (they still haven't told me what time). Presumably after that I'll have a better sense of treatment details.
The broad outline for treatment is 6-7 weeks of radiation M-F, concurrent with two rounds (6 weeks) of chemotherapy. After radiation ends there will be another two rounds of chemo (a round is one week on, two off). So the total time will be about 13 weeks. My oncologist says by Memorial Day I should be back to whatever normal is going to be from here on in.
I should be fairly functional for the first two weeks or so of treatment, then the cumulative effects will begin to take their toll. According to my oncologist, weeks 4-6 are the most difficult. Two friends from out of town are trying to arrange to come stay with me during that period. I may need one more person to stay here for one of those weeks. If you're interested/available, watch this spot for more details on whom to contact (after Christmas).
This may be my last blog entry until after that meeting with the oncology nurse December 26, and possibly until December 30. At the moment I'm planning on spending my December 28 birthday in Minneapolis with my dear friend Mary. The plan is to get on an airplane the evening of the 27th, have a nice brunch on Friday, and spend the day at the Frieda Kahlo exhibit at the Walker Arts Center. We'll have a nice dinner, take in some music or a play, tour the Guthrie the following day, and be back home by 8:30 on the 29th.
I wish you and yours a happy and healthy holiday, filled with love and appreciation for friends and family. Peace.
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3 comments:
i am getting a kick out of reading your blog.. love your entries, so newsy and well-written!! and i just love the comments everyone is leaving... they are really interesting.. i always knew you had a lot of friends but i had NO idea how many truly good ones!! you are blessed...
wish i could have stopped by on xmas eve.. but molly expected her usual xmas eve routine.. your trip to minneapolis sounds sooooooo good.. what fun!!
well, if you keep going like you're going, you will be good as new in NO time... i know it..
i sure love the picture of you on the blog.. it makes me think of warmth and summer and i love that. and it looks like how you looked back on booker's bus in 1955.
well, keep up all the great detail in your posts.. i just love it! get well SOON.. love, bonnie mcgrath
valjean, since i am up too late it is now OFFICIALLY your bday and i really wish you the best, which is what you deserve.
xooxo
sarah
slauzen@gmail.com
HAPPY BIRTHDAY....!! this is the first time i ever realized our b-days were only 2 days apart..... don't see how i missed that.. but then again i am always trying to forget mine... have a great day!!! i will think of you turning the big.......won't say which big in case anyone thinks you are turning 30... love, b
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