Canasta is fun, but counting is tough.

The blog picture tonight is from last night’s canasta game. We played at Jo Ann and Frank’s house and in this picture is Diana and Bob Clark and then Jo Ann and Frank. There were 6 of us at this table and then another 6 behind Frank and I in the kitchen. It was wonderful to get to play again.

Playing canasta I did notice that the chemo brain is certainly still in control of my brain. They say that it will get better and I hope it does, but I can live it if Don can! I have trouble counting and keeping track of things to the point that I notice it. When we played canasta I could really see it. That’s just some of the facts, so I need to share it.

There is a good thing that I haven’t had a chance to mention. Back in the fall I noticed my ears hurting. I thought it was about allergies, although I’ve had allergies all my life and my ears never hurt. Then I thought maybe it was because I use a brick for a pillow (that’s what my friend, Judy calls it) and I was laying on it so much because of my naps. Well, the earaches went away and I forgot about them until a couple of weeks ago they came back! I asked my doctor’s nurse practitioner about it and she said, “It sounds like peripheral neuropathy to me.” That made perfect sense, because I started having trouble with the peripheral neuropathy back in the fall after my treatments of Taxol, then it went away when I took medication for it. I weaned off of the medicine for the neuropathy when my fingers and toes weren’t hurting so badly anymore and that’s when my ears started hurting, again. It’s not any horrible thing and I’ll live with it without medication. I’m just glad to have answers.

Another good thing is that most of my marks are faded/washed off my chest! Woo Hoo! I’m so enjoying my baths, even if they can’t be hot. Warm is good. (I can’t do hot because of the threat of lymphedema.)

It was wonderful to go to church today and feel the love there. People are so good everywhere. I got some really good hugs! I really appreciate God’s plan for putting people in families and then even provided us with a great family where He is our father. Wow!

Don asked me tonight if I’m going to write this blog for the rest of my life. I don’t think so, but I don’t feel like quitting, yet. Somehow I’ll know when it’s time to quit; maybe when nobody is reading it or responding to it then it will be time to quit. It seems to me like I’m still on a learning adventure, so there is still ‘stuff’ to share. Like I started on the Arimidex on Saturday. That’s the pill I take for 5 years. It’s for postmenopausal women who had advanced breast cancer. It has some nasty side effects but none of them are as bad as breast cancer, so I thank God for the opportunity to take it. Maybe I won’t have any side effects! So far I haven’t had any, so I’m hopeful.