Day 2 of the Rest Week.

I'm feeling great except for the hurting feet and hands.  I can wear shoes, though.  I'm happy to have a week to let these feet and hands heal.  I sure pray that this chemo is working because I think I can cope with the side effects and it's pretty simple to remember to take 3 pills in the morning and 3 more at night.

Tonight is game 5 with the Thunder and the Spurs in San Antonio.  Right now the two teams are tied with 2 wins each.  I know our guys can win this; I just hope they can get their chemistry going and get some hot hands going tonight as well as some great defense.   The Spurs are a great team, too, so it's good basketball.

I'm still enjoying the magnolia blooms, plus my echinaceas are starting to bloom.  The larkspur will be finished soon and I'll need to pull them all up; that'll be a job, but I can do it.  Soon the iris greens will have to be cut off, too.  Plus, I need to divide some irises so they won't be too crowded to bloom next year.  Plus, I'll share them with Trish and Gretta.

I talked to Gretta a little while ago and she continues to do well.  She says she feels great for about 3 days and then it catches up with her and she needs a day of rest.  That sounds about right to me.  If we were any good at resting as we go, we could probably avoid the down days.  Neither of is us wired to sit for long, though; we go like gang busters and then crash.  Lee is good to remind me and insist that I lay down and nap every day.  That's a big help.  Sometimes, it's just not possible because we are not at home for nap time.  I do the best I can.

I took pix of my feet and Lee said, "You're not going to put that online are you?"  I've debated it and think I will put a couple on because if someone reading this is ever faced with this, they will be glad to see what we're talking about when we say hand and foot syndrome.  All the really pink parts are what has peeled off. It's all very tender and opening a can or jar is tricky (I call for help).  I can wear shoes, but my feet like it best when there is nothing touching them.  When I go to bed they throb, but taking an ibuprofen helps to lessen the sensitivity.  The red splotches on the side of my feet are just old lady spider veins; the bottom of the feet and the palms of my hands are where it's sensitive.  On my hand you can tell where it's really pink: the tips of my fingers and the calluses on the palms of my hands have peeled.

Might as well go ahead and show you the tops of my feet.  They aren't swelling as bad this time as they did with the first round.  The 'buttons' on the tops of my second toes have really showed up since I've been on this chemo, but they haven't peeled or hurt.  The ugly toe nails are what Taxol left me with in 2007.  Those nails were infected and the nails never came back right.  The tops don't hurt; they're just ugly.