...Lace Up Your Gloves...

Next week at this time I should be resting quietly the morning after surgery, with two less estrogen-producing ovaries, minus a couple of mystery masses, and short one unnecessary appendix. At least that's what they cleared me for yesterday after spending half a day at the Mayo Clinic being checked in, checked out, debriefed, thoroughly interrogated, and at long last, poked (three times) for blood. Now, I am officially cleared for my bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and bonus appendectomy. Say that three times fast.

So... yeah. Here we go. The next step on this roller coaster ride of a journey. I'm ready for this one. I'm sure I'll be panic-stricken next Wednesday night, and I am NOT looking forward to the bowel prep they have prescribed for me the day before. And lest I forget, I am less than thrilled at the prospect of clear liquids only after lunch the day before (but wait, they said I can have clear chicken or beef broth for dinner!!). But eh, small potatoes. (Which I had better stuff up on at lunch on Wednesday, come to think of it.) I'm ready to get whatever is in there OUT of there though. I don't need it. And truth be told, whatever else there is in there, I want to know. Only if I know what there is, will we know how to proceed. And, I'm ready to proceed.

The chemo break has done me a world of good, and aside from last Friday's minor episode, I'm feeling much closer to normal. Minus the hair of course. And the eyelashes. And the waistline. (Too many potatoes?)

Yeah, last Friday's minor episode was interesting. I had been bitching and moaning for a while about the excess water weight I had been slowly putting on. Resigned to the fact that it would dissipate after the chemo stopped, imagine my surprise to wake up on Friday morning having lost my ankles completely. Yes, the water retention got bad. So bad that when I called Dr. Cavalcant's office, they asked me to come in for a nurse evaluation. That, coupled with the atrocious fingernails, and I was apparently too much to diagnose over the phone. Long story short, I went, they saw, they prescribed, and a week later, according to the Mayo Clinic, I have peed out nearly 8 lbs of water. (Before stepping on the scale today) YUCK. Just freakin' yuck.

The good news is, I have already peed out 8 lbs of water, and hopefully the Lasix will continue to counteract the effects of the steroids and Taxotere that went into my body weekly for over five months straight. What's more, the atrocious smell emanating from under my fingernails is no longer in evidence (thank GOD for small favors, for a multitude of reasons).

In unrelated news, thanks to Vitamin K and a diligent husband, the Rocky Raccoon circles around my eyes are MUCH improved. What's more, I haven't had a nosebleed in two weeks, my legs no longer feel like they are encased in cement (most of the time), and I no longer rattle the bed with my breathing at night. Even better news? During yesterday's inquisition at Mayo, I learned that for the first time in months my blood pressure is back to normal, and my resting heart rate, while higher than it used to be, is pretty darn normal again as well. All together now.... PHEWWWWWWWWWWWW. I bet the nurse there never heard anyone cheer when she gave a blood pressure reading before.

So, gloves laced, and here we go...

(Thank you, Liz! xoxoxo)