This was the first time Brian and I were home for the holiday. We were coming home from the Caribbean, in NYC for the marathon, or in Munich. Toonces hid under the coffee table for two hours, but seemed kind of calm. Brian handed out Mrs. Buttersworth syrup, an empty Dr. Pepper bottle, a bottle of Downy, and a box of Quaker Oats to our nieces before giving them proper treats. My favorite costume was the "coffee table." The middle school girl had a lamp shade on her head, and she had a giant piece of cardboard around her (glued on was a People Magazine, a remote, and other assorted junk).
I am home for good, and it was nice to turn in my apartment keys. Now they just have to send me my monster deposit back. Now I am just trapped at home with the cats, and I'm not allowed to drive my car.
This week, I have started to do run/walks. I haven't ever been at this level (maybe when I was six). I jog a couple of driveways or from fire hydrant to fire hydrant. My steroids are lower every other day (these are the days I try to run). I will feel better running after I get off a few drugs. I'm hoping to be a useful track coach this year that can actually run with. I'm going to try to run longer intervals tomorrow.
This afternoon, Brian and I braved Time Warner Cable, where we almost saw two battles unfurl in the booths next to us. We added a HDTV to the bedroom, so we needed a new box. We are now going to have phone, Internet, and cable combined. We will no longer show up as "David Johns" on your caller ID. She knocked our price down, when I told her I paid $120 for the three services.
Time to hide the extra Halloween candy from myself.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Meet the "Invalids"
I have been home for almost 10 days...I wish that meant I was "perfectly healthy." However, I am still on 20-some different drugs a day, and they make me fatigued, jittery, and poorly balanced.
I ended up in the ER Thursday morning, but this time it was for Brian. Dennis Mann took him from school across the street for a kidney stone. Since I'm not supposed to drive, Sue Cassata, my beloved principal, came to pick me up. As I left my porch, something happened to my balance (I was also carrying a few things in front of me), and I did a Superman dive on the sidewalk and gravel landscaping. Landing on a couple of coats and my back probably kept me from breaking anything, but my entire right side is beat up and a little bruised. Brian was dismissed with some narcotics, and then we sat in the waiting room because Sue had to come back and get us. I had to get Brian's Return to Work form (he wasn't allowed to go to work Friday--that meant he couldn't go to state cross country).
State cross country went well. The girls were runners-up by one point; Isaac Allen won the All-Class Gold in the boys' race. Brian was upset that he couldn't go, but I'm pretty sure he realized it would have been a bad idea.
Brian seemed to be okay all day Friday, so I didn't feel bad for ditching him, so I could go to Jane's fall staff party. This was actually the fall staff party #2. Last Friday, we crashed Jane's house and pretended that we thought the party was that day (we had a small, shortened party the first time). We determined that it was "Take Your Mom to Jane's Party," as I brought my mom, Julie brought her mom, Ann Baxa brought her mom, and Colleen brought hers. Party #2 was fun and laid back (until Bill Dimon and Ken Flowerday were trying to convince me to create an English department band). I allowed myself two beers--I think it helped mellow out my shakiness.
EARLY Saturday morning, at 4:30 or so, I got to take Brian back to the ER (apparently, the kidney stone moved a bit). Wow, Dennis, I really owe you (that was ugly). I am not supposed to drive, but I didn't want to call anyone that early. I think I was a good driver; I just can't multitask (nobody should).
Sunday I did the Walk for the Cure at Holmes Park. We had an East group there (or who donated to the Komen Foundation). The pace started out slow, so my mom, dad, and I had to pass people. There were several routes to take--we did the long route, which took about an hour and seventeen minutes. It was a beautiful day--it has been a terrific October (minus the house arrest).
Monday, Brian stayed home from school today again...he's planning on going to work tomorrow. We took Toonces to the vet for his yearly shots. He's down to 19 pounds and is apparently the healthiest person/cat in our house (Duke has eye-goo).
10 Days of Reporting...if I forgot, it wasn't important.
I ended up in the ER Thursday morning, but this time it was for Brian. Dennis Mann took him from school across the street for a kidney stone. Since I'm not supposed to drive, Sue Cassata, my beloved principal, came to pick me up. As I left my porch, something happened to my balance (I was also carrying a few things in front of me), and I did a Superman dive on the sidewalk and gravel landscaping. Landing on a couple of coats and my back probably kept me from breaking anything, but my entire right side is beat up and a little bruised. Brian was dismissed with some narcotics, and then we sat in the waiting room because Sue had to come back and get us. I had to get Brian's Return to Work form (he wasn't allowed to go to work Friday--that meant he couldn't go to state cross country).
State cross country went well. The girls were runners-up by one point; Isaac Allen won the All-Class Gold in the boys' race. Brian was upset that he couldn't go, but I'm pretty sure he realized it would have been a bad idea.
Brian seemed to be okay all day Friday, so I didn't feel bad for ditching him, so I could go to Jane's fall staff party. This was actually the fall staff party #2. Last Friday, we crashed Jane's house and pretended that we thought the party was that day (we had a small, shortened party the first time). We determined that it was "Take Your Mom to Jane's Party," as I brought my mom, Julie brought her mom, Ann Baxa brought her mom, and Colleen brought hers. Party #2 was fun and laid back (until Bill Dimon and Ken Flowerday were trying to convince me to create an English department band). I allowed myself two beers--I think it helped mellow out my shakiness.
EARLY Saturday morning, at 4:30 or so, I got to take Brian back to the ER (apparently, the kidney stone moved a bit). Wow, Dennis, I really owe you (that was ugly). I am not supposed to drive, but I didn't want to call anyone that early. I think I was a good driver; I just can't multitask (nobody should).
Sunday I did the Walk for the Cure at Holmes Park. We had an East group there (or who donated to the Komen Foundation). The pace started out slow, so my mom, dad, and I had to pass people. There were several routes to take--we did the long route, which took about an hour and seventeen minutes. It was a beautiful day--it has been a terrific October (minus the house arrest).
Monday, Brian stayed home from school today again...he's planning on going to work tomorrow. We took Toonces to the vet for his yearly shots. He's down to 19 pounds and is apparently the healthiest person/cat in our house (Duke has eye-goo).
10 Days of Reporting...if I forgot, it wasn't important.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Home and Cancer Free
Mom's camera decided to give my doctor, my nurse case manager, and me all pink hair. I guess that is appropriate. I told them about the "I Can. I Will!" obsession.
This morning I got my bone marrow biopsy results--which informed me that I am now cancer free! I didn't expect anything less, but it was nice to affirm that everything worked. Dr. Hollins, my plastic surgeon, was also pleased with the progress on my chest wound (it's finally starting to heal, but I'm using that term loosely) from my infected port.
I was going to go to the district cross country meet in Papillion, but we had the car completely loaded with apartment stuff, and I wanted to get most of it put away immediately.
I would say that I'm glad that we don't have to go to the apartment on Sunday, but we have to move the furniture and grab another load of kitchen items. And then we have to clean the apartment that wasn't clean to begin with.
So, I am home now. I can stay by myself. I still cannot drive. I will need to bum rides off of you. I will probably find myself bored at home for the next couple of months. I'm pretty sure I will talk to myself (and my cats) out loud more.
Now if I can just get off all of those pills, so I can stop being jittery, drive my car, teach my students, and eat some sushi...
Thursday, October 6, 2011
One More Week of Apartment Living
The last couple of days haven't been too exciting, other then we had a last-minute lunch at Kona Grill with Wayne and Betty Miller. We spent a lot of time packing up what we don't need next week in the apartment. Mom had to carry most of my stuff out because I am now a giant wuss and can't lift hardly anything (my arms are still shaky due to my drugs).
We did see a raccoon at Standing Bear Lake this morning. All of a sudden, we heard a guy say, "Watch out for the raccoon." It turns out that the raccoon was causing problems at his house, so he decided to release the raccoon at the lake.
Today I had a doctor appointment and then I had my bone marrow biopsy. It is not a pleasant experience to have someone drilling a hole in your lower back. I think I came off the table yelping at one point. I will get the results next Thursday, and then I will come home for good.
I can't wait for Julie's birthday FAC at Granite City, and to see my friends, Amberly and Matt, at their couples' baby shower tomorrow.
We did see a raccoon at Standing Bear Lake this morning. All of a sudden, we heard a guy say, "Watch out for the raccoon." It turns out that the raccoon was causing problems at his house, so he decided to release the raccoon at the lake.
Today I had a doctor appointment and then I had my bone marrow biopsy. It is not a pleasant experience to have someone drilling a hole in your lower back. I think I came off the table yelping at one point. I will get the results next Thursday, and then I will come home for good.
I can't wait for Julie's birthday FAC at Granite City, and to see my friends, Amberly and Matt, at their couples' baby shower tomorrow.
Monday, October 3, 2011
A Whirlwind of a Weekend
Friday morning, Michelle Paxton and I had our TV interview with 10/11's Erika Tallan. The story was about the "I Can. I Will." Market to Market Relay team (Courtney Mann, Bridget Easley, Theresa Gosnell, Michelle Paxton, Megan Lavicky, Suz Beckmann, Tonya, and Heather). Their team wanted to honor me, especially since I didn't get to run the relay this year. I talked about how the "I Can. I Will." mantra has followed me in my running since high school, and now has been the driving force to get through any weirdness that gets thrown at me with cancer treatments. If you haven't seen the broadcast, the link is below to see it online.
http://www.1011now.com/localsports/headlines/Running_to_Fight_Cancer_130868923.html
Michelle and I went out for coffee at Scooters and then I met my dad and Sandy Johnson at Dino's for lunch.
I hate not being able to drive because I had to go out to the cross country meet really early. It was a beautiful day, but I think standing around at a meet can be harder than running. The best part of the meet was getting to hug my high school coach, Ted Larson, my coach who gave me the list of affirmations that included "I Can. I Will!"
Initially, I was going to ride up to Omaha Friday night and ride with my Market to Market team (Don't Run Me Over!), but I thought that might be a little too much, and so Bridget picked me up at 5:45am on Saturday.
Because the "I Can. I Will" team was in the elite division, they are allowed two vehicles to get runners to their stages faster. When we got to Omaha, we met Courtney's Omaha group. All of a sudden, Michelle realized that her battery went dead. Of course, we were not parked in a good location, so Court had to drive through the park to get to her, and then we changed plans and Court had to angle around a pole. Once we got the van started, we didn't think we could turn the van off all day...so we didn't.
The girls ran awesome and won the women's division (and finished ninth overall). It was fun to watch them all run so well, but it was strange not to run any relay legs all day.
Instead of making Brian come all the way downtown to get me at the finish line, I had him pick me up at the second to last stage, at 84th and MoPac. I was feeling sunburned and tired, and I knew I couldn't run with the team over the bridge by the Saltdogs' stadium.
Mom and I walked Sunday morning, and then I went to Sara Sinani's baby shower with Wendy in the afternoon. They had a candy and chocolate bar spread, and, of course, I ruined my dinner. I found out that Sara and I share a love for Little Debbie Zebra Cakes.
Mom and I came back to the apartment after dinner and I crashed early. We just had to be in by 10am this morning for a lab draw...and then we've just been hanging out at the apartment all day. I made it halfway through Rosetta Stone Level 2.
Thursday is my bone marrow biopsy. I will be cleared (because the results WILL be good) to leave Omaha when the results come in next week. We're going to come home Thursday afternoon...
http://www.1011now.com/localsports/headlines/Running_to_Fight_Cancer_130868923.html
Michelle and I went out for coffee at Scooters and then I met my dad and Sandy Johnson at Dino's for lunch.
I hate not being able to drive because I had to go out to the cross country meet really early. It was a beautiful day, but I think standing around at a meet can be harder than running. The best part of the meet was getting to hug my high school coach, Ted Larson, my coach who gave me the list of affirmations that included "I Can. I Will!"
Initially, I was going to ride up to Omaha Friday night and ride with my Market to Market team (Don't Run Me Over!), but I thought that might be a little too much, and so Bridget picked me up at 5:45am on Saturday.
Because the "I Can. I Will" team was in the elite division, they are allowed two vehicles to get runners to their stages faster. When we got to Omaha, we met Courtney's Omaha group. All of a sudden, Michelle realized that her battery went dead. Of course, we were not parked in a good location, so Court had to drive through the park to get to her, and then we changed plans and Court had to angle around a pole. Once we got the van started, we didn't think we could turn the van off all day...so we didn't.
The girls ran awesome and won the women's division (and finished ninth overall). It was fun to watch them all run so well, but it was strange not to run any relay legs all day.
Instead of making Brian come all the way downtown to get me at the finish line, I had him pick me up at the second to last stage, at 84th and MoPac. I was feeling sunburned and tired, and I knew I couldn't run with the team over the bridge by the Saltdogs' stadium.
Mom and I walked Sunday morning, and then I went to Sara Sinani's baby shower with Wendy in the afternoon. They had a candy and chocolate bar spread, and, of course, I ruined my dinner. I found out that Sara and I share a love for Little Debbie Zebra Cakes.
Mom and I came back to the apartment after dinner and I crashed early. We just had to be in by 10am this morning for a lab draw...and then we've just been hanging out at the apartment all day. I made it halfway through Rosetta Stone Level 2.
Thursday is my bone marrow biopsy. I will be cleared (because the results WILL be good) to leave Omaha when the results come in next week. We're going to come home Thursday afternoon...
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