The Detour Continues

Yup, every day this week I get to go to a medical appointment...this truly is a detour in my life.  One I certainly had not planned but one I am trying to go with the flow on.  Do I really have a choice when you think about it? I can either go with it or keep banging my head against the wall. It's amazing that when you do just go with the flow you can enjoy the ride so much better. Every day holds a little something special in it for me and many times multiple special things. First of all I am blown away with hearing from so many wonderful friends and family. I am NOT good at receiving so it has been an incredibly humbling experience. I always have told people how much I get out of helping others so I guess it is my turn to learn how to let others experience that as well by allowing them to help me. Besides learning to accept and embrace help, I am working on saying NO and knowing my limits more often (huge for me), how to just say "thank you" and let someone do something for me (another huge one), and trying to express my weaknesses and what I need (mind blowing for me)! I am a work in progress for sure...thank you all for your patience and love!

Appointments

So far this week I have had an ultra sound of my kidney, pneumonia shot with my new internal medicine doctor, a lesson on my port and tomorrow a tour of the infusion center and appointment for genetic testing. Maybe I should just go get an apartment in La Jolla to shorten the drive? LOL

My New Friend

Today was interesting to say the least. Joe was out of town and Kendall was teaching a kids camp so Sheila took me again. We went to get the low down on my portocath. We actually got to hold it in our hands and really check it out. It is made of titanium and was heavier than I thought it would be. It is about the size of a quarter in diameter but much thicker. (I have a picture below so you can see it) Well, Sheila and I feel like it looks like it came off the Terminator. That got me thinking and I decided that I need to name this device that will be in me until this entire journey is over. I have decided that it will be Arnold! He is going to help us "Terminate" my cancer and be the port to my restored health! Let's do this Arnold...but this time you WON'T say, "I'll be back!"

Blessings

The GENTLEman that did my ultra sound was Cesar. I made GENTLE all uppercase because he was such a sweet and gentle man. Just to start, as he was walking me down the hall from the waiting room and I commented on how thankful I was he called me because a woman who had sat next to me was wearing an entire bottle of perfume. For those of you that know me well know that I get a migraine from perfumes. He put me in the room for the test and left me for a few minutes. When he came back in he told me, in his cute little accent, that he had gone and wiped off his aftershave so I could enjoy my appointment with him! I felt so badly and explained I had not even noticed it. He spoke so sweet and calmly through the procedure, explaining things about my kidneys and comforting me that they see these types of fatty tumors all the time and that I need not worry about it. He also told me my right kidney looks great. The best part was when we were done. He looked so sincerely into my eyes, told me he would be praying for me, and that he had such a strong feeling that everything was going to turn out just fine for me. He could feel it in his heart! I left with a big smile on my face. It is amazing how one person can make such a difference in another persons day. Let's all do that tomorrow for someone...yup, that's another challenging I am throwing out at y'all! 

This is Arnold, my "Terminator".  He will be going "underground" next Tuesday. Oh yeah, I have to carry a card with me explaining why I will set off metal detectors! 

Interesting, gross and cool all at the same time. I am told that this will make a huge difference during my treatment. They will use this port for everything including blood draws, any injections, IVs and infusions.