It's been a week since I've written anything, time is flying by! I've been pretty busy getting my house together in Ferndale. It's pretty weird living here again as it's been well over 10 years since I stayed in my house! The day that I physically moved in was pretty memorable. The Bradford Pear tree that I planted shortly after I bought the house 12-13 years ago was damaged in a storm that rolled through here last week and 1/3 of it was on the ground in my front yard, bummer. My former tenant told me it came a couple of feet from crashing into the house, wow. So, I had to chop it up with a reciprocating saw and drag it out into the street. I'm hoping that the large gap that is left in the tree will fill in over the years...
After I got that taken care of, it's been little projects here and there that will probably take me a few months to complete as I'm in no hurry. One thing I needed to get done right away however was building a bed! I brought my memory foam pad up with me from Florida and had been laying on top of it on my floor up until tonight. I built a platform out of 2x4's and particle board that has me raised off the floor, so nice! I probably could've gone out and bought a bed but I only plan to be here a few months plus I like building things and using my hands (thus working on my strength). My forearm is pretty sore right now just from using a hammer, pretty pathetic. Oh well, it's pretty satisfying nonetheless unless this thing comes tumbling down, ha!
It really feels good being able to work on this house though... I actually cut my lawn today, the first time I've done that in a while. I've been living in apartments for the last 5+ years... There's something relaxing about mowing your lawn that's hard to explain (or understand for that matter with the annoying noise of the lawnmower and all). I think what it is for me is just being able to do this stuff again after only a few months ago not even being able to start my car as my hands were so weak. I feel a lot more useful these days...
As far as the medical stuff goes, I failed to mention in my last post that Dr. O'Connor wants me to get an MRI of my thoracic/lumbar to see if the lymphoma is in my spine. I know this sounds a little scary but we need to find out why I'm having this pain in my back. I know I have 4 infected nodes near my spine but they can't tell I guess if it's in my spine without an MRI. If you ask me, this is way overdue but better late than never I guess. So, I go next Thursday. Prior to my MRI appointment, I'm due to meet with my Neurologist to try and determine why I'm having these spasms in my hands and legs lately. It's really uncomfortable, painful and scary when I'm using my hands or stretching my legs or twisting a certain way and that particular part of my body will suddenly lock up. It mostly happens with my hands but sometimes get it in my legs when stretching or my stomach when I have to use my abdominal muscles. I have a feeling it's the residual effects from the Guillain Barre but hoping Dr. Ramchandran can treat it or mitigate it. It's always something right?
By the way, just wanted to send out some prayers and good vibes to my refractory friends Michael and Bekah (you can now follow her blog "True Beauty Never Hurries" in my blog links) who are at or potentially at the end of the road for their perspective clinical trials due to disease progression or side effects. They now have to deal with the major stress and anxiety of what to do next. I wish both of you wisdom and guidance and know that the next choice will be the best one for you.
Anyway, that's my quick update for now, looking forward to a nice weekend on the West side of the state which hopefully includes some golfing and fishing :-)
Cheers!
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