Catching up

Here's a post for catching up. Who would have thought I could miss so much in just a couple of days....I'll break them out by subject:

NYC:

AWESOME!!! We had a great time. The weather was good, really hot, but good. It didn't rain. We both decided it would not have been fun in the cold or rain. So the short version is, Thursday we got to JFK around noon, got to the hotel around 2. Met a friend from years ago at the Wicked theater to try our luck at the lottery (we didn't win) and then went to dinner. It was great to catch up with him. He has been living in NY since we graduated from college. He works in a law firm but does theater on the side, so it was fun to get his point of view of the city and everything that goes on there. Friday we had a walking tour of lower Manhattan (downtown, ground zero, Wall St.). It was a 3 hour tour but very informative and nice. Even though it was hot, it didn't feel too bad. Then we wandered through Battery Park near the Statue of liberty, then back to the hotel to lay down for a while before our dinner reservations at 5:30. We ate at The View in the Marriott. It was high above the city and spun around so we could see all directions throughout the meal. Our tickets for the Lion King were for the 8pm show. It was so good!!! I loved the costumes, loved the music, loved everything except the kids sitting in front of us. I realize the play is based on a cartoon, but I don't think Broadway is anyplace to bring small children. Saturday we did a bus tour most of the day. It was hop on, hop off tour for all areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn including 1 at night. So we did uptown, downtown and the night tour. We didn't get off the bus much b/c it was 96* most of the day! But we did get to go on a boat to go out and look at the statue of liberty. So we did that all day and then the night tour...it was a long day. Then Sunday we got up, got breakfast at a little deli and then off to the airport. It was fast trip, but so fun.

Baby:

On the baby front (which I am pleased to say I didn't think much about while we were gone) the Clomid isn't working. Apparently I don't respond to these types of drugs and they aren't producing very many follicles. I did have 1 that was of decent size, so we went ahead with the ovidrel shot and will do the progesterone starting Thursday. I'm nervous about that after all the horrible thoughts I had on it before. So I'm going to be mindful of it and try to stop them before they start. But we have a very busy 2 weeks so hopefully it'll just fly by. I'm sort of bummed because there's really no way we can have twins (the other follicles were very small) but on the other hand, I just want one, healthy baby. We saw the other dr in the practice yesterday and he was also very nice. Very personable. Which is always nice. So anyway...today is CD 14, I'm not sure when I'll test, but probably CD 28 or after, if I can wait that long! I don't have very high hopes for this cycle. But the dr said that because the Clomid didn't do much more on 100mg, he gave me a prescription for 150mg for next time. And I assume if that doesn't work I'll move onto daily FSH shots. That is the one nice thing about the RE, they don't waste any time!! And the ultrasound was WAY cheaper than the one at the hospital. So that's nice too. So anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

My grandma:

She's doing very well. In a skilled nursing center and in physical therapy. She's been walking with a walker and doing well, but can't go too far. They're going to evaluate her on Aug. 4th to see about coming home b/c that will have been 1 month. I'm just glad she's doing ok and happy where she's at.

And last...

My mom:

So my mom had her 3 month MUGA scan and bone scan last Monday and her appointment with Dr. L on Weds before Chemo to go over the scans. Of course the scans were ready yet so she went ahead with Chemo and then read them after. Well apparently her spots are growing (after only 3 months on Abraxane) so Dr. L doesn't want her doing that drug anymore (basically a waste of a chemo session this last time). There's 1 drug she can do at the Cancer Center here in Kalamazoo but the other option is a test study being done in Detroit. Dr. L is going to call the dr over there to discuss my mom with her and decide if that is a better fit. Basically it sucks that her spots are growing, it sucks that there's not another drug for her to take right away, it sucks that she has been going through this for 10+ years, it sucks that she just lost one of her very good friends to the same disease. She was VERY upset about all the turn of events. She's been so lucky to always have another drug to take and another option, but this time it's different. She meets with Dr. L on Thursday to discuss further options. She has an appointment on Aug. 13th in Detroit for the study. This makes me feel so sad for her. I want her to be healthy again, I want her to be healthy for her grand children and herself. I will be hoping and praying for her and if you have any extra prayers, please say one for her too. I don't know what to pray for, she'll never be rid of the cancer, but maybe there's a treatment out there that won't make her lose her hair or make her liver enzymes go wack or make her so sick she can't get out of bed!

So there you have it....the last 6 days in a nutshell....sorry this is so long, but hopefully I won't have much to post in the next few weeks!