Me and My Workout Buddy--My IV Pole!

I arrived in Houston Sunday, Nov. 6 (my mother's birthday!). Gav and I drove down from Park City. and it was a beautiful trip. Here are a few shots from Tom and Kelly's. whose house is conveniently on the way.

Gav promptly started cooking and baking as soon as we arrived in Houston.

And while she cooked, I had so many PET/CT and MRIs that I think I still am bathed in a radioactive glow.

All good news. I have a brain, the MRI brain scan showed. And a physcian's assistant who has a sense of humor.

Now, one thing I did not tell you guys but you may have guessed is the reason that I qualified for this test was because some nodules that had been stable grew. The docs first saw that at the end of August. But it was slight, so it was just wait and see. My endocrinologist was not very concerned. Six weeks later, Oct. 6, I had more scans and they had grown. They were still tiny, but one had more than doubled in size. I was still cool because my endocrinologist had told me I had two very good options. The best was the re-engineered white blood cells.

I started some very cool meditations that a writing friend of mine who wowed her doctors with her cure told me that she did. And guess what. Those nodules? Zero growth in the past month. ZerO! Really good news! This means that my re-engineered cells won't have too much work to do. And that means a smaller chance of side effects.

I checked into the hospital last night--you can see some of the decorating I did on the wall behind me. This morning I got up and my pole and I did two miles going around the floor about a million times. I am doing that every day.

Came back and a waiter was delivering my breakfast! You order off a menu here! I have to say, it is a little bit like being on a cruise ship when you finish one meal and then start checking the menu for the next!

After that, meeting with a physical therapist, getting some prep medications for the chemo, then getting my first round of chemo--I did not have time for a shower because of the short life of the chemo medications. I am again doing low-dose chemo. Which means I shouldn't have any side effects. Which I didn't last year either!

The point is to calm down my white blood cells to make room for the re-engineered ones that they'll put back into me on Wednesday. So I have chemo tomorrow and Sunday. Then I have two "rest" days, which apparently is to let the chemo run out of me.

Now I'm just waiting for my nurses to come back and take blood and then I am taking a shower! Unless the occupational therapist comes then.

And then, I'm going to do my cool meditation--which is actually backed by a lot of neuroscience that is about connecting your conscious brain, which is five percent of your brain, and your subconscious, which is the rest, to get some cool messaging to your body. It turns out that for the most part, genes are not destiny except for a very few instances, like Down's Syndrome, and your body can up and down regulate them. And then, it's catching up on homework for the Solo Show class that I'm taking and then cranking on Cured.

Before dinner I'm going to do a yoga sculpt session in the family waiting area--I can put my weights in the basket on my IV pole and just go there. I have a private room, for which I am VERY grateful, but it turns out that I am spending not one week in the horse pistol, as my dad used to say, but two. That's because they decided to do all chemo inpatient instead of outpatient, mainly I think, because I will be somewhat immuno compromised. So anytime I can get out of my room, I am going to grab that chance!

And that's just gonna be my routine for most of my stay here!