It's a Photo Finish

So I rush to the end of my chemo marathon and I'm too pooped to post.

Thankfully, Fiona is in my cheering section when I cross.

And she brought her camera!

Please click on the post title to see Fiona's awesome tribute at the finish line.

Today and Tomorrow

The last two days of chemo...

Ever!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day here in the United States.

For all you wonderful women out there, thank you. Words will never fully express my gratitude and appreciation for your contributions to the human race. We are nothing without you.

May I introduce you to Rosalyn Virginia Chamberlin?

She's my mother...

and my dad's best friend.

I love you, Mom!

P.S. Six days and counting with chemo. (This is a cancer blog, after all. :-))

Life's Little Distractions

This little distraction let me drive it home a few weeks back.

It's been living here ever since.

I've been very happy about that.

Carla says it's a very pretty car,

and a fun ride.

It's even more fun to drive.

My children are now asking me to teach them how to drive a car with a manual transmission.

And for the first time in our marriage,

so is Carla.

Go figure!

We're looking forward to our first mini road trip,

just the two of us...

Carla and me.

Michael helped me clean this beauty today,

right after I taught him how to drive it in an unused parking lot.

So now I have a car cleaning buddy and a very excited son.

Of course, I'm excited too!

The other little distraction in my life is cancer...

Can you guess which one I prefer?

I was supposed to start my sixth and last round of chemotherapy on Friday morning. Didn't happen.

Thursday was spent at the Huntsman Cancer Institute getting my lab work done, checking in with my oncology team, and visiting my ostomy nurse. I've had a skin rash around my ileostomy for the last two weeks. It even got into my naval. (Let's all say "yuck".) It itches, it seeps, it gets crusty, and it starts all over again. Daily. I was given a prescription for the rash which is helping, but Friday morning the rash decided to fight back first.

A new spot showed up all purply and puss filled. Carla immediately declared it infected and started stabbing it with a needle. Since we were changing my ostomy wafer at the time, we decided not to put the new one on for a few hours. This gave my rashy skin some air time, but it also left me and my stoma 'au naturale' for most of the morning.

The ostomy wafer sticks to my skin around the stoma and holds the plastic bag which covers it. Imagine what fun I had holding a bowl under my stoma instead, playing catch as it proceeded to process my breakfast. Makes me look forward to loosing my memory in my old age.

We do feel the medicine and the extra two days off have helped the rash calm down. Nobody wants me getting infected while on chemo. Chemo exacerbates everything it comes across. Tomorrow morning, Sunday, I'll start taking my Xeloda again. This delay will cost me two more days in May. I will now finish chemo on Saturday night, May 14th. Nothing like moving the finish line late in a race...

Not to worry, though. As much as I really don't want to go back on chemo, I really do want to get this last round started, because the next stop is the FINISH LINE!

Of life's little distractions, I have to say that my spunky little Mazda Miata found me just in time. My newest distraction definitely helps me deal with my second.