Latest News for the Month of
November 2007
It's turkey time which means its getting close to, shall I say it - Christmas. But unlike WalMart and all the other stores out there I will wait till we all get past the Thanksgiving day holiday before I start my reminders.
The weather here on the Gulf Coast has been great. No rain and only a couple days where it was considered cold. For the most part its been in the 70's during the day and great sleeping weather at night ( 50's ). We have taken advantage of all this nice weather and have been riding a great deal. A few evening rides to bike shows and day time rides out to eat. We were planning a trip to someplace ( any place ) down South in Florida but decided to stay at the resort and do some riding instead. We did have two nights where it got pretty cold so we had to don the leather chaps and jackets and gloves, but for the most part, its been gorgeous riding weather.
I am sure a few of you are wondering how I am doing with the sewing. Well I am happy to report I haven't sewed my fingers together yet or had to scream for Ally to get my hand out of the machine. So it's always a good thing when you can prevent yourself from doing any of that.
Everyone here is fine ( Ally, the cat, dog and me of course ). Its been a rough few weeks since I have switched to this new Interferon. Words cannot explain just how nasty that stuff has been. The formula is about the same as the powdered variety but there is something in this new batch that really brings on the side effects. I do not mind admitting I have been very happy I have had a good supply of pain killers. I have needed them.
I just got my blood samples back and there was a story behind that. Ally is normally so busy in the morning that she rarely has time to stick me and draw the blood samples I need. So last week I asked my Doc buddy next door Jim to do the sticking. Good Lord, that guy can stick a vein. I have never seen anyone access a vein so fast before. Straight in and straight out. The guy is a Pro for sure and I really appreciated his helping out. The great thing about all this is that when I ask for a consultation or a blood stick ( and Jim makes house calls mind you ) he never sends me a bill requesting money. Instead he is quite happy to get food instead. One of these days I am going to make a sign that says " I will Doctor for food " and hang it on his coach. :) Jim is just an awesome guy, what can I say.
My lab results were good in some respects and bad in others. My hemoglobin levels are holding steady which is a good thing. That means no phlebotomies are needed. My platelets are holding steady as well. My INR ( clotting factor ) is also normal but my white cells have dropped a little more making me susceptible to germs. I am not to the danger spot yet where I will have to cut off contact to the outside world but I am taking many more precautions then I typically do. Like washing my hands all the time and staying away from sick people. :) The great part is that I only have a couple more weeks to go and I will be done with this course of chemo and can begin to start feeling better for the Christmas Holidays.
Speaking of which, my Mom is all booked and ready to go and will be flying down here to spend Christmas with us. The only concern we have is that she may not want to go back home to cold Michigan. :) We are looking forward to seeing her and having her stay with us though. She needs a break as she hasn't had a vacation in a while.
I forgot to give an update on our little trip to the Atlantic and our stay at the Great Outdoors Resort. All I can say is WOW. That place is amazing. They have regular RV sites plus RV Ports ( covered RV sites ) and also RV home sites. This is essentially a house with a large RV garage. Those type homes were selling upwards to $ 900,000 bucks. Ouch. I reckon we wont be buying a site there anytime soon. But we made it to the Atlantic, drove around Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach and Melbourne and had a good time. It was a very relaxing trip. Here are the pictures from this adventure. ( Click here )
I hope everyone is doing well. We wish you the very best for Thanksgiving and hope you have a great time with family and friends. Do take care and be safe out there. All my best as always,
Chris
Keep up to date on the latest photos ( by clicking here )