Thursday, June 24, 2010

Marathons, Visitors, and the Sweats

As I mentioned in the last post, Grandma's Marathon was coming up. It is now receding into the past. The runners ran (and walked), the bazzilians of paper cups have been picked up, and the hoards have mostly left town (at least until the next big thing).

We were blessed by a visit from Moose of Give a Moose a Muffin fame. See was here to visit with family and then to work the medical tent at the finish line. It was fun to see her and to meet her sister and her aunt.

The visit was short but still nice. She was leaving the day after the marathon to head west for more family and to check in on the housekeeping of another well known blogger that she went to school with in Montana. Safe travels.

Around here this week it has all been about new phones. My son has been camping out at the ATT store so he can score one of the first Apple 4GS iPhones to hit town. Then he is off to Vermont on a road trip with a classmate and her mom to check out some schools and drop his friend off at a camp. He was recruited to help with the driving and because the mom thinks he is a good conversationalist.

The girl is recharging her batteries by staying mostly in bed except when she is not working. Who knew that younguns could sleep so much.

As for me, I have been struggling with fatigue. I am still fighting the lung congestion and attendant sinus issues. Plus I have been running low grade fevers on and off. All of this has left me feeling like all of the energy has been sucked out of me. It's a drag.

Risa and I walked down the hill to watch the marathon, but I couldn't make it more than a few blocks before I had to sit down and rest. Not normal for me at all. The climb back up the hill to the house went very slowly.

I talked to the Mayo people about it, but there wasn't much they could suggest. Well, I let you know how it goes.

TTFN

Friday, June 11, 2010

Mayo Results

Yesterday was a Mayo day. It was a followup visit to my regularly scheduled trip last month. The purpose was to do another chest scan to see if my chronic lung condition had gotten better after being off the experimental drug for four weeks. In the interim, I have been on a high-dose course of prednisone (say hello to chipmunk cheeks) and a strong antibiotic. Now for the test.

The results were good. My lungs were almost completely clear as opposed to last month where spidery tendrils and shadowy masses showed in the scan. So, dear readers, I am allowed to continue taking the study drug for now.

The doc and I decided that I would go back on, but cut my dosage in half by taking it every other day. In three months time, I will go back for a full scan to see what the lymphoma is doing. So, that's that.

It was a long day though. We got up at 5 AM for the drive to Rochester. We stayed in the Twin Cities last night and will do some supply shopping today before heading back to Duluth. Looks like a very rainy day here right now.

Sometime this week, one of our favorite bloggers is rumored to be hitting town from Alaska. She said something about the "marathon" which would have to be Grandma's Marathon, one of the most beautiful runs in the country stretching out along the shores of Lake Superior and finishing up in historical Canal Park in Duluth. We are hoping that she might have time for a visit and barley time on the deck. Will let you know.