This past week was a bit challenging, but I was thankful that James was off and able to take care of me and everything else around the house.  I experienced some intense hip pain last weekend and was hoping it wasn't due to the Nuprogen shots.  It lasted for an evening and was gone by mid morning Monday.  I haven't experienced any further joint pains and the doctor said that it usually occurs in the smaller joints so I am optimistic that I just tweaked something and all is well.  I still have some annoying nasal congestion, but at least it is out of my lungs.  

With the continual rain and wind, we had a bit of excitement when our trampoline took flight - James tried to stop it but ended up having to run.  I spotted him through the kitchen window running across the lawn.  The boys and I quickly joined him and we ended up disassembling the final pieces without getting too drenched.  

Chemo went well on Thursday, however I was much more tired than usual.  I went to bed at 8:00 Wednesday night, slept after chemo on Thursday, and went to bed early Thursday night as well.  I've been trying to drink lots of fluids, but can't seem to drink enough.  Tell tale signs - dry skin and lips, although it is that time of year.  My counts were stable this week with my white count at 4.2, red at 12.4, and neutrophils at 2.8.  The number which measures my liver function was elevated, so no alcohol.  I don't drink much, but will miss a glass of red wine with dinner.  With the elevated number, the doctor will watch my blood work closely to see if my chemo medications need to be altered.  

Thursday evening my heart was beating irregularly and it continued into Friday.  James contacted our nurse which resulted in an EKG Friday afternoon after acupuncture.  It was a short snapshot which showed that everything was fine with my heart.  I was told that it was probably due to stress, to slow down and take some time off work. I'm going to work Monday and then take the rest of this coming week off.  At least I won't go in to school - I'll still work a few hours from home each day.  

I love kids - while in the lunch room at school this past week, a fourth grader named James said, "Mrs. Huffman, your hair is growing!"  I asked him what color he thought it was.  He replied that he thought it was the same color it was before.  The boy next to him interjected that no, he thought it was gray.  James looked a bit saddened by the boy's comment.  The next morning I came into my office and found the following note and three 4-leaf clovers.  I don't know that they are helping my hair grow, but they sure made me smile.