Learning to Live My New "Normal"

Now that I’ve had two infusions and I kind of know what to expect, my stitching mojo is beginning to return.  Progress has been made on my Homage to Mutti EPP project.  One third of the center ring is finished and I’ve begun working on the second. 

 

I enjoy working on it while watching podcasts on my computer.  It’s a messy workspace, but I like it.

 

My second infusion was last week.  It was another very long day since my preliminary appointment started late and took longer than expected.  I did get the very good news that the blood marker they are following has moved in the right direction.  And while I can’t claim to feel good following these infusions, so far, I have managed the side effects fairly well as long as I allow myself ample recovery time afterwards.

 

We had Swallows nesting on our back porch this summer.  I caught this last chick working up the courage to take flight.  This is the first nest we’ve had since we had the ceiling painted sky blue.  I guess his parents weren’t fooled.

 

This 500-piece puzzle was a lot more work than I expected.  A new one is in its earliest stages.

 

My Snake Plant in the house has decided to bloom.  It’s been several years since it did so.  I’ve had abysmal luck with my outdoor plants this summer, so I’m counting this as a win.

Life Happenings

It’s been “hot minute” since I last sat down to the keyboard to post.  Honestly, the sewing room has been largely inactive since June 9.  That’s the day I opened a document on my patient portal expecting to see something about the previous week’s gallbladder surgery.  Instead, there was a pathology report telling me I had cancer from an unknown source.  

Since then, my time has been crammed with more tests, scans, a trip to MD Anderson Cancer Center and a port insertion.  I had my first infusion Wednesday.  The current diagnosis is Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma.  It’s like Ovarian Cancer without the ovary and receives the same chemotherapy treatment.  The hope is that I will get a remission.

It took a while to determine a diagnosis, with it changing at least once.  So, I delayed this post in order that our extended family could be given an update first.

Meanwhile, I am surrounded by an army of prayer warriors and my sweet Tuesday quilty friends gifted me with a chemo quilt.  Every one of them made a point of contributing to the effort.

My hair has been cut VERY short and yesterday we went in search of a wig.

It needs a little styling!

All this is new to me.  It’s my hope that now that we have an established plan of action and a schedule in place, I will feel more like stitching and posting.