summertime and the livin' is easy, fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high...

August has come and gone, and it is now September. Yeehaw! The last weekend of summer was a great one. I got to have my chemo (yay!), I got to snuggle with a dear friend's newborn baby (double yay!), and I got to spend the weekend in Galveston with friends (triple yay!). This is the 3rd or 4th year we have made the trek to the beach house, and I was pretty convinced we wouldn't be able to go this year. It just didn't seem feasible, or even responsible. What if I felt carsick? What if I was nauseous the whole time? What if I got a massive sunburn from the chemo? So many things could go horribly wrong.

Last weekend was rough for me psychologically after having to miss chemo. I was noticeably down, and felt like I was failing at chemo even though there's nothing I can do about white blood cells other than take the neupogen shot I have been prescribed. I decided that come hell or high water, nothing was going to stop me from going on this trip. I needed it. I knew I wouldn't be spending too much time on the beach soaking up the sun, but that wasn't the point. The point was to get out of the house and forget about cancer, and that is exactly what we did. I had the best time with our friends, playing games, talking about life, laughing, and I even snuck in some time on the beach. Don't worry, it was cloudy/rainy and I wore SPF 55. My bald head is still lily white.

So my neutrophil count (this has something to do with white blood cells, but I don't quite understand it...) was back up this week, but not quite as high as Dr. O would like it to be. Apparently you need at least 1,000 to get chemo, and I was at 1,200 (last week it was only 600. Yikes!). On the one hand, I doubled my count in a week. On the other hand, doubling next to nothing still isn't very much. Dr. O has decided that I will do two days worth of at home neupogen shots to try to keep my white blood cells in line. Hopefully this will do the trick!

In other news, today I wore a shirt to work that I apparently haven't worn since BC (before chemo). I found not one, but two long brown hairs clinging to it at various points throughout the day. A rare occurrence, indeed.

get out there and enjoy it!

Love y'all,
Jess