Thursday, July 28, 2011

Be Careful What You Wish For.....

What feels like lifetimes ago I had a classmate that had his tonsils removed and when he returned to school he told me about how he had to go to the hospital to have it done.  He said there were nurses that took care of him and had to come when he pushed a button.  Even if all he needed was another blanket or the television station turned, they had to come.  He continued on to tell me how he got all of the popsicle's and ice cream that he wanted.  As for the school work that he was missing, like the daily black board "pop quiz" questions or writing what seemed like endless lines of definitions....he got worksheets that contained far less work than what we did in class.

I remember thinking how nice that sounded without thinking about the fact that you needed to be sick or having surgery to be in the hospital.  So I went home and that night I laid in bed looking out the window at the clear night sky above and made a wish. "I wish that I could go to the hospital".

Sunday, May 15, 2011

It's funny how 2 1/2 months feels like a lifetime ago...

If I had to describe what has gone on since my last post at the end of February with only one word I'd have to go with....UNBELIEVABLE.

After 5 1/2 months of remission I received a phone call around March 17th from my oncologist advising me that my last set of labs drawn the first week of March were "questionable" and I needed to come in and see her on March 21st instead of waiting until my April 16th appointment.  I was feeling okay at the time of the phone call.  A little fatigue but nothing to be alarmed about.  I'd had a cold for a few weeks but nothing crazy.  I wasn't bruising easily, there were no petechia on my skin, I wasn't running any fevers and outside of dealing with the unrelenting pain of my spleen and the daily issues with nausea and vomiting I was managing to have a somewhat normal life again.  I wasn't panicked.  It was just another doctors appointment.  Another check-up to get through.  No big deal.

Monday, February 28, 2011

The dollars and sense of it....

Today my husband came home early from work for the first time in almost a year.  I would've loved to think it was to spend more time as a family but unfortunately that is not our reality of late.  With my diagnosis, the loss of my income and the added cost of medications, gas back and forth across the lake each week for appointments and the day to day expenses that just come with life Jon has had to take every opportunity to make extra money.  What does he get for this extra hard work?  Well this week it seems he's run himself down and ended up with a bit of exhaustion and the flu. 

Before I dosed him with NyQuil and sent him to bed in a surgical mask he told me a little about his day.  Particularly about a meeting they had at the dealership regarding health insurance.  For those of you that don't know, or are just now beginning to read my blog my family and myself were uninsured at the time of my diagnosis.  This, unfortunately, in today's economy and job market is not an unusual thing.  Basically we gambled in order to cut corners to pay bills and other debt (most from past medical issues when I did have insurance) and just couldn't afford the nearly $1000 per month premium to insure our family of four.  Not to mention what we would have paid out of pocket before meeting the $5000 deductible.  Then of course there were the pre-exsisting conditions that would keep me uncovered but still paying premiums for the first year. 

It was an expense we couldn't take on.  It was a gamble that we took and on April 27, 2010  and we lost....big!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Going from bad to castor oil.....this is how you rock Valentine's Day in the Land of "L"!

In an effort to be compliant with my new GI doctor and his "let's cross all the t's and dot all the i's" mentality of trying to find out why I've spent 2/3 of my day nauseated, vomiting and in gut wrenching abdominal pain (could it be the enlarged spleen....maybe??) for the past 4 1/2 months I spent my Valentine's Day eating water based foods (pass the jello and watermelon) until 7p and then having to down a cocktail of castor oil and orange juice to "cleanse" for the upper GI series the following day.  

Sure I could have written about the experience of downing the castor oil...but how fun would that have been?  So in order for you to really understand the hell fun that myself and my family endured I decided to let Jon document the experience.  Enjoy my suffering.....

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

My coping mechanism is busted....

If I ever believed that the hard part was over now that I'm a full 4 months into clinical remission....I was sadly mistaken.  The "hard part" is no longer marked with hospital stays or poor blood counts but instead marked with emotionally charged moments of crying inexplicably and wondering "what now" and "what's next".  Some who have not been here would say...what next is to live your life.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Penny's Thoughts on "Life in the Land of "L"

My dog Penny, aka my third child, has been a pretty permanent and recurring presence on Southern Fried Life so I am proud to announce her debut on Life in the Land of "L".  Here's Penny's perspective on life with and owner who has Leukemia......


Sunday, January 30, 2011

Like all transformations that aren't surgically based...that took F-O-R-E-V-E-R....

You'd think my very first post of this new and REMISSION filled new year (I'm totally working that "if I say it or write it then it's true") would be about my health and the changes that are taking place in it.  Ahhh ha ha ha....NO...it's all about how I just spent the better part of 3 hours giving "Life in the Land of L" a little 2011 face lift.   

No Botox.  No Restalyn.  No strange Angelina Jolie man those can't be your real lips lips.

In case it be deemed that 2011 is the year of the new, improved and slightly look based Jessica...let me assure you that I am writing this blog in a most natural state....