A new 'do and attitude!

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all enjoying this great summer weather and deep fried fair food! I went to the fair the other night to see "Who's Bad", a Michael Jackson tribute band. Made me miss the King of Pop even more. There's nobody like him. On top of that, I went to the fair 2 days into my 21 days Cleanse Program - no fair food for me. Hopefully one of you will enjoy a deep fried Oreo on my behalf:)

Bonnie is going really well. She's enjoying her new found freedom and taking advantage of her driving opportunities. The frustrating part is that most of her driving involves doctor appointments instead of Girl Scout meetings or shopping for some party she is planning. Cancer sucks! However, the brave face stays on knowing that this too shall pass.

Yesterday Bonnie, Bug and B made a trip to Lisa to get a new hairdo in anticipation of the loss of her hair at some point during the treatment. Unfortunately I could not join in the event, but I know Lisa took good care of all of them. Bonnie has a zip in her step and a new hairdo to go with it. She looks great and it's nice to see the girls involved as well. Take a look:



There are a couple of issues she is still dealing with: the swelling in her arm is the main one at this point. She is getting PT to help with the range of motion and to get the fluid to drain properly. Although this is really annoying, Bonnie isn't letting that keep her down.

The next big step will be on July 8th when Bonnie goes in to have the chemo shunt (?) put in. That will be a very early morning appointment that Tom will take her to.
Chemo will start the next day on July 9th. I will take her to this appointment and entertain her with my dry wit and awesome vocal skills. No seriously - I will just sit there while she talks to every single person in the chemo room. 4-5 hours of this? I wonder if I can get a Vodka drip line for me??

The good news is that although she will be making regular trips to "Dr. Poison", our little sister and her family (including the new baby she is adopting) will be down to visit on July 12th. It will be great to see her and to get the sisters and cousins together. It's nice to have something to look forward to other than doctor appointments.

Continued thanks to all of you for your love and support. Enjoy your summer days!

Heather

Great news!

Hi Everyone,

Happy 2nd day of summer! It's a beautiful day today and I'm happy to report that Bonnie is enjoying the sunshine DRAIN FREE! Yes!! She visited Dr. McDreamy yesterday afternoon and removed the drains. No pain and a quick process. This is a big step in her recovery and she is really, really relieved to have some more freedom. Her body is still healing, but coming along very nicely. The best part was hearing she went and celebrated with a Margarita at Alfonso's in La Jolla. I'm happy that each little victory is being recognized. Wish I could have been there to raise a glass (or five) to my awesome nursing skills. After all, isn't this really what it's all about?

The next step will be to get approval to start driving. We are hoping that she will hear from him very soon, as that will be another positive step forward. It will also be another headache for me, as I will need to spend time trying to keep her from over doing it (along with the rest of you guys!). If anyone knows where I can buy one of those children's dog leashes you see on kids at Disneyland, let me know. I'm interested. I'll make it fit her one way or the other:)

 

 

 



So, along with this new found freedom, comes some challenges: can she wash her hair by herself? can she bake without full range of motion of her arms? I for one, look forward to seeing what Bonnie Crocker can produce in the kitchen.

A goal for Bonnie is to start exercising (what's that? you need to start to?). After years of teaching fitness classes, I landed on the following saying, as the best motivation: Exercise first thing in the morning before your brain knows what you are doing! It would be great if we could start a walking group combined with a weight training session with Bonnie. She would be great motivation for anyone that also wants to workout. Just be sure she has her harness on so she doesn't get too far ahead of you!



“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
― Henry David Thoreau


Enjoy the sunshine,
Heather

Update on Chemo treatment plan

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while! I hope all of you dad's out there had a wonderful Father's Day. And yes, if you have pets, they count as your children:)

Today was our visit to "Dr. Poison" (his words, not ours) to learn about his concept of Chemo treatment for Bonnie. It's a little strange to meet with your chemo guy and having to walk past the room where your treatment will be. Bonnie would very much like to have her treatments elsewhere - you know- in a place where there's a manicurist and a mega phone so she can talk to EVERYONE that crosses her path!

Dr. Banerji reviewed the pathology report with us, which we were pretty familiar with already. But, it was nice to get his take on it since he sees it from a different perspective. Like us, he too was disappointed to see that the 2 lymph nodes with cancer cells had ruptured the membrane. Darn it! We were almost home free as far as radiation goes, except for that. We still won't know the outcome of any need for radiation until Bonnie is further into her chemo treatments.

So, it looks like she will begin her chemo runs (no pun intended) the 2nd week of July. Not a specific start date yet, but Bonnie will make that decision this week. Her treatment will be a chemo session every 3 weeks for 6 rounds (18 weeks). We are looking at the middle of November for her to finish chemo. Then, another 3-4 weeks to recover from that before moving on with Lord only knows what else. Each chemo session is 4-5 hours and will involve numerous drugs to deal with side effects, none of which I can pronounce.

The good news is Dr. Banerji was insistent upon a few things: plenty of water, plenty of sleep and plenty of exercise! Finally! Something we both agree on! The more fit Bonnie can be, the easier the side affects will be on her.

How can you help? Please walk with her, sit with her while she rides her stationary bike, etc. Being a spin and boot camp instructor, I know she won't want me around her for any of that:)

Although Bonnie was prepared for the need for chemo, it's another thing when you have to sit down and talk a treatment plan. I could see her anxiety and uncertainty rising throughout the conversation and can't imagine what it must feel like to hear those words coming at her. I am only a bystander and it made me very anxious. Bonnie's brave face is still there, but I do also see this as a beautiful opportunity for her to get connected to her body, and let others have the joy in caring for her. I know that's what I experienced while taking care of her after the surgery. And, I know all of you that care so deeply for my sister, feel that joy too!

Her next appointment is this Friday where she returns to McDreamy and hopes to not only get the drains removed but also get clearance to drive. Watch out!

Stay tuned for more as we get closer to her start date.

Heather

At home update - Wednesday

Hi Everyone,

It's hump day and the sun is out! What more could we ask for? How about some better pain killers for Bonnie (sounds of cheering in the background). Bonnie had a visit today with Dr. Apostolitis (aka: McDreamy) and things are moving along nicely. She has another appointment next Wednesday where he will consider removing the drains. That would be a real bonus! Let's pray for this, as that would really give her some relief and a little more Independence. Wait - maybe we shouldn't pray for Independence - you know how she gets:)

I will be visiting her tomorrow and getting a birds eye view on how she is doing, so I'll update the blog tomorrow afternoon as well.

The next big appointment is on June 17th - a visit with the oncologist to learn about the chemo treatment. I'll keep you updated on that as well.

Talk to you soon!
Heather

At home recovery update - Sunday

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for continuing to check the blog for updates. I went back to my house Friday night and will most likely stay here with visits to Bonnie during the week. She is still very much in the recovery phase and is coming along nicely with the exception of pain management. This is an area that we are still trying to get a grip on. The pain meds she has (2 kinds) are not really working so it is very difficult for her to get any relief. Tomorrow, she has a phone consult with her doctor and will discuss the pain issue with them in the hopes of getting something that will work. I do have her on one of my whole food products that she has been using to help her sleep (works great!) and am now having her take one during the day to help take the edge off. It is my hope that tomorrow we can get a resolution to this very draining issue.

For now, Bonnie will continue to rest at home, watch bad daytime TV and hopefully get some much needed sleep. We visit Dr. Mcdreamy on Wednesday for another check up, and expect to continue to get his seal of approval on her recovery.

Our next big appointment is on Monday, June 17th, when we visit the oncologist to get details on her chemo treatment. I will be sure to update the blog once we get some definitive information. I hope to also learn something about any possibility of radiation, as we are still unclear about that.

So, I will continue to post blogs, but for the next week, they may be a little more infrequent. Please continue to check in, even for my sarcastic jokes:)

As far as visits go, feel free to call her directly and see what she is up to. Once we get the pain level down, I'm sure she will be much more receptive to visitors.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. This is a long road we are all on, and I'm so happy to be able to walk this with my sister as well as all of you!

XO,
Heather

At Home update

Hi Everyone,

Bonnie is coming along nicely. I think we have a routine established, which involves morning walks around the hood in her bathrobe and light socket hairdo, sipping tea while wandering around the house in "stepford" fashion, followed up with some drug induced hallucinations and a nice morning nap. Repeat. This is my life...:)

This morning we had a visit with Dr. "Mc" (you know the rest). Boy, did we both miss our hospital wake up call by him! He gave his stamp of approval on her progress with more instructions of continued rest and limited use of her arms. This is a very important phase of her healing, and I'm thankful to all of you for your patience. You all know Bonnie - if I give her a walk down to the corner, she thinks it means a trip to Disneyland. Needless to say, the good doctor wrote us a scrip for the stronger pain med, which really improves her ability to rest and heal (especially when I slip her a couple of extras just for fun!).

Bonnie will be up for some visits tomorrow. In order to keep her resting, we decided to keep "visiting hours" to 10am - 1pm. She has good energy once she is awake and I have knocked her around a bit. She does get tired towards the afternoon and thru the evening. It will be at least another full week or so before she will get clearance to drive or have full range of motion with her arms. And then...watch out!

I will continue in my roll as Nurse Ratched, however, I will be in and out this weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to meet those of you that I have not met yet.

On a serious note, Bonnie and I are very different in that she is clearly and extrovert and loves to meet new people. I am the opposite, being the shy, quiet one. For 50 years I have wondered why on earth she would need so many friends, while I am so very happy with my 5 (I made 2 new ones in the last 10 years) lifelong friends. With the out poring of love and support from all of you, I now understand how blessed my sister is.

See you all soon, I hope!
Nurse Ratched 

Day 1 at home - Finally

Good Morning Everyone,

It's a great day to be home! After a delightful stay at Scripps Memorial (aka: Marigold Hotel), where Bonnie received incredible care from very loving and sensitive people, we checked out yesterday afternoon. We had lots of help there, but our favorite nurse was Jordan. She was funny and kind and really knowledgeable. You would never know she has only been a nurse for 8 months. We had a ball with her!

 

 



Once released, we had a visit with the surgeon who confirmed that Bonnie has Stage 2A cancer. She removed 23 lymph nodes and only 2 out of the 23 showed any cancer in them. This is all great news and we were very happy with these results. In 2 weeks we go to see the "poison doctor" to discuss chemo treatment (chemo is definite since there is cancer in the nodes). We will also have to meet with the radiologist to see if she needs any treatment there. We don't have any more details until after these meetings take place. For now, the protocol is rest, rest, and more rest (ya right - have you met Bonnie??)

We arrived home early last night to a delicious meal, warm shower and ice cold vodka. Oh yes, Bonnie came home too:)  She was so happy to be back in her own home and resting comfortably in her bed. The evening ended with lots of meds and sleeping pills (yes, I shared mine with her).

 

 

This morning started off without our usual wake up call from McDreamy. What a let down that was! Instead, I wake up to puppy breath in my face and Bonnie wandering around the house. After some breakfast, a quick stroll down the street in her bathrobe (really??) and throwing the ball for Charlie as if I was a major league pitcher, we went back home. Trying to get Bonnie to relax and go back to bed once she is up, is a bit like herding kittens. I'm sure you get the picture. We will spend today resting, watching movies and keeping her so medicated, I get a break.

Tomorrow we go see McDreamy for a check up - at least I have that to look forward to:)

Love, Nurse Ratched

Check out day!

Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday was a challenge but we ended up increasing her pain meds which made a big difference. Bonnie was able to get comfortable towards the late afternoon and had a good night of rest as well. The staff here is so great and they are really supportive of a patients need for sleep.

Our morning started off around 7am with room service. This morning's special was a "lovely" bran muffin, followed up with smelly "astronaut" eggs. You know the kind - powdered eggs with some luke warm water mixed in. Delicious! Luckily, I brought some homemade breakfast bars (Bonnie is finally accepting them) and we still have some yummy snacks that various friends have brought over.

Around 7:30 McDreamy visited to check her progress and everything looks really great. He is really pleased with how she is healing and that there is no bruising. I wonder why he gave me a weird look when I asked him to check my "dressings"?  We have instructions (ok - I have the instructions as Bonnie is too stoned to remember anything) to get her home, showered and comfortable.

As today is check out day, we will be unavailable after 12 noon. That will give Bonnie time this morning to visit with people, get in a good nap, and be ready to go by 3pm. After check out, we go right over to see her surgeon and get the results from the pathology report and hopefully more details on chemo and any possibility of radiation. I don't expect us to have her home until around 5pm or later.

If possible, I will try and post another update tonight regarding the results, but it will depend on how much time it takes me to get her settled in. Otherwise, I will update in the morning.

As Bonnie's body is still reeling from the surgery, it would be best if we held off on home visits until this weekend. Because she is so loaded up on meds, it's hard for her to understand the impact of all of this on her body, so I have to keep her rest time the main priority. I know she loves hearing from all of you, as I read her your texts, emails and blog comments. We both continue to be grateful for all the love and support. Thank you all for being so patient in regards to the visits. I know it's hard for all of you to not be able to see her, but I know she will also want to shower, wash her hair and have Marcia put on her "baby Jane" makeup so she can look presentable:)

Thanks again and love to all!
Heather

Day 2 hospital update

Good Morning All,

To back up a bit and update you on the surgery results: after her surgeon was done yesterday, she came to tell Tom and I that they did find cancer cells in the lymph nodes. They took out as many nodes as they could and they are now in for testing. We will get those results tomorrow afternoon when we meet with Dr. Wild after checking out. We do know there will be some form of chemotherapy, but we won't get details on that or radiation until tomorrow afternoon. We are disappointed about the chemo, but realize that things could be worse.

We had a pretty good night. Bonnie was able to rest despite the monitoring by the nurses. She is getting great care here and everyone is very friendly and helpful. We changed up her pain meds as the original one wasn't working very well, so we are making some progress.

Our morning started with drool on my pillow, Bonnie's hair looking lovely, and a very early morning visit with McDreamy. He is really happy with her progress - no bruising and tissue is nice and pink and healthy. We are due to see him again tomorrow morning before she goes home (I'm waking up extra early to at least get mascara on both of us!).

Bonnie is in more pain today, but she is respecting her body and getting lots of rest. We went for a nice walk around the halls (no - I didn't leave the back of her gown open) and her drains are working nicely. I visited the cafeteria, and I am happy to report they carry lots of fresh, healthy foods, fruit and teas. Of course, I was slightly tempted to bring her a doughnut:)

We will limit visitors today, due to the increase in pain and added need for rest. The girls spoke with Bonnie last night and they are feeling pretty good her being here. They will come visit her later today/tomorrow.

I will get another post in as soon as I can get a connection tomorrow morning. It's a little difficult, as they don't have WiFi.

Thanks again everyone. I'm passing along your text messages and blog comments. Thanks so much for the love and prayers!

Nurse Ratched

Surgery day - update No. 1

We just met with Dr. Wild, her surgeon. She said Bonnie is doing really well and felt very positive about her part of the surgery. We are now waiting for an update from her plastics surgeon. We don't expect him to be done for another couple of hours. We hope to have more information by the end of the day. Once she is out of surgery, she will be in recovery for about an hour, then we go over to the hospital to get checked into her room.

I will try and get another update in today, depending on how things go. If not,  I will definitely get another update in tomorrow morning.

Thanks so much!
Heather

Good Morning Friends/Family,

Today started off bright and early with the wake up call around 5am. Most of the morning was spent on regular pre-op tasks: laundry, vacuuming, throwing the ball for Charlie and making sure the hair looks good for McDreamy. After watching the girls make their own breakfast, we headed to the surgery center. There we were greeted by Marilyn, Bonnie's intake nurse. She also is a little sister and understood me right away - we bonded while Bonnie was telling stories of how she tortured me when we were young. Bonnie and I then went to get her into her operating gown and cute socks (oops - did I leave the back of the gown open?!).  We then met with her anesthesiologist (another young, cute dr - I'm seeing a pattern here!) and her surgeon. Around 9:15 we walked Bonnie to her operating room doors and waved her off. Luckily, before then I had time to scrawl a note to her doctors on the front of her gown: "take care of my sister!  XO, Heather, the much younger and less wrinkled sister". I'm certain the whole o.r. will appreciate the message.

Upon returning to the waiting area, we were greeted with Bonnie's prayer group. What a wonderful source of support and beautiful prayers were said. Bonnie has felt from the beginning that God was directing her thru this ordeal and she has had peace all along from that realization. Thank you ladies for your support and love.

We are now waiting for an update once her surgeon is done. This should be around 12 noon or so. Another post will follow once we get that update as well as the one we will receive later today from Dr. McDreamy.

XO, Heather (Nurse Ratched)