Dying with Debra

Oh fickle hope! I woke this morning feeling quite refreshed. no pain. Not daring to get up yet, I lay in bed for the next 45 minutes, letting my mind wander … mostly enjoying the sensation of being pain-free. I stood up carefully. Wait, wow, had my stomach become less distended? Could this be a…

Wake up and get dressed, eat a little breakfast with my Tylenol and RSO ✔️ Get to blood draw appointment on time ✔️ Peak into the front office where Dr Berry is kibitzing with the front staff. Tap him on his shoulder ✔️ My decision to engage Dr Berry was instantaneous and my instinct served…

Baxter never ceases to amaze me. He is 18 months old and settling down so well. His latest growth challenge was to meet the orange kittens 3. I have gotten most of my kittens as tiny babies, often 2-3 weeks old. A few litters were even born at my home. When these young kittens met…

Before I share my sad and scary, let’s start the day off with a smile. It’s Abby time! Our littlest tribe member persuaded her parents that spring break in Asheville, North Carolina, was well worth the 9-10 hours in the car. She probably promised them she wouldn’t cry or carry on. All I know is…

If I wanted to produce, direct and star in an episode of “When Drug Testing Goes Bad,” I had my chance last night. Yesterday’s hydrocodone had kept some but not all of my pain suppressed during the day and evening. I followed my script for the days’s experiment and swallowed the last pill at bed…

Definitions of tchotchke. (Yiddish) an inexpensive showy trinket. synonyms: chachka, tsatske, tshatshke. type of: collectable, collectible. things considered to be worth collecting (not necessarily valuable or antique I just brought out the triple frog vase to celebrate spring or to pretend that we have a spring in Florida or will ever have a spring. Anyway,…

I was casually scrolling through my oldest Google photos looking for a memory to share with you. Something funny, uplifting or incredibly adorable. Instead, I found a picture of my mom taken less then 2 months before her death. This photo has been residing in my Google Drive for 14 1/2 years and yet I…

So last night’s journal entry ended on a high note. (Pun intended) If you recall, I had decided on giving Oxy a shot at becoming my drug of choice. Oxy was working and I had been pain free for a good amount of hours. By the time I posted at around 5 pm. , Oxy…

Talk about being organized! I finally opened my chemo package from RX To Go and was quite impressed with all the “goodies” they provided. As you can see, I’ve been supplied with a pillbox and a handy dandy calendar pad to ensure that I take my meds consistently every 12 hours for 2 weeks. Quite…

This morning was all about choice. I sat in the wooden chair, pillow tucked behind my neck, hands on my belly and talked about treatment choices with Hans and Dr. Berry. After much discussion, we decided on a path forward. Tomorrow I will begin taking the oral chemotherapy. I am starting at half the strength…