It Takes a Village

PICC line removal

2015-08-23T14:49:00.001-05:00

At my final chemo session, my PICC line was removed. It was very painless and exciting. If any of you have had a PICC line, you can imagine how happy I was to have it out.

Your nurse will wear a gown, mask, and gloves during the procedure. Your dressing will be removed and your skin cleaned. S/he will then pull on the line in a smooth motion and the entire line will come out. I did not feel a thing when it was coming out.

After it is out, the nurse will wrap your arm and you will have to wait a bit to make sure it doesn't bleed. After about 20 minutes I was free to leave. I was not allowed to removed the bandage for 24 hrs and was told to not let it get wet.

It's so nice to be PICC free!!

Radiation

2015-08-23T12:12:00.000-05:00

During my course of treatment, I had 30 radiation sessions.

Before radiation can begin you are fitted for a mask. This is a simple and painless procedure, but might be scary if you have an issue with small spaces. First you lie down on a table. A large plastic like sheet with holes in it is given a warm bath, which makes the plastic bendable. They take it out and place it on your face and start pulling and molding it to you. Then you sit with it on your face until it hardens. This process isn't very long.

Radiation to the neck goes like this: you go into a room with a large machine. You lie down on the table and your mask is put on. The freaky part is that the mask snaps to the table, so you can't get up until they come and take the mask off of you. I had two masks made since I lost so much weight during treatment. My first mask was loose and I could keep my eyes open during treatment. My second mask was more form fitting and I had to keep my eyes closed.

This machine with a long arm moves over you and a buzzing sound can be heard. You won't feel anything during treatment, and your team can hear you if you need anything. The process is quick, lasting up to 15 minutes. The majority of the time is getting the machine lined up perfectly. Once they start the actual beam, it's only a matter of minutes.

Your team will come back in and free you from your mask. I have included a picture of what the mask looks like, but it's not of mine, just a pic I found online.

Sometimes you will have an imprint of the mask on your face, but that will go away after a bit.

Once a week I was weighed and had to meet with my doctor, who would just ask how I was doing, and my vitals were taken. After my time in the ICU, I was weighed each visit,because they were concerned with my weight loss.

Other than that, radiation is pretty easy. It does cause a sore throat and fatigue, so don't expect to not have any side effects. Because my radiation was only done to one side of my neck, my throat wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Blessings to you all.

Year round schooling

2015-06-20T19:51:00.003-05:00

My original plan was to homeschool year round... but since being sick, I had to let that idea go. I do have some workbooks she works from sometimes (addition and writing). I think I'll keep her IXL subscription so I can put her on that occasionally as well.

I have lots of guilt for not working with her more this summer and can't wait to be well again. Mommy guilt is not good! I fear I won't be well by August and she'll have to go to real school. Gulp!

ER trip and ICU stay

2015-06-20T19:37:00.002-05:00

I'm not so sure how I went down hill so quickly, but I did. My first round of chemo was so easy, but round 2 literally knocked me off my feet.

It was a radiation week and I wasn't feeling well. Just really tired, throwing up constantly, and my throat was sore. I wasn't sleeping well because I was having trouble breathing and was drooling all over in my sleep (like you would during a chest cold or severe allergies). One night I woke up and took my temp and it was 103. I thought my thermometer was wrong. My throat was super sore and I hadn't had much to eat that day because of it.

The next morning I had radiation and was going to be checked up at the infusion center. As soon as the nurse took my temp she yelled for a wheel chair and I was whisked off to a consultation room where I was told by a very concerned RN that I needed to get to the ER right away.

We went downtown to Rush, since so many of my doctors are there. I tried taking Tylenol to bring my temp down, but the pill wouldn't go down. I was given liquid meds instead. The docs admitted me and I was taken to a normal hospital room. After meeting with the ENT team and seeing how awful everything was in my mouth/throat area, I had to go to the ICU.

I ended up in the hospital for a week and everything got so infected and irritated that I couldn't speak, drink, or eat. My team of docs said everything that could hit, hit. The "perfect storm" they called it. My white blood cell count was at .05 (when it should be between a 4 and 10). I had neutropenic fever, thrush, epiglottitis, stridor, esophagitis, and who knows what else.

It's been over a week and I'm still recovering. I can't eat or drink much. I've lost 16 pounds. I can't be standing for long or I get dizzy and throw up. If I sit on the floor, I need help up. I need help stepping up the stoop to our house. Every morning I'm extremely nauseous and dry heave until I sit down to eat.

Because of all of this, my doctors agree that radiation and chemo together are just too much. So I would have been totally done with treatment on July 1, now it's going to be pretty delayed. I am finishing up radiation, and then I will meet with my oncologist July 6 to discuss starting chemo again.

Good news is the mass on my kidney has not changed, so surgery for the removal can wait.

I appreciate all the prayers I have been receiving, plus the cards and gift packages. Special thanks to my brother and sister in law for taking Emily for a whole WEEK while I was in the hospital. So lucky to have them near us!

Chemo and its side effects

2015-05-19T20:20:00.002-05:00

The first day I walked into the infusion center I cried my eyes out. It was terrible. However, the actual treatment was fine. I wasn't sick at all and was only really tired on Wednesday. By Friday and Saturday I was back to normal and felt good.

The next week of radiation was fine, as was the following week. However Saturday and Sunday found me sick to my stomach. I had chemo Monday and was extremely nauseous and tired. They upped my meds but it didn't help. Tuesday was pretty bad too, but not as bad as Monday. I'm hoping my next two pills will knock this out. I can't stand being nauseous.

My hair was falling out in huge chunks, so I took the clippers to my head and gave myself a buzz cut. I can tell you it is much better than moping around about losing your hair!

This is how your hair falls out-not in a bunch of strands, but actual clumps~

I cut my hair into a short pixie before all this so it wasn't so bad. But once it started to fall out like that I decided it was time to buzz my head. So I did!

So if you are losing your hair and are depressed about it like I was, just take matters in your own hands and buss it off. Nothing to do!

PICC line

2015-05-08T11:42:00.001-05:00

When you need chemo, the doctor will either place a PICC line or port in you. I was given the choice, but I don't think this is always the case. Since my treatment period is relatively short (I'll be done in July), I decided to go with a PICC line. So what is a PICC line and how do you deal with having one? That is what this blog post will be about.

A PICC line is like an IV. You will go to the hospital to have it placed, but you will be awake for the procedure. They can lightly sedate you if you are nervous, so make sure you have someone to take you there and get you home. I did not need any medication and the procedure really doesn't hurt.

You will be taken to an operating room and an x-ray machine will be over you. First they will ask you what hand you use and will most likely place the PICC in your non-dominant hand, if the vein is good. They will use a doppler (like getting an ultrasound) on your arm to check your veins. Then you will get a shot of Lidocaine. That's the only part of the procedure that should cause you any pain. It feels like a bee sting and will hurt for about a minute. After that your arm will be numb and you shouldn't feel anything from the PICC being inserted.

The line will start in your arm, above your elbow and will be on the inside of your arm (so closest to your body). The thin line will run up your arm and to your heart. They will use the xray that is above you to position this correctly. You may feel some pressure or pulling, but there won't be any pain. If there is, let the nurse know and they can numb you up some more. I only felt pushing and that was it.

After the line is placed they will bandage you up. Ask if they have an PICC line covers, which are like leg warmers for your arm.

Every week the dressing will need to be changed in a sterile setting. You and your nurse will wear a mask while it's being changed. The caps to the lumens will be changed too. You will probably have two lumens in case one stops working during treatment. Every day you will need someone to flush the line for you. That's the worst part of having a PICC, because I hate how the saline tastes when the line is being flushed (yes, I can taste it). First they will push saline through, then heparin.

You can't get the PICC wet, so you will need to wrap your arm in Saran wrap when showering and will need to avoid baths and pools during treatment. That's one disadvantage of the PICC over the port.

Most likely your oncologist will set up a home health nurse to come over once a week to change the dressing and to just check on the line. This process doesn't take long, but please make sure they are using sterile techniques when changing your dressing. The last thing you need is an infection. :)

The great thing about the PICC is you don't need to be poked at all during treatment. Any contrasts for scans, the drugs, saline, even blood draws can all be done through the line.

The PICC line is in my right arm, you can see the pink cover over it.

Getting the dressing changed

The PICC line and dressing

All my life, I had a lump

2015-05-05T15:54:00.001-05:00

Okay, so not really. But last year, right around Easter of 2014, I had a lump removed from my neck. It was a benign schwannoma, and it was the 3rd one I've had removed in my lifetime. I have a genetic disorder which can cause these, and sometimes pregnancy hormones make them grow.

The biopsy came back fine, but I had to have another surgery to repair the vocal cord which was paralyzed because of the tumor. I recovered nicely can was back to work soon after.

Fast forward to this year when the lump returned. A few tests and scans later they agreed it was another growth. I had it removed on April 1 and a week later I found out it was malignant. A type of sarcoma called "MPNST". Basically it's a malignant tumor of the nerve sheath. Scary stuff. I'll be using this blog again to write about dealing with cancer and still running the household.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Games and Puzzles

2013-10-20T14:57:00.004-05:00

A second look at our 'classroom'... how we keep our games/puzzles organized:

We just keep things neatly stacked. If a puzzle box breaks, we keep the front picture and place the pieces in a large Ziploc bag. Works for us!!

Out of this WORLD!

2013-10-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

Our space unit was so much fun that Goose wants a telescope for Christmas. Ask and you shall receive! We are getting her this one:

How cute is that??

We went to the library and took out some basic, but informative and well illustrated books. These are the books we used:

Our library had the whole set; all the planets, stars, the moon, sun, etc. I love these books!

Let me know if you are wondering about these crafts:

Day vs. Night Sky

Spelling name by making rocket ship

The moon (glue and shaving cream)

Solar system foam stickers

and again

and again! She loves these!

The sun marble painting

The Earth (shaving cream, glue, blue and green paint-press earth down over mixture, then squeegee off)

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood....

2013-09-27T19:53:00.001-05:00

Our weather/seasons was great! We studied rainbows, clouds, rain, snow, summer, fall, winter, spring, and so much more!

We start EVERY unit with a trip to the library to fill up our book bag. We read books, then complete a craft from that book. Goose LOVED "It Looked Like Spilt Milk" For that book she painted with shaving cream and glue to make a cloud. She said, "It looked like Daniel the Tiger, but it wasn't!"

Her people are getting pretty good!!

Spilt Milk Craft

Trees each season

Mammals all around!!

2013-09-27T19:41:00.001-05:00

This is so late, but I couldn't for the life of me find all the pictures of this unit!

Goose learned the basics of what makes an animal a mammal

Mammals have fur/hair
Mammals have a live birth
Mammal babies look like their parents
Mommy mammals make milk (try saying that five times fast)

We got books from the library and did a few crafts. We also took a trip to the zoo (and the Shedd since we did her ocean unit quite a long time ago).

Kindergarten ready!

2013-07-26T13:54:00.001-05:00

I will be done with grad school in one short week. What a relief it will be when I am done!

I'm spending my last couple weeks at home preparing Goose's school room so it is ready to go. This year I plan on schooling every day. Her room is really coming along!

We are continuing to work from Starfall for reading and Horizons for math. They are both great programs and I suggest them to anyone looking for a solid kindergarten program.

To prepare myself better, I am putting together a kindergarten teaching binder. Inside has a zipped pencil case, a Dolch Sigh Word Checklist, a common core map for math and ELA, and curriculum maps for science and social studies.

I plan to work more on the binder and find out what things I'll need for this kindergarten adventure.

More pictures of her classroom to come, but for now I leave you with these..
.

The white board is hung low, so that she can reach it. Don't mind the frame to the closet... Goose painted that wall and some paint went on the frame! Ooops!

The alphabet poster is great because it has a picture with the letter, so that it helps children remember the sound that letter makes.

On Being Flexible...

2013-07-23T20:08:00.001-05:00

For August my original curriculum plans included a unit on insects and mammals... Goose does NOT want to learn about insects, and is terrified of them, so instead we will just stick with mammals.

For this unit, we have a trip to the zoo planned, along with going to the Shedd and Field Museum. Keep checking in to see updates!

Weight Watchers Check-In

2013-07-15T15:47:00.001-05:00

So, it's been three weeks and I'm down 9 pounds. I feel great and I'm excited to lose more. I would love to be able to lose 15 more pounds, but I realize it's going to be really hard work to get there.

I still haven't been really hungry. One thing that continues to help me stay full is to load up on veggies. If I'm eating pasta, I measure out my portion (sometimes a full serving, other times a half) and load up on spinach and tomatoes, or zucchini. I have found that diced tomatoes have less points than sauce, but sauce really doesn't have that many to begin with.

When I feel like I want a small snack Fiber One bars/desserts or pretzels do the trick.

For breakfast I usually have two eggs, Morning Star Farms "bacon" (2 strips), and a glass of milk. Other times I'll have Fiber One cereal, or an 'egg in a hole' with fake bacon. I even found a low point frappe drink to make.

For dinner and lunch I usually have pasta loaded with veggies, pizza made from zucchini, a big baked potato, taco salad with avocado, etc. My meals haven't changed too much other than loading up on veggies and trying to not use bread/tortillas/wraps.

I have not had my typical McDonald's breakfast since starting WW and have only had soda twice in the past 3 weeks. I'm getting there!

Let's talk about weight gain

2013-07-07T17:56:00.000-05:00

Growing up, I was always thin.... until I hit puberty. Then I was a little on the chubby side. I continued that way until my third year of college. All of a sudden I was REALLY thin and tired a lot.

Before my wedding, I began to gain weight suddenly and was more tired than ever. I'd find my eyes closing at red lights. At first, my doctor said it was due to 'wedding stress'. A couple weeks before the big day I was sick. Not wanting it to get worse, I went to the doctor and saw someone else, since my regular doctor was on vacation.

I mentioned the weight gain in passing, when I was weighed. Later I asked if it was possible to have mono twice, because I was just so tired.

The doctor sent me to the lab for blood work, and later that day I found out I was extremely hypothyroid. I've been on meds since and have struggled with my weight since, especially after dealing with a pregnancy.

My endocrinologist says that many hypothyroid patients are hyperthyroid first, which explains the weight loss in college.

Two weeks ago I decided to join Weight Watchers. I'm tired of being this heavy, tired of how big my clothes are, tired of how I look and feel. So far, I have lost seven pounds! WW is very easy to do-what I like most about it is you just eat normal food. Seeing the points things are really makes me think twice about what I eat. The small caramel frappe and egg/cheese biscuit I'd get from McDonald's??? Yeah, almost my WHOLE day's points.

Someone mentioned having to be on it for the rest of your life, and that is kinda true. WW is about eating healthy, managing your portions, and thinking twice about what you put in your mouth. To go 'off WW' would mean you aren't doing those things anymore, so of course you'll gain it all back. WW is a lifestyle change, not just a diet. I'm excited about losing weight and feeling good again.

If you are in the same boat, I suggest Weight Watchers without hesitation. Best thing I've ever done!!

Butterflies!!!!

2013-07-07T17:41:00.003-05:00

The company sends five caterpillars... four of them made a chrysalis, but I didn't get a picture of them. I thought the fifth caterpillar was dead, but then saw him moving. Here he is in his chrysalis.

Not the best shot, but here they are in their net.

One of the butterflies came out the other day-we keep the net in our spare bathroom so the cats can't get it it.

There's a butterfly!!!! Can't wait for the rest!

A few months later we went to the zoo and went into their butterfly exhibit

Lots of really pretty butterflies!!

Butterfly life cycle craft

2013-06-26T20:09:00.001-05:00

"The Hungry Caterpillar" is a great book to introduce the life cycle of a butterfly. We always change the word 'cocoon' to 'chrysalis' because that would be the correct term.

Goose and I did a craft that illustrated each part of the life cycle of a butterfly. It came out really cute!

First I colored a leaf (I was going to cut it out from green construction paper, but I thought I didn't have any green. I later found it in an odd spot).

Goose glued down a small white pom for the egg, then several larger ones to make the caterpillar. We glued on legs from a pipe cleaner and some eyes to make it look cute.

For the chrysalis I printed out a template of a cocoon (figured the shape was close enough) then I had her glue down pieces of a cut up brown paper bag (which I crinkled up to give texture).

Finally, we made a butterfly. The wings were made by coloring a coffee filter with markers, then lightly spraying it with a spray bottle. The body was made from a fat craft stick wrapped in yarn, plus eyes, and a pipe cleaner antennae.

After everything was dry I labeled each step and displayed them on our fridge.

Here they grow!

2013-06-26T19:58:00.000-05:00

Caterpillars grow like crazy!!

That was them a day ago.

This is them today...

You can see they are starting to have some webbing going on!!

Look what came in the mail!

2013-06-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

Let the learning begin!

Must have craft supplies

2013-06-19T19:24:00.002-05:00

This summer I'm slowly working on building up our craft supplies.

What are some of your must have craft supplies?

Glue
Scissors
Constuction paper
Drawing paper
Buttons
Sequins
Google eyes
Empty toilet paper rolls
Glitter
Pipe cleaners
Craft sticks
Colored tissue paper
Paint
Paint brushes
Bingo markers
Paint sponges in different shapes
Poms
Crayons/colored pencils/markers
Beads
Cardstock

Anything I'm leaving out?

The Butterfly Garden has arrived!!

2013-06-18T13:51:00.001-05:00

This month we are doing a butterfly theme. I ordered this net from Amazon. It came with a certificate for 5 free caterpillars (but you pay $5 for shipping them out). Our caterpillars should arrive shortly, so keep checking in!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000ISC5/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00000ISC5&linkCode=as2&tag=aisfoap-20

Can't wait to see how this goes!

Busy mom-meal planning and grocery shopping

2013-05-10T15:49:00.003-05:00

Before I go grocery shopping, I always make a list of what I need in a word document. Then off to the side of the document I insert a text box and write each day of the week in it. As I plan my meals (either using Pinterest, asking Goose what she wants, looking on allrecipes.com, etc) I check to see what I need. Then my list and meals for the week are all together. I also make sure what I'm making supplies leftovers-as Goose AND myself need lunch for the next day.

Some typical meals around here include

Pasta and garlic bread
Kielbasa and fried potatoes
Kielbasa and potato/onion pierogies
Boneless/skinless chicken and a pasta side (mac/cheese, garlic noodles, butter noodles) or potato side (mashed or garlic/lemon)
Egg salad
Soups (spinach tortellini, potato/broccoli, taco, hamburger)
Tacos
Chili
Pancakes/sausage
Egg in a hole
Turkey sandwiches
Hamburgers and fries
Homemade sloppy joes
Nacho bake
Cheeseburger pie
Meatballs

Luckily, my husband comes with me to help grocery shop and lately I've been putting the items on the list in order according to the aisle they are in. This really helps make our trip quick.

Busy mom-easy feeding

2013-05-06T21:46:00.000-05:00

Being a mom is difficult. When you are working and/or in school as well, it's even MORE difficult!

I'm going to start dedicating some posts to how I make things less stressful around the house and work (and go to grad school). Hopefully these tips can help you as you venture back to work.

Feeding

1. When Goose was little, and still on the bottle only, I made sure that every night her bottles were washed and dried. I would then make enough bottles for daycare and put them in the fridge for the next day. At night I would premeasure the formula in dry bottles. If and when she woke up, all I had to do was add water.

2. When Goose got older, I brought an extra sippy cup to leave at her DCP's house. That way I don't have to remember one each day. I try my best to pack her lunch the night before, usually lunch leftovers.

3. Now that Goose is becoming more independent, she has her own storage container in the fridge. She is free to take something almost at any time. I just used a regular plastic bin from the Dollar Tree (shoe box size) and fill it with healthy snacks that she can easily get herself. Some things I put in it include cheese, yogurt, applesauce, cherry tomatoes (in smaller storage containers), cut up fruit (in smaller storage containers), etc. I also put spoons in the bin in case she picks yogurt or applesauce.

4. Meal plan! This way I can see what leftovers I'll have for lunches.

Dinosaur Tracks and Diet

2013-05-04T12:45:00.001-05:00

We have started our dinosaur unit. As always, we start our unit with a trip to the library to get some books. I try to stick to non-fiction books, but also throw a few fiction in as well.

After looking through a few books and pictures, we took out our paint and walked our dinosaurs through them to make paint tracks.

A couple days later we discussed dinosaur diet. Goose is already familiar with the terms carnivore and herbivore, but we reviewed the terms and watched a cute video on herbivores.

After the video we did a carnivore/herbivore sort that I found on TpT.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Cgw_UXP-w

Sort: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dinosaur-Diets

Earth Day

2013-04-28T20:51:00.001-05:00

So, Goose wasn't really into Earth Day like I thought she would be. We watched a video on YouTube and completed a trash vs. recycle activity. She enjoyed those two things, but wasn't interested in the earth sponge painting or coloring.

I hope next year will have nicer weather so we can do things outside (like hanging a bird house or making bird feeders).