9/4/09 - Higher

My ANC's went up from 456 to 600 today! My white blood count also went up to 1.5 and hemoglobin also went up. That's very encouraging! There's a chance I may be discharged before Ellie's birthday on the 8th. It's going to be a long weekend here in the US, so we're not sure whether I will still see my doctors here when they get back from the long weekend. I am blessed to have good doctors take care of me here in the hospital. We've all kinda said maybe good-bye to each other just in case I leave before they come back on Tuesday. I am still hopeful that I will be home by the 8th, but still have a Plan B in case I'll still be here. I keep reminding myself that God's ways are not my ways, and His thoughts are not my thoughts. And I'll take His thoughts, ways and timing any day over mine.

I got so used to going around without covering my beautiful head during that day that I forgot to put on my cap before my family came to visit. My little girls were shocked when they walked in and saw my head al fresco. They quickly hid behind the curtains as I quickly grabbed the cap to cover my head. We all had a good laugh over that. My sister brought me a delicious meal, and for dessert, we had fruits from Edible Arrangements. I've always wanted to try one of those - fruits arranged into a bouquet - very creative. One of my friends must have read my mind. She came to visit and brought me a beautiful fruit arrangement. Thanks, Shirley!

I really appreciate how my husband has been quietly taking all the extra responsibilities that come with being on double-duty now that I'm out of commission. But once in a while, he even has to do triple duty when his wife makes special requests or has special needs. To end my poor husband's long day, he had to lug 2 more flower arrangements home from the hospital. Many people do not realize that I'm not allowed to have fresh flowers in my room, so I'd receive flowers that I can only look at, but they're left at the nurse's station until my husband can bring them home. Guys don't care for flowers, and having to keep bringing them home is not something he enjoys, but he quietly obliges. What a guy! I certainly lucked out in picking the right man.

While waiting for my sluggish ANCs to go up, I've been reading quite a bit. Also learning more about cancer and the practical aspects of it. Raymond and Pinky gave me this book on "Living with Cancer" and it had many practical advise such as questions to ask doctors, and keeping a folder of all the treatments, medical bills and letters from the insurance company - apparently medical billing mistakes have been known to happen. Hmmm... like I need more paperwork in my life, but better safe than sorry. The author is a doctor. It's interesting to know that even from a doctor's perspective, there are still so many things we don't know about cancer that at best, it is an imprecise art. We have some ideas now as to what may contribute to it, but we still don't understand why certain correlations exist that don't seem to make much sense. The human body is such an amazing creation that I don't think humans will ever really "crack the code". Maybe in another gazillion years, but humans may be extinct by then - all it takes is one asteroid, unless we end up killing each other into extinction first, which is not unlikely - just watch the news.

Well, on to a more cheerful topic. A friend brought to my attention that "desserts" is "stressed" spelled backwards! Now we have another an excuse to indulge when stressed - it's the "natural" cure for stress.

That's it for today. Thank you once again for your prayers and may God bless you all!