Thanksgiving Weekend Ends

This has been an awesome Thanksgiving weekend.

I took Wednesday as a vacation day, and Lou and I drove to Tallahassee, Florida, to meet up with Cindy, Mike, Brian, Will, and Chris for Thanskgiving. The drive took 10.5 hours, with quite a few stops for bathroom breaks. We had virtually no traffic. We listened to a Douglas Preston book called Impact, which was enthralling.

I felt fine driving all that time. Sure, I had to drink a lot of caffeinated beverages to stay alert, but that was no problem. Although, I can definitely say that I do not like the taste of Diet Pepsi with Lime, even though I appreciate the caffeine.

We arrived just after 8:00PM on Wednesday, checked into the hotel, and popped next door to a steakhouse for a late dinner with Cindy and Mike. It was great to catch up with them. It's funny to think that we have seen them more this year than ever: July, for the cruise; October, for the football game; and November, for Thanksgiving.

Cindy did a masterful job of organizing a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner to occur in a hotel without an oven! (The place was full, and we did not get rooms with ovens, although we did have kitchenettes.) There was turkey and ham, plus all the traditional side dishes. The boys were in charge of heating up the meat in the oven in a girlfriend's apartment. Cindy nuked everything else. We ate outside in a charming outdoor dining area with a huge table, grill, and firepit surrounded by couches.

During dinner, we did not actually each say what we were most thankful for, but I kept thinking about how grateful I am for Lou, for all my friends and family, and especially that I was feeling good enough for us to make the trip.

After dinner, the Dolphins were on TV. i wasn't watching the game. I was playing Words With Friends with Will, and he killed me.

I can't hope to tell you about every fun minute. There were a lot of laughs. We even saw a movie, Tower Heist, which didn't start off funny but ended funny.

Lou and I got up super early on Saturday so that we could drive home. The traffic was a little crazy. People semed to be driving very aggressively. But we got home safe and sound, and today we picked up Bailey from the kennel, so our little family is complete again.

There was a dark side to the weekend. Every night, my left hip and left leg would start to hurt around bedtime, and then really kill me once I crawled into bed. Something about lieing down makes it worse. I had to take the oxycodone every night, plus Advil. And still, I would wake up in pain every morning. On top of that, I have had a sore throat for days. It's like I'm fighting off some bug.

So, what am I doing blogging after eleven on Sunday night?  It's the pain again. I actually went to bed at 8:30 tonight because I was exhausted and because I wanted to be well rested for work tomorrow. I took 2 oxycodone at 8:30, but tonight they didn't help at all. The pain has just gotten worse and worse. I could not sleep. Around 10:00, I added 2 extra strength Advil. Didn't help. Finally I could no longer just lie there and hope for sleep. So I snuck out. But Lou woke up anyway.

At 12:30, I can take more pain meds.

I probably shouldn't blogging right now, because I am feeling very sorry for myself right now. But the  pain has decreased -- because I am sitting up. Lou suggested that I try sleeping in the LazyBoy recliner in my office, and so that is my plan, once I am done talking to you.

I don't know what this pain is. I am guessing it's my poor psoas muscle. Plus, there has to be something going on with nerves, because the pain shoots down my leg. The outside of my lower calf really hurts, for no reason. My left foot is extra numb. And I am a bit unsteady on my feet, which is really not cool.

Oh, but chemo arrives tomorrow! Something to look forward to!

I am a little iffy about when I will start taking the pills. My plan was maybe Monday night, maybe Tuesday morning, but Dr R's receptionist called my cell last Wednesday for me to come in THAT DAY so I could see him before starting the pills. I had to tell her it was impossible -- I was already driving to Florida, and I could not turn around and come back.

I don't know why he wanted to see me. He won't be back in the office till this Wenesday, so I might have to delay starting the chemo till Wednesday. Right now it is all up in the air.

I will talk to him about all this pain.