It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog.  I’ve been busy with work & family.  It’s been going alright but I am still tired.  I’ve been working 4 days a week.  I have a lot of vacation time so I’ve been taking off one day a week.  I’ve been trying to take it slow and ease my way back in.

On Friday September 20th, I ended up in the Emergency Room.  I had been experiencing pain in my right breast/chest area.  I had seen my plastic surgeon on the 18th and he removed additional fluid from surgical area.  I told the doctor that I had been experiencing pain for about a week.  He felt that the pain was because I was back to work & my scar tissue was stretching.  (I wondered if it was a side effect of the Flovent that I had recently started taking for my asthma or from the lymphedema sleeve I had been wearing for about a week or so prior).

Friday I decided to wear my cool purple/gray cowboy boots to work.  The only problem is that the left boot is  tight & is hard to get off.  Pulling the boot off is a chore.  When my tour was ending, I started to put the boot on & thought better of it and pulled the boot off.  I immediately experienced excruciating pain in my chest area.  The pain was so bad that I couldn’t breathe.  I went downstairs to the desk area & the guys could see that I was hurting and offered to take me to the Emergency Room.  I called my oncologist and explained the problem & as he was out of the country, he advised me to call the plastic surgeon.  The plastic surgeon recommended I go to the ER for a chest X-Ray and blood work.  I was going to go to the hospital near my house, but he recommended I go to a hospital in NYC to get the process started.  I followed his advice and went to Beth Israel (not thinking about how crowded a NYC ER would be on a Friday night).

Two cops drove me to the hospital.  The drive there was horrible as even small bumps caused me pain.  We finally arrived and I gingerly walked into the ER & waited (standing) for Triage.  It was hard to sit and stand so I stayed standing for as long as possible.  I was checked in a brought to a room in the ER, which was nice.  I got my gown on and reclined on the hospital bed.  I was relatively OK as long as I didn’t move.  And then I waited……………and waited……………and waited.  At some point a nurse came in and offered me a blanket.  Finally I got fed up and decided to leave.  As time passed, I realized that I could’ve been at my local hospital and been seen by a doctor already and had something done about the pain.  I told my guys that I wanted to leave.  I got up & put my shirt back on.  A woman came into the room to sign the usual hospital paperwork.  I told her I was leaving and she asked if I could stay for 15 minutes more so she could get the doctor.  I told her “No.  I was leaving now.”  As we walked out of the room, the doctor came up to me and gave me a paper to sign and we left.

We went back to the precinct and one of my guys gave me a ride home and then to my local hospital.  The worst part was we got stuck in traffic going home.  That royally sucked.  We made it to the local hospital, checked in, and I was told to go to Cubicle 9.  As much pain as I was in, I had to chuckle.  Back to the same room I was in before, when I had my allergy attack at Christmas and when I had my right expander removed.  Shortly thereafter, a nurse came in and took my blood, and within about a half hour or so, the doctor came in.  He ordered a CT scan & gave me some Toradol (which didn’t work) and then tried Tramadol which eased the pain a bit.  The eventual diagnosis?  Pleurisy or small to moderate pleural effusion (fluid around the lung), as well as some fluid under my skin (an issue I’ve had for some time).  The ribs looked good and my right lung showed some fibrotic changes from radiation. The doctor sent me home with three prescriptions and told me to follow up with my doctor. He also stated that he believed that the problems were due to radiation.   My husband got my prescriptions filled in the morning and I pretty much spent the weekend in bed.  By Monday I was feeling much better.  I went to the Dept. doctor who looked at my CT report and didn’t seem all that concerned. I went to work Monday evening and everyone was surprised to see me considering the pain I was in Friday night.

I waited a few days and called Dr. G (oncologist)  to make an earlier appointment as I wasn’t due to see him until October 14th.  I had a follow-up with Dr. W (plastic surgeon) on Wednesday.  He removed another 30 cc’s or so from my breast area.  He also advised that I follow up with Dr. G to see if he wanted the fluid that he’d been removing from my breast area tested and to see if I should get the fluid removed from around my right lung.  I tried to stay calm.  I worked that week and the following week, I had my appointment with Dr. Greenberg.  I worked Monday September 30th and  I was feeling OK about everything until I looked up pleural effusion/pleurisy on line.  I don’t recommend it.  What I read totally freaked me out.  I was upset and called Charles to cheer me up.

I worked Tuesday morning and left an hour early because I wanted to be home.  I stopped at the allergist first for my allergy shot.  When I got home I took Gillian to dance and stayed there waiting for her (and read).  I was anxious that night and didn’t sleep very well.  I woke up a little late and headed down to the city to go to a meeting.  After the meeting I headed over to the precinct.  Since I had time, I decided to go for a bike ride.  I rode about 11 miles along the West Side.  I got back to the precinct and then headed to my appointment with my oncologist.  I got there at about 3:50 for a 4:00 pm appointment.  I was super anxious and losing my mind.  I didn’t end up seeing Dr. G until around 5:15.  Not so great when you are going nuts.  I gave Dr. G the CT results and told him everything that had gone on.  He didn’t seem concerned as the excruciating pain had gone away.  I said that I thought I had torn something & he stated that I may have torn some of the adhesions or scar tissue.  As for the pleural effusion, he stated that it may have been as a result of all of the radiation I had.  He also stated that if there was a real problem, I would know.  (I wouldn’t be able to do an 11 mile bike ride). The pain would still be bad, and it would be increasingly difficult to breathe, I would be short of breath (as I have asthma, I am often short of breath!!!) and have a cough that wouldn’t go away.   At this time, he didn’t feel the need for getting the fluid removed and tested.  He said that I had been through so much surgery and radiation already so we are going to wait & watch.  He didn’t feel that I need to get the fluid that has been removed from my breast pocket tested since it has always been clear.   I see Dr. G again in two months (sooner, if I feel the need).  He did recommend that I put off my reconstruction until after I see him again, to give me more time to heal and hopefully for the pleural effusion to clear up.  I felt much better after the appointment and headed down to work.  I worked Thursday as well.    More prayers please! I’m getting tired of the insanity.  I really just want a sense of normalcy!

On Friday, mom came up to visit bearing gifts (sausage and meatballs and sauce-Yum!).  As Gillian was off from school, daughter, mother, and grandmother went out to lunch at Charlotte’s Tea Room.  We went to Applewood Orchard after lunch and did some apple picking.  It was nice to have mom around.  I took Gillian to Tae Kwon Do Friday evening & was just going to sit and read but a friend who teaches Zumba, saw me standing outside her class and waved me in to take her class.  It was the 3rd live Zumba class I had ever taken (I usually do Zumba at home with Wii) and she was tough.  I definitely I have to take her class again!

Much love.  I’m getting tired and I’m heading to bed.

I’ve been back to work for a little over a month now.  I’ve been working 4 days a week & I’ve been pretty tired.  This past week I worked 5 days (though it ended up being a lot more).  I worked Monday evening & had to start at 0500 hours Tuesday morning for election duty.  Unfortunately I had to do an investigation Monday night & ended up not getting any sleep.  I left work Tuesday afternoon exhausted. I couldn’t even go right to sleep when I got home.  Kind of knocked me out, especially since we had a “Stat” meeting on Friday, so I ended up staying up all night Thursday night going over material so that I would be totally prepared.  The Chief ended up asking me only a couple questions towards the end of the meeting but I was so tired by then that I didn’t answer as completely as I should have.  It wasn’t a big deal but I can be a bit of a perfectionist.  I do enjoy being back but I can do without the stress.  During the meeting, we got emails stating that we would have a “Traffic stat” meeting next week.  Ugh! Two weeks in a row.  Total torture.  I was thrilled when they sent an update later on informing us that we wouldn’t have that meeting next week.  I get to take Monday off now.

On a brighter note, I’ve been able to drive through the Tunnel without any problems.  After that first freak out, I waited a few days and drove through the tunnel again, when there was less traffic.  I was able to keep calm.  I have made a few trips through since then, including in rush hour, bumper to bumper traffic.

Tuesday afternoon I went to the allergist. (Charles thinks the allergist is a witch doctor).  With the incident on Christmas and a bit of an allergic reaction after stopping at my sister’s house, I decided to to get tested again.  I hadn’t been to the allergist since 2007.  It turns out I am slightly allergic to shellfish (crab is the worst), which could explain the Christmas reaction as I had eaten a crap load of shrimp.  She also said I was very slightly allergic to peanut butter (though not any nuts???).  She says I can still have some peanut butter but not everyday.  On a better note, though I am still highly allergic to grass and trees, my allergy to grass isn’t as severe as it was in 2007.  She had to give me an allergy pill before I left because I was so itchy after testing.  My throat got slightly tight but not so bad that she had to hit me with an epi shot.  She gave me a prescription for an Epi-pen  though and I will carry the pen with me.

My chest/underarm etc are still bothering me.  The skin is very tight and I have a lot of scar tissue.  I will be seeing the plastic surgeon on Wednesday to get more fluid removed from my breast area.  Surgery in another month or so.  Hopefully the surgeon will be able to get rid of most of the scar tissue and the pain will ease up.

We celebrated Charles’ 50th birthday today.  Christian met me in Manhattan on Friday night & we drove home together.  I was exhausted but we made it.  Christian & I picked Xavier up from the train station at around midnight last night.  We had a nice lunch & Gillian made a delicious chocolate cake from scratch.

I am now heading out to take Xavier to the Tuxedo train station & Christian back down to the Bronx.  Charles is enjoying his birthday by watching football.

Goodnight!

Two weeks ago, I went back to work.  It’s been a while.  It was nice to feel like a normal person again. I decided to take it slow as I completed chemo about a month ago.  I am on limited duty which means I do not go out on the street.  I have a lot of time on the books so for weeks one and two I only worked three days out of five.  I will probably work 3-4 days for the next month or two.  I have reconstructive surgery coming up in October or November (my skin still needs to heal).  Hopefully my chemo brain will be less pronounced by the end of the year.  It was wonderful seeing all the people who work for and with me.  It was also great seeing some old friends.  

With time, I will feel more like my old self.  The first day that I drove home, I had a mini panic attack driving into the Lincoln Tunnel.  Never had that before.  My heart started racing & I was ready to jump out of my car.  I took my seat belt off, turned on the AC full blast, opened my window, and told myself to “just breathe”.  I repeated “just breathe” over and over.  After a minute or so, my heart rate slowed and I calmed myself down.  I eventually made it through the tunnel.

I saw my oncologist & mentioned my tunnel issue.  He stated that I could be associating the tunnel with MRI’s and Pet Scans & my cancer diagnosis.  

I saw the World Trade Center monitoring doctor & she said it could be PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).  Who knows?  But the WTC doctor recommended I speak with one of their social workers.  I said that I would.  It can’t hurt and it may help.  (The WTC doctor said that they will get in touch with me).  

I didn’t take the tunnel again until this past Wednesday night.  I wanted to wait until there was no traffic to see how I’d do.  I turned onto 30th street from 10th ave & entered the tunnel bypass.  As I got closer to the tunnel, I noticed some traffic.  It was sort of heavy but moving.  I got a little hot, but my heart didn’t race.  I told myself that it was all good & made my way through the tunnel without incident..  Amen! I didn’t want to have to limit myself to taking bridges into NYC.  

I can’t wait until I am “me” again.  

Our week at the Little Pink Houses of Hope retreat continued.  Wednesday morning, Gillian and I biked around 12-15 miles and eventually headed to the morning activity at the Western Park Community Center.  The ride there was rather harrowing.  We had to ride over a steep bridge to get there.  I was proud that we were able to make it over the bridge without stopping.  We made it to the Community Center and to the “Paint Your Heart Out” activity.

 

We were taught how to paint a pretty seascape.  Lunch followed at the Community Center. All of the survivors were given gift baskets.  It was so nice and unexpected.  Gillian and I cycled back to our beach house (over the bridge again) and we waited for Christian and Charles to get back from the beach.  They had gone jet skiing.

We relaxed for a couple hours and later that night we headed to the NC Aquarium.  All of the Little Pink families enjoyed dinner in front of the large fish tank.  We also had a private tour of the aquarium.  We had a wonderful time.  On the way back to the beach house, we stopped at Ben & Jerry’s for ice cream cones.  All of the families received gift certificates for ice cream.   Yum.  Chocolate chip cookie dough on a waffle cone!!!!

Thursday started as a rainy day.  The morning activity was supposed to be pier fishing followed by lunch on the pier but it was cancelled due to rain.  The pier fishing was rescheduled for later in the afternoon but we had  already planned to go to the movies to see “Wolverine” Thursdays lunch was sandwiches from Quiznos delivered by the Volunstars.

After we got back from the movies, we spent a little while on the beach.  When we returned from the beach, Charles & I got ready for “date night”.  The adults all went to Portofino‘s for dinner.  Charlie & his girlfriend joined us.  Jeanine showed up later.  We ended up putting the tables together & shared the meal.  By 8 pm, I was exhausted (as usual) .  I wish I wasn’t so tired, it would have been nice to spend more time chatting with the other survivors.

The reminder of the Volunstars were with the kids.  All of the kids went to MacDaddy’s for bowling and mini-golf.  They had a good time.  

Friday morning we woke up nice and early to get our pictures taken by a professional photographer.  We drove over to the house that Jennifer & David & family were staying at.  There’s a pier behind the house where the first of the family photos were taken & then we went back to the house for more photos.  

Charles & Gillian were really craving a good cup of coffee so we headed off to a coffee shop.  There was also WiFi at the coffee shop so Gillian could download a book to read for the ride home.  We did a little more sight seeing & we spent some time at the beach.  We went back to our beach house & started packing up our things as we were leaving late that night instead of Saturday morning (Charles prefers driving at night).  

For lunch, we headed over to the Highway 55 restaurant.  The families had all received certificates for meals.  We were the first family to arrive, followed by Connie & Mike & family.  Connie & family, Katrina & family, & Jennifer & David & family arrived soon after. Last to arrive were Dawn & Ward & family.    We ended up having a wonderful conversation with everyone.  (Popsicle spritzers anyone??) We also found out that the house Jennifer & David were staying at had WiFi, so we could have hung out there with everyone else after pictures were taken.   I wish I hadn’t been so tired most nights because after the activities, many of the other families spent additional time together.  I would have liked to get to know everyone better.  Many of the other families went to “Waterboggans” water park (we had passes to the park) but Gillian & Chris weren’t interested in going to the water park.  

After lunch, we headed back to our beach house.  Charles needed to nap because he had a long drive ahead.  Gillian, Christian, & I headed over to the house that Jennifer & David were staying at & went swimming in the pool.  Actually, I was the only one that did any swimming.  Gillian & Chris spent the entire time in the jacuzzi.  We spent about two hours hanging out at the pool.   

 

We went back to our beach house & finished up our packing.  Charles started putting everything in the SUV.  We went next door to Will & Norma’s house to say our goodbyes.  Will was a retired cop from Virginia Beach (and the former Chief of Police of the Town of Beaufort, NC).  He was extremely nice to us & very helpful during our short stay.  He had gotten & given me a signed book “E-Man” written by Det. Al Sheppard (retired) of the NYPD, a friend of his.  We definitely would love to go back to Emerald Isle! 

We drove back to the Western Regional Beach Access (late as usual) where we enjoyed a fried chicken dinner on the beach with all of the families.  We had a final meeting and the survivors received a few more gifts (a pillow, a scarf with a hug from Dave, pink ribbon socks).  The kids all received candy.  We then took a few final group photos and hugged and kissed each other goodbye. It was a bittersweet ending to our retreat.  I walked back to our SUV knowing that I would miss everyone I met during the retreat.  I thought a lot about everyone during our 10 hour drive home & I wished I spent more time with everyone. Hopefully we will get together again someday and we will all be feeling great. 

 Jennifer said it best when she said we were a family of strangers.  We came from New York, Ohio, Missouri, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina and became family on Emerald Isle,  our little slice of heaven.  God Bless and God speed as all of your journeys continue.  

(The majority of the photos were taken by either me or Charles.  A few were taken by Sherry and other volunstars).  

Thanks so much to Charlie & Jeanine & all of the volunstars and to all of the churches and businesses that contributed to our wonderful week!

If you know anyone who is going through breast cancer treatment, have them apply for a retreat at http://www.Littlepink.org.    You can also make a donation, donate your beach house for a week, or volunteer.  

 

 

We got up bright and early this morning and drove down to the Bronx.  We drove onto the Maritime College campus at about 0800 hours on this beautiful, sunny day.  At about 0810, we made our way to the A & B company dorms & stopped near the front of the building and removed Christian’s things from the trunk.  We deposited his dufflebag, fan, & lamp on the sidewalk (the remainder of his supplies had already been purchased at the Ship’s store) while Christian, wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers, went to stand on the check-in line at the front door of the dorm building.

The assistant commandant came around to each of the parents lingering on the sidewalk and greeted us.  Shortly thereafter, a young man in a Maritime sweatshirt and shorts told us in a rather nice way, to leave in order to make room for the other students arriving.  When we left, Christian was still standing on line, talking to the people, mostly young men, in front of and behind him.  These will be the people he will be spending the next four years with.  New friends, new directions.  When we return in two weeks for his Indoctrination graduation, he will be wearing a uniform.  The uniform of a Maritime Regimental Cadet.  He will have another uniform as well.  That of a member of the Strategic Sealift Officer Program.  The shorts, crazy T-shirts, earrings, big rimmed baseball caps, and low slung pants, will be gone.

As we get ready to leave, I catch another glimpse of the Empire State VI, the ship Christian will be spending part of the next four summers in, learning and earning his Coast Guard engine license, and visiting foreign ports.

My second son, one of my babies, born on the hottest day in July, 18 years ago, has become a wonderful young man.  I am so proud and I will miss him while he is gone.

On Saturday July 27th at about 2300 hours (11 pm) we began our trip down to Emerald Isle, NC.  We packed up the car and Charles, Christian, Gillian, and I started our trip to North Carolina.  Unfortunately Xavier couldn’t come with us.  It was a long and tiring trip.  Though Charles drove, I barely slept.  At around 11 am, we arrived in Fayetteville, for a couple hour visit with Charles’ cousin and family.  We then drove about 3 more hours to Emerald Isle.

We arrived at the Emerald Isle Baptist Church at around 4 pm on Sunday.  Five other families arrived at about the same time. We met the volunteers (or volunstars as they are called), who would be with us for the week.   Debbie, Ted, Amy, Mike, Sherry, Toni, and Danielle (intern).  We also met the founder of Little Pink, Jeanine & our Retreat Director, Charlie.  Our family Volunstar was Debbie.  After filling out some paperwork and receiving some instructions, Debbie escorted us to the beach home we would be staying in for the week.

The home was about a block and a half from the beach and it was lovely.  There were four bedrooms and two bathrooms and below the home there was a beautiful patio (& outdoor shower to wash the sand off from beach excursions).  We started unpacking, showered, changed our clothes, and then headed back to the Emerald Isle Baptist Church for dinner.  There we got to know the other families a little better. After dinner, one member from each family was chosen to tell everyone else a little about their family.  We also learned a little bit about the Volunstars.  After a long and exhausting day, we headed back to the beach house to get some much needed rest.  Though we took a quick walk to the beach first. We woke up Monday morning and Charles & Christian went on a bike ride together.  Gillian and I also went bike riding but we left later than the boys.  There is a nice bike/running trail on Emerald Isle.

We returned to our beach house and got our bathing suits on and headed over to the Western Regional Beach Access to meet up with all of the other families and volunstars for beach games.  Charles & I spoke to the other parents and volunstars, while the kids hung out and played games with the each other.  Throughout the week I spoke with Connie, Connie, Dawn, Jennifer, and Katrina (the other breast cancer survivors).  Unfortunately, Debbie broke her wrist that morning (& the next day got a bright pink cast!!).  After games, we ate lunch under a pavilion right off the beach.  We headed back to our beach house and relaxed for a bit.

Later on in the day, we went back to the Emerald Isle Baptist Church for dinner.  It was Mexican night.  I think Chris ate around 12 tacos.  The food was good but the company was better.  After dinner, we had family game night. The families broke up into two groups and played two different games.  I can’t remember the names of the games we played but it was fun.   All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening but by 8 pm, I was wiped out.

Tuesday was a busy day.  The first activity of the day was Stand Up Paddle boarding.  We had a great group of guys teaching us to paddle board.  I thought I would stink at it but I was OK.  I had a great time.  Chris & I enjoyed it but Gillian and Charles, not so much. My balance hasn’t been very good since I started chemo, so Charles didn’t expect that I’d do as well as I did.  I think I spent an hour and change on the paddle board.

After paddle boarding, we had lunch at the Chapel by the Sea.  Once again the food was good.  (I ate way too much dessert!!).  After lunch, we headed back to the beach house and Gillian & I spent a little time at the beach.  While the other families went to the Volunstar house for Italian night & crabbing, the four of us took a sight seeing drive and then went to a pizzeria for dinner.

To be continued… I’ve got to get to bed.  We are dropping Chris off at school bright and early tomorrow.

I had chemo today. I had my mom and Xavier with me.  (Mom brought up a homemade blueberry pie for Charles.  He and Chris ate half while I was at chemo).  Nurse G couldn’t get blood from my port.  We tried all the usual tricks and she couldn’t even get a tinge of blood so she had to draw from my arm.  God willing, next Tuesday will be my last chemo treatment.  I’m getting tired.  Over a year and a half of this shit is enough.

The usual side effects are kicking in.  My face is tingling, my feet are numb, my body aches, I’m queasy, and though I am tired, I can’t sleep.  And one of the worse side effects, I call CRS also known as Can’t Remember Shit! Even simple words.  I just have to point at things sometimes or I make up new words.  (I still think pauserizer aka the remote control, should be in the dictionary).  My hair doesn’t seem to be falling out anymore though.  It is still growing and getting thicker and possibly a little curly. Oh and I forgot to mention the breast discomfort and itching.  I can’t stand wearing a bra.  When I do it’s usually wear a sport bra, but they drive me nuts as well.  I try to wear the loosest ones that I own.  At night, I am usually sitting on the couch with an ice pack over my right breast area.  I hope at some point I won’t have to have a frosty boob (or lack thereof) in order to be comfortable.

Prior to chemo, Gillian and I did a ten mile bike ride on the Heritage Trail.  I’ve got to work out when I  can.  (The doctor at my WTC monitoring appointment told me that regular exercise can prevent recurrence.  I already knew that and prior to my recurrence, I practiced Tae Kwon Do, I walked regularly, danced, etc).  I’ve gotten Gillian out there on the trail twice with me.  Charles picked up a bike rack for my car.  It made everything much easier.  The last time Gillian and I road together I shoved both bikes in my trunk & screwed up the  gears on my bike, which I had recently gotten fixed.  I’ve got to go back to the bike shop & get them fixed again.

I saw Dr. W a week and a half ago.  I was off by 30 cc’s.  He took out about 70 cc’s of fluid from my right breast.  I see him again on Friday.  He’ll probably have to take out 70 more.  Dr. W doesn’t see a problem with the fluid as it is keeping the “pocket” intact and he’ll be able to place another tissue expander in.  My problem is that I don’t think I want another expander or an implant.  With nothing there, my breast is itchy and achy and I’ve got a decent amount of scar tissue, most likely from the radiation.  If any one out there has had the flap surgery, I’d definitely like to hear from them and get their opinion.  I know the recovery is worse but how were the results in the long term?  With an expander, it will take a while to fill up and then I need an additional surgery to replace the expander with an implant and if I have any problems with the implant……more surgery.  I’m just about surgeried out!

I had a crazy week with my weight.  Damn steroids and constipation!  I’ve been weighing myself a lot since I’ve started chemo.  I have about an extra 20 pounds on my 5’6″ frame (mostly my belly) thanks to my treatment.  Well, over less than a week, I put on 4 pounds.  I called Dr. D because I freaked out.  He wasn’t concerned.  It’s the steroids and the weight should come off when I am done with treatment.  I weighed myself yesterday, I lost 4 1/2 pounds in a couple days.  Very bizarre. Of course when I got weighed today at my doctor’s appointment, I was a pound heavier than the weight I was at home.   I’ve been comparing chemotherapy to pregnancy as the side effects are similar (nausea, weight gain, cravings, etc).  I was going to say that the outcomes weren’t similar but as I was typing I realized that to me, they are.  It’s LIFE.

My throat has been bothering me for about a week and a half.  It hurt if I leaned my head back or touched the front of my throat.  I was also having some trouble swallowing food.  It almost felt like my throat was closing, but it wasn’t.  I wasn’t having problems breathing.   It seems to have gotten a bit better.  I mentioned it to Dr. G and Dr. D and neither felt anything.  Dr. G said it could be  side effect of my asthma meds and if I still have a problem in a week, I should see an ENT doctor (ear, nose & throat), that way they can put a scope down my throat & see if it all looks good.  I may make an appointment soon.  Better to know and put my mind at ease.  I don’t need another reason to keep me awake at night.

I went to the city on Sunday with Xavier and Nessa.  Nessa was craving some Brit food.  We visited with my friend Sean at Tea & Sympathy.  I love their scones with clotted cream and jam and their iced tea!!!!  We also stopped by Casa la Femme but alas, my friends were not there.  Xavier and I wanted to say hi. We will have to stop by another time before Xavier goes back to school.

Acupuncture tomorrow.  I looked like a human pin cushion last Monday.  I had at least 30 needles on my legs, arms, abdomen, face and head.  I’m not sure what it’s doing for me but my sinuses seem a bit better.  My arm has gotten better as well but every now and then I get a twinge of pain in my elbow.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July.  I stopped at two different BBQ‘s and then spent the evening on my back deck watching the sky to see fireworks being set off in the neighborhood.  It wasn’t as good as the fireworks in NYC, but it was relaxing.

I am still looking forward to our trip to North Carolina.  It’ll be our last vacation with Chris before he leaves for school.