FINAL TREATMENT FINALLY!

When I got to the hospital yesterday I did not know if they were going to give me the treatment or not, but the doctor said that the lung x-ray was ok, and that the spirometry test was "not as good as it should but still not to bad".
The nurses took some more blood tests and they measured my lung capacity on how well I absorb oxygen. It was fine, but the bloodtest showed that I have an infection of some kind in my body. I still recieved my LAST treatment!
They gave me as normal: Doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine, but because they are still waiting for me to do the more advanced lung X-ray they decided not to give me the bleomycin this time. Instead I got tablets to eat at home: Cortisone (Betapred) and some form of Antibiotics. So now the shelf in the bathroom is filled with all sorts of medicine...
IT FEELS GREAT THAT THIS WAS THE LAST OF THE CHEMOTHERAPY!!!
All I can do now is to hope and pray that the PET-scan and the next bone marrow test that I will have after the radiotherapy will show that the cancer has gone away.

What a mess, hehe

No treatment today

The last few days I have been feeling this strange pain in my chest. It hurts when I take a deep breath and I get breathless really easy. The doctor has told me that this is a common problem with patients like me, and that I need to tell them straight away if I feel it.
So therefor I did not get my last treatment today. Instead I got to do another lung x-ray and also a breathing test called Spirometry in which they measure my lung function and capacity etc.
Ida was with me all day and because the last test was at 14.30 pm we had time to go in to Kalmar City to eat lunch and walk around the shops. I bought a new grey coat, a pair of black skinny jeans and some other things.


It has been a long day. We were at the hospital already at 8.30 am because I had an appointment at the hairdressers to cut my wig. It was too thick before but now it is a bit better.
Anyway, I have had such a fun day. Ida and I have not stopped laughing all day. I was totally exhausted when I got home so I fell asleep on the sofa for 4 hours.
Now I am watching “Ocean´s Eleven”, drinking tea and eating chocolate cakes.
I have this terrible pain in my kidneys and I believe it is because of my treatment. I eat medicine that is supposed to protect them (Allopurinol) but this is also a common problem with patients like me. I will tell my doctor about it tomorrow when she phones about the results from today. By the way, I have got yet another doctor now. She seems ok.
If the tests are ok, then I can have my last treatment tomorrow. Otherwise I don’t know what will happen.

Mmm, chocolate

Today I have not been feeling so good. I have been really tired. My body hurts, it feels like I have been out running a few 10 km races.
I made some chocolate balls to make me feel better :) they were yummy!

Tip of today: Visit my friend Hanna´s website:
www. belladerma.se
She runs a beauty salon and she does all kinds of treatments. Have a look!

Quote of today: "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"
- Vincent van Gogh

Yesterday´s catch

Yesterday´s catch
Ida and I went mushroom picking yesterday. It did not go very well...haha.
In the afternoon I saw Susan at Dolce Vita coffee shop. We had some dinner together before she took the train back to Växjö.
I have now bought the first things (decorations) for the wedding. I found some pretty autumn leaves and a nice ribbon to tie around the candles. I have also bought "Bröllopshandboken", in that book you can read everything you need to know about how to plan a wedding. The plan is that our wedding will take place next year on the 8:th of August.

Today I have yet again been to the hospital. This time it was to the gynecologist and also to take some blood tests.
There is nothing seriously wrong with me, but I now have to eat even more antibiotics :(

I also took another trip to IKEA. I bought a lot of fabric so that I can sew new curtains + two big plants. Now I need a sewing machine.

When I got home Mike and Carl left to go motocross riding. But first they helped me to put the new food processor together. I am sick of eating stuff that comes out from a tin. I will make homemade bolognese sause and pasta for them to eat when they get back.


Hopfully the cats won´t wreck the plants, they were quite expensive.

Williams baptism

It has been a while since I went to church. Last time was probably when Vendela got baptized. This time it was Williams (our Godson) turn. The service took place in Algutsboda church, it was beautiful. My duties during the service were to carry the Cross and I also read a short prayer. Everything went fine and William did not even cry once.
After the service we ate “Smörgåstårta” (Sandwich cake) and normal cake as well in the Parish Home (församlingshemmet) together with my cousin Erikas boyfriend Michaels brother whose daughter also got baptized at the same time.

I want this dog

If we would ever get a dog, Sibirian Huskey would be the one both me and Mike would like to get. They are so beautiful.

By the way, this is how nice our entrance looks now.

Ölands skördefest

Why have I not done this earlier?? That was my exact thought just minutes into our excursion to Ölands skördefest, Konstnatten (Harvest festival – Art night) yesterday. (For more info click on the title above)

Karin, Anita, Erika and I left Nybro around 15.30 pm and I did not get back to Örsjö until 01.30 am. The day was packed with things to do and places to see at Öland. We saw some pumpkins, some more pumpkins and then even some more pumpkins. It was great!
The places we stopped at were: Stora Frö, Eriksöre, Resmo, Gårdby, Bläsinge and Ismanstorps borg. The last stop we made was really cool. We were walking in the dark (at midninght) on a small path in the middle of the woods towards a small coffee shop. The path was narrow and we only had a kerosene lamp. When we got there we ate a bowl of pumkin soup that was delicious.

It was such a cozy atmosphere everywhere and the things that you could buy was just so authentically, artistically handmade and crafted with an indescribable feeling.
At the harvest festival you can buy all kinds of handmade things.
At the market places they sell for example; clothes, food, second hand gadgets of all kind, flowers, herbs and spices, jam etc. On this specific night called “The night of art”, artists will show off their work at small exhibitions to share with people. We saw a lot of cool stuff, and I actually bought my first painting.


Sold!

This is the stuff I bought




Erika, Anita and Karin

Infections are common...

I am glad that I am feeling a lot better now even though I have got a urinary infection. I went to the hospital yesterday and the nurses told me that it is quite common for patients that receive my treatment to get it, so they were not surprised.
It does not hurt too much; it is just a bit uncomfortable. I will get penicillin to take now for a few days so that it clears up.

I spend most of the day yesterday in Kalmar shopping.
In Media Markt I bought: a photo printer (color) / scanner (a late birthday present from my parents), a new coffee machine and a food blender / mixer.
In IKEA I bought: curtain rods, new cutlery + drawer, a lamp, 2 plates, an ironing board, clothes hangers and some other bits and bobs.
In Carlings I bought: a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. They were not cheap so I got 2 pairs of earrings, several bracelets and lots of hairbands for free. I can recommend that store.
On the way back to Örsjö, I stopped at my mom’s to eat my take away sushi and I had a bath.
My evening was then spent on the sofa together with cups of tea and chocolate, totally exhausted from running around the shops.

Here we can see the model Cairo posing next to the new printer :)

Feeling poorly

These past few days I have been feeling a bit poorly so I have not been up to much. My body aches and my energy is low. I feel sick, and every time I think about my last treatment I just feel like throwing up. I am just so sick and tired of this horrible taste and "smell" of the chemotherapy that constantly follows me. I nearly had enough now.

Mostly I have been on the sofa watching TV or reading a book. At the moment I am reading “Nobels Testamente” by Liza Marklund. It is quite good. When I get some energy I do try to do a bit of cleaning in the house or I´ll go for a walk with Jimmy. At the moment he is staying with me in the daytime because the neighbors are at work and I don’t mind the company. It is nice.

I just got back from my cousin Erika now. It was nice to see her and the kids.
On Sunday William will be baptized and because I am his Godmother I will read a small part from the hymnal (psalmboken). I am actually a bit nervous. It has been a while since I spoke in front of a lot of people.

Tip of today: Listen to www.radioseven.se. brilliant music all day and night long.

Quote of today: "When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"
- Sydney J. Harris

I was in the newspaper :)

Yumm, Yumm, Yumm!

Some people say that I am crazy, but I just LOVE autumn. On Saturday we had nice weather here, it was sunny and warm, so we spent it outside fixing up a few things in the garden. I went to Nybro twice to go shopping and see my mom etc. For dinner I made a really tasty steak with chanterelles. I have underestimated the taste of chanterelles. It was soooo good. For dessert I made apple pie again. In the evening we watched the film “The Blind Side” with Sandra Bullock. She is my favorite actress and the film was excellent.

By the way, did you read about me in the newspaper (Barometern) on Saturday?
They did an article about my screwed up sick pay compensation. I actually got an apology from Försäkringskassan through the reporter. Who ho!
Theres – F-kassan 1- 0.


Yesterday I felt sick and tired all day long. I managed to go out for a walk with Jimmy in the evening though and for dinner I finally (been thinking about it since we moved to Sweden -06) made Irish Stew. It was the most delicious meal I have had in ages!
Congratulations to Neil Robertson for winning the Snooker World Open in Glasgow yesterday!

Today it is Monday. I have no plans. I feel sick and tired as usual and the weather is crap. It is very windy and it is raining outside. (But I like it) I have Jimmy dog to keep me company here at home today so I guess Ill try to go out for a few walks with him. Otherwise I will just chill in front of the TV and read my book.

I got a bad reaction to chemotherapy nr 7

Yesterday I had my seventh treatment of chemotherapy. This time I was alone at first, but my mom came to see me the last hour as always. When I got home I was not feeling well at all. I had pain in my body and I was really cold. I had fever. I phoned the nurses back and they said that I probarbly had some kind of reaction because of the chemo. So I just took 2 paracetamol and got some rest. Just a few hours later I was “fine” again, back to “to normal”.

Today I have been to see Ida. We ate smörgåstårta (sandwich-cake) then I got a phone call from the local paper that was interested in my story about Försäkringskassan. I have not said this yet but I might as well do it now: F-kassan underpaid me about 15.000:- (1400£) to little…And I only found out because my new current administrator thought that it looked strange that I would only receive 4200:- I did not even phone about that specific thing that time, I was just wondering when they were going to send off my papers to CSN. But this woman had a quick look in my other papers and was confused. I have spoken to 3 different people at F-kassan before that has told me that “everything is correctly calculated here, you will not get more money” so what I am I supposed to think? It is terrible how they have treated me and I am now doing this article so that more people can recognize that their payments might not be correct either, you should not be afraid to question the decisions from F-kassan. F-kassan needs to go over their staff training and their information about the regulations that they have.

Autumn is here and so is Snooker

Yesterday morning I should have been at the clinic for 8:30 am, but because I was not awakened by my alarm, I missed my appointment. I am a heavy sleeper...I woke up at around 11:00 am instead.
At 12:30 Emmy came for a visit. We ate lunch and apple pie, we also took a walk in the woods with her two dogs. Later in the afternoon I took a bike ride with Jimmy. I picked some nice autumn leaves that I decorated in a bowl. Autumn is my favorite season.



Today I was at the clinic to do the blood tests and then I went food shopping at Willys and ÖoB. I took a warm bath at moms and before I went home I recycled all cans and PET bottles that has been sat in the basement all summer. I got up close to 200:-´(18£) for them.
Now I am watching snooker on eurosport. Later I will continue to clean the windows in the house and enjoy a bit of sushi that Mike will bring back from Kalmar. Yumm :)

Check out this clip when Ronnie O'Sullivan made a maximum break the other day.
It's so cool that he asked the judge: "What is the price for maximum break?" after having made only ONE red ball. What a legend!