Life is like a Bicycle

Life is like a bicycle; to keep your balance you must keep on moving.




I like this quote from Albert Einstein - apparently he wrote it in a letter to his son.
Photo and quote was found at edu.blogs.com

It is important to keep on moving, but even more important to keep on moving in the right direction.


Henry B. Eyring said this;
"You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away toward darkness."


There is a great story about Smoke Jumpers that helps us learn the importance of Einstein's counsel to keep on moving, and also knowing what direction to move. It's a great read - Start Moving by Von G. Keetch.

"Relaxing on the ridge may seem a safe way to avoid making mistakes, but it’s also a way to avoid making progress."

His closing testimony is this:
"I testify that the best and clearest direction comes in our lives not when we are just waiting for our Heavenly Father to send help and guidance but when we are anxiously engaged with our back bent to the task. To those of you who are waiting upon the Lord for guidance in your lives—who need help with a major decision or question—I give you this challenge: Prayerfully and carefully use your own intelligence and your own resources to choose a path that seems right to you. Then become anxiously engaged in walking that path (see D&C 58:26–28). When the time for course correction comes, He will be there to help you and to guide you.

The best and clearest direction comes in our lives not when we are just waiting for our Heavenly Father to send help and guidance but when we are anxiously engaged with our back bent to the task."
(But don't read just this closing testimony, the story HERE is a great read.)

So ...
MARCH FORTH on this MARCH FOURTH!

"Ofa" Two

Today was Terry's second dose of Ofatumumab and we can report that things went well.

He got the full dose and had no reactions today, just very slight itchiness and a feeling of redness or heat in his face. These were minor enough that he didn't even mention them until the end.
The nurses and our doctor were all so pleased with the way his body accepted this dose, and we were too.

We were surprised to learn that there is a total of 12 doses - not only will there be eight total one week infusions of Ofa, but there will be an additional 4 once a month doses after that. We also learned that they can bump up the rate of infusion next week, so it may not be an all day visit. I guess we'll see how he does then. Hopefully it will be another good day.

We didn't get a written report on the blood work, but we were told that things are about as they were last week. This surprised us a little, because Terry had been feeling very weak and achy, and had terrible headaches this week. We recognized these symptoms from low counts other times and expected low counts again - especially since this drug can cause low counts. With his counts already low I was concerned. I guess we don't have to worry too much about the counts any more than normal, so that's good.

It seems that weak, exhausted, and achy feelings accompanied by awful headaches may be caused by Ofa and not low blood counts. The doctor was encouraged by this, thinking that maybe that means it's working. That sounds great, but those painful feelings have occurred before, with that same hope and it's not really been working the way we wished. I guess we will take what we can get when we can get it. We are grateful to have things as good as they are - they could be worse.

(Image above is from HERE)

Chemo Report

Well, some (or most) of you didn't get the memo - cause I didn't leave one - but Terry didn't go for his chemo treatment on Thursday because they didn't get the drug in time. We had to go Friday. Sorry for the wait!

We got started with a small, first dose of Ofatumumab. (What a word huh?) They began the IV at about 8:30am, Friday morning, with some Ibuprofen (well the Ibuprofen was oral), Benedryl, and Solumedrol (or Solu Medrol) to help with any possible reactions. After a several minutes they start the Ofatumumab at a slow infusion rate and speed it up as they learn if his body tolerates it well. It was started at 50, then to 100, then up to 200 - the max for the day. He was doing very well, feeling fine, until he started feeling itchy. Oh, the hives were coming on - about 11:30 maybe. They stopped the Ofatumamab and gave him more Benedryl, waited a half hour and start it again, gradually getting up to 200 again.

And again, things went well until about 2:30 when the itchy hives returned. Again the "Ofa" was stopped, more Benedryl and this time more Solumedrol was given, and we waited a half hour and started again. This time it was gradually increased to the rate of 175 instead of 200, and he did great. He was done at about 5:10pm.

Maybe you've thought of this already, but three doses of Benedryl kept him pretty sleepy all day. I can't call them good naps, but he did get a few naps in.

Now, they split the dose into 3 bags because they don't know if a patient will be able to get the full dosage, especially on their first day. Terry got 2 of the 3 bags planned for him and they still called it a success.

Here's the clincher - the first day is only half of what they give the following days. So, he got 2/3 of what he was supposed to get for Friday, but only 1/3 of what he will get the next time (and each time after that for a total of 8 infusions - one a week). Usually the second dose is easier on the body, (that is "normal" for everyone, and with most every chemo drug). There is still a possibility that the second dose will not get fully administered, but we will just have to wait and see. We will be going in on Thursday, and if he doesn't get it all, we will go back in for the remaining dose on Friday.

About Ofatumumab
It's a newer drug. The Wenatchee Valley Clinic has only administered it to one other patient (who took his second dose in the hospital so he could have time enough to get the full dose in one sitting). One of the nurses has a cousin who got this drug and the reports of his health are favorable. We look forward to something favorable too! That's really all we know though.

So far Terry is feeling fine ..., but you already knew that didn't you!
However, I can see that his face is flushed this morning and he does say that his head is feeling ... I don't know what word he used, but I assumed it was a fullness and strange feeling - hard to concentrate. After so much Benedryl (which he got another large dose of when we got home) I can't think it would be anything else - and with the other meds and chemicals there's no doubt it's not pleasant.

Oh - Terry's blood work!
WBC = 2.2(L) (but that is the exact count for the last three appointments)
RBC = 3.93(L) (which is up ever-so-slightly from the last two appointments)
Platelets = 41(L) (I guess we'll take it - that's right around the counts he's had)
Neutrophils = .9(L) (It has gone down .1 each week)
Calcium is good! Protein is good! (Just sayin!)
The liver counts (ALT and AST) are the lowest counts in the last three weeks too, so we are pleased with that.

Stuffy's

President's Day weekend - filled it as full as we could.
A highlight - after meetings Sunday we drove to Longview for a visit with my parents (and other family members that came to visit too - it was fun to see you - we look forward to next time). It was a short visit, but it was still a good one.

We mentioned to a friend (Russ) that we were going to Longview and he asked if we'd seen the largest cinnamon roll that comes from there. We decided that we'd better check it out, because we hadn't even heard about it before.

We asked my parents about it, and decided to go there for breakfast on President's Day. The name of the place is Stuffy's - well, Stuffy's II. (click on the link to see more.)


It's a cute place filled with all sorts of memorabilia. There are pictures and posters and signs and license plates, and more and more stuff all around the walls. It's stuff about Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and other famous people. The tables each have a salt and pepper shaker, soda bottle filled with colored sugar, packets of sugar, and maybe other stuff sitting on top of a record ... yes, a real music record (an LP?).



The waitresses wear poodle style skirts and saddle shoes/oxfords to match. It was really cute.

They have Breakfast Stuff, Lunch Stuff, and Dinner Stuff.

The Breakfast Stuff I had was called Tiny Stuff. It's hashbrowns with onions, peppers, and chunks of ham, tomato, covered in white sauce gravy and sprinkled with cheddar cheese.



They also had Little Stuff and Large Stuff. Tiny Stuff - not so tiny - can be split between two people for sure. You are certainly stuffed when you are done - and I don't mean done eating it all - just done eating what you can. There are many other things on their menu too.

As for the cinnamon roll? We bought one and shared it - happy to have done so! But we were so stuffed, we got it to go.
It's big ... it's good ... it's fun ... and yet, it's not as good as my mom makes. (I know, I'm spoiled! I not only grew up in a home with a wonderful mother, I grew up in a home with a wonderful cook.)



We visited some more and had to head home. Short and Sweet was our visit! We love Family Time!

A Beautifully Cracked Bowl

A cracked bowl is not usually so beautiful to me. Just look at it! It's really not a desirable look.



Even with the crack, I chose this bowl from among a few things that belonged to Terry's mother, but didn't really know how I would use or display it.

We also sorted through some yarn, thread, and other sewing notions that belonged to her. A lot of these items were randomly put into boxes, however because I do not use yarn much I didn't want to take big bundles of it, but I did choose some tiny balls of yarn with the intent to put them inside one of Idris' jars and set it up above my cupboards.

As I was trying to find a place for these things in our home I decided to put these sewing items in the cracked bowl instead of a jar. It makes the bowl much more beautiful, especially since there is a sentimental attraction. It now sits in my curio cabinet and I love it.



This collection will help remind me of the beautiful woman that once owned them ... the wonderful mother and grandmother that blessed our lives in many ways. I am grateful for her and the love she showed me and my family, and especially for the way she raised her son.

Hey, I found the thimble and added it to this sweet collection. (I moved the bells to another spot, and they fell down to the bottom of the bowl. oops!)

Valentine Decor

Here is my favorite spot at the Ward Valentine Dinner Dance. It was such a nice evening!





More photos from the evening can be found at mystuffroom.blogspot.com