Great Smoky Mountains

We started our day by driving to the Sugarlands Visitors Center, which is just inside the park. No one complained about watching the 20-minute film about the mountains. The girls said that since this was the first national park and movie, they wouldn't complain. I was thankful.

There is a little museum in the vistiors center with animals, birds, plants, and such of the area. This log that Brooke is standing in front of is a yellow poplar. A family could make an entire cabin from one tree of this size.

We learned the the Smoky Mountains is the home of many different kinds of salamanders. We did see a blue-tail salamander in Caves Cove.

Then we drove to Cades Cove, which is an 11-mile one-way circular drive through an old 19th century Applachian settlement. The picture of the house is the first cabin built in the area. The wood used to build the house is yellow pine. Each log was cut so that the heart of the tree was in the middle. Once it dried, the log was as hard as iron or cement.

We could walk upstairs, but at the top of the stairs was this huge spider which was at least 2 1/2 inches long. Therefore, I didn't see the upstairs of this log cabin!

As we drove we saw turkeys and deer. At one stop we saw so many butterflies that we thought that maybe they had just hatched.

After driving the loop, we stopped for a picnic lunch by the river. After we ate the kids waded in the river. Some sort of water snake was right by the river where the girls first started to go into the river, so they moved down to enter from another spot!

We were hot and tired, so we decided to go back to the hotel to relax and swim. After resting for a while, we drove to Clingman's Dome, which is the highest peak in the Smoky Mountains, and the third highest peak east of the Mississippi.

From Pigeon Forge to the top of Clingman's Dome the temperature dropped from 84 degrees to 62 degrees. The walk to the top was up a paved path that was half a mile long and, as Blair said, about as steep as our driveway.

There were benches along the way for people to rest. Clouds somewhat blocked the view to the west but we had a good view to the east into North Carolina.

At the top of the mountain, there was a big parking lot, which you could walk around and see great views. Then there is a tower you walk to the top of from a curved ramp. It was a nice view, but the day was hazy, so the mountains seem to live up to their name.

On the way back to the hotel we drove through Gatlinburg, which reminded us all of the town of Niagra Falls, Canada. Both in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge there are a variety of ways to separate tourists from their money.

First day - Home to Pigeon Forge, TN

July 13th:

We left home a little after 8:30 a.m. There were no tears this year before the picture in front of the packed van. We arrived in the Pigeon Forge area around 5:oo p.m., and traffic was terrible. Our GPS told us we would get out our hotel at 5:15, but with the slow traffic, we didn't get there until almost 6:00.

We looked for dinner shows, but the ones we were interested in were sold out, so we just went to dinner. We ate at the Old Mill Restaurant which had a good rating on the internet. We had an hour wait, so we shopped in surrounding plaza. All of the stores had speakers from the restaurant, which called the next party of people to their tables. We began to wonder if the restaurant intentionally had a long wait, so that people would shop in the stores!

We were seated a little after 8:00 and didn't leave until almost 9:30, which was really a late meal for us. Then we got back to the hotel. Jerry, Molly and Brooke went to the pool, while Blair and I stayed in the hotel room.

Tomorrow we are going to explore the Smoky Mountains.

Packed and ready to leave!

It's 10:00 p.m., and I think we're about ready to go. I washed laundry and shopped for food while Jerry mowed the lawn and cleaned the house. I made dinner trying to clean out the potatoes, onions, and as many refrigerator items as possible. We are headed to the Smokie Mountains tomorrow. Hope to leave by 8 a.m. and arrive by early evening there. It's an 8-hour trip.

June 30, 2010

We are heading out on this year's summer trip in one week. I have survived all 6 chemo sessions, and am ready to move on with life! I go back to the doctor in August to find out if the cancer is in complete or partial remission. We are hoping for complete! But until August.... it's time for a trip!

We are going South this summer. We went north to Maine two summers ago, west to California last year, so this year it's through Texas and back. And we are going during the month of July!! Think it may be hot is Texas in July?! Lucky us! We have lots of sites picked to visit, and we hope you are going to follow us again. Drop us a comment if you can while we are gone. It's great to hear from home. Also the background is suppose to be of a cactus. Can you tell?

Three down, Three to go.

I'm surprised that I haven't posted anything for so long. I've completed half of my chemo regimen. It hasn't been terrible, but I really hate it. After my first treatment, my vein got swollen possibly due to the fact that I left the needle in the vein overnight. I've not done that again, and I haven't had any problems with soreness in my veins since that first treatment.

I don't have any bad side-effects except for fatigue. I haven't gotten sick, and I knew from the beginning that I wouldn't lose my hair. But I get really tired for a few days. Last month, I was tired for 4 days. Today is Monday, and I took off work today due to fatigue. Today is day four, so I'm hoping to return to work tomorrow, and I'm hoping that I'll feel back to normal. I am tired of feeling tired!

This weekend was beautiful. Blair walked downtown in Frederick with a friend that she had met from D.C. She and I picked him up at the Shady Grove Metro and then took him back in the late afternoon. I think it was a date, but I'm not sure she is sharing that. He seems like a nice guy, who is also 15, but at this point, it's a texting relationship!

Brooke, Jerry, and Molly went ice skating this weekend. Brooke wanted to go for her birthday. I think that they had a good time, but afterwards, Brooke had blisters on her feet and Jerry's legs were sore. I guess we don't go enough to be properly prepared!

After the skating, Brooke got an ice cream cake from the DairyQueen. I'm surprised that they call it a cake, as there is truly no cake involved. It's ice cream, chocolate crumb, and then more ice cream. She loved it. Gone are the days that I make and decorate a cake. Although she did get a pie from Nana on her birthday. We didn't have her birthday dinner until the day after her birthday, due to Blair's swimteam banquet. So Nana did come up with a pie for her on her birthday. Then my parents came down to help with the kids and meals during my trips to Georgetown, so we had her birthday dinner Wednesday night with them and Nana. It was a nice evening.

I hope to be more frequent with my posts. But days do have a way of getting away from me.

Survived Round One!

I received my first chemo treatments Wednesday and Thursday of last week. I get two drugs on Wednesday and one of the two on Thursday. All went relatively well, and I didn't have any side-effects during the treatments.

On Wednesday morning, Jerry and I left our house by 6:30 a.m. Jerry was really nervous, although he denied it all that day! We arrived at Georgetown Hospital by 8:10, and the first thing I had to do was get my blood tested which took forever. That early in the morning there is only one guy checking people in and then taking them back to get draw the blood. So after waiting 25 minutes, I got called, but then the paper work wasn't properly done, so that had to be straightened out. On my first day of treatment, my blood counts have to be checked out before I can be given the chemo. So I have to get this done first, so the nurses can get my blood numbers before they can call in the order for the chemo which can't be ordered until I am there and weighed.

After my blood is taken and being analyzed, I wait to see my doctor, Cheson, whom I really like and trust. After he assured me that my hair wouldn't fall out, I asked him if we could make it curly, but he said he couldn't. He then gave me a hug and sent me up to floor 5 for the chemo.

My nurse is Kim, and I'll try to have her each time I go. One nice thing about Georgetown is that each person receiving chemo has his/her own little cubby with a curtain that can be drawn for privacy. Each cubby has its own t.v., and wireless internet service is available.

The first thing that Kim did was put warm towels on my arm to prepare my veins for the infusion. Even as late as this, I'm still thinking that someone will come in and tell me that this is all a mistake. It's really surreal to believe that I can feel okay, and still need chemo. But Ashton didn't pop out telling me I was "punk'ed".

Before starting the first medicine, I was given Benedryl and Tylenol orally, and a steroid intravenously. Before the second medicine, I was given an anti-nausea medicine. The first time, the medicine is given really slowly to make sure there are no side-effects. Therefore, the first day, we weren't finished until around 4:30 p.m. But traffic coming home wasn't bad, and friends had left dinner for us while we were gone, so the day ended well.

Thursday morning, I felt fine. I didn't need to be at Georgetown until 1:30 p.m., so that morning I got some laundry done. We had left the "stent" (the part in the vein that the infusion connects to) in my arm wrapped well, so that part didn't have to be done again, although it had been uncomfortable some during the night. Once I was there, the chemo was ordered, which can take up to 90 minutes to receive. It didn't take too long, and the infusion took only about an hour. So we left around 4:30 again. This time traffic seemed a bit worse. And I seemed a bit more nervous. I was really glad when we got home! Again, we had food left from friends, so I just crashed on the couch.

Friday morning I got up and went to work. I really felt fine. By the end of the work day I was really tired, so I came home and took a 3 hour nap! My arm where the infusion had been inserted was red and swollen, so I had put ice on it throughout the day. But other than that I had no side-effects.

Saturday and Sunday I have been able to rest a lot. Sometimes, I have been a little nervous, wondering how my body would react to the poison that it had received. My legs were really tired at times, but I rested and used a heating pad on them, which seemed to help. Saturday afternoon, I did take an anti-nausea pill, which did seem to relieve the symptom.

Today we didn't have school/work thanks to Martin Luther King. I was grateful to have another day to rest. Jerry and I took a walk this afternoon, after my nap, but I didn't want to walk too quickly or too far. I have now decided that I'm fine and will be back to normal tomorrow.

Bone Marrow Test = OUCH!

Thursday, Jan. 7, I had a bone marrow test.

Before any cancer treatment starts, the bone marrow is tested to see if the cancer has progressed to the bone marrow. When I was first diagnosed, I had a bone marrow test. Because I was so anxious about it, I took two valium before it started, and the test didn't seem very painful. I had heard terrible stories about the pain of the test, and how it was the worst pain that some people had ever experienced. I didn't find the first test bad at all.

When I had my regular six-month cancer check this December, Jerry and I stopped at a restaurant, Clyde's, in Rockville. Since I had been told at my doctor's appointment earlier that day that I would need to start chemo, I decided to try a new cocktail. I had an appletini (an apple martini), and it was delicious. I also had a cosmopolitan, but I enjoyed the appletini a little more. My friend, Sallie, had introduced me to the restaurant earlier in December when I had gone to Georgetown for my MRI. Clyde's is a nice restaurant in Rockville with great sandwiches. I had never had a martini lunch before, but after being told that I had to start chemo and I having Jerry as my driver, I decided to have one!

Back to the bone marrow test. Since the first test didn't seem too bad. I decided to forgo the valium, which does make me sleepy, and just have the test done. Then, I thought that when it was finished, Jerry and I could go back to Clyde's, and I would have another appletini.

First of all, the traffic to Georgetown University Hospital was terrible. At the doctor's, one person said that there had been a bad accident; another person reported a murder. Anyway, everyone was late, and the appointments were backed up. Jerry and I waited over 1 1/2 hours before I got called back to the room. I was starting to get a little nervous, but not too bad.

The test got started, and my bone marrow wouldn't cooperate, which means that none of my bone marrow could be pulled into the needle. It was painful, but it didn't last too long. She tried twice, but had no luck. Then she took the bone sample. That was really painful. Probably for only about 30 seconds, but it really did hurt. During this painful 30 seconds, Jerry whispered into my ear, applitini! Once the test was finished, I was able to see the 1 inch sliver of bone that was removed. It looked similar to a 1 inch pencil lead.

Jerry and I left Georgetown and headed for Clyde's. I did get an applitini. It was delicious, but when I have to get my next bone marrow test, I'm going to skip the martini and have the valium!