Ticks!

What a great day to be alive! I was able to work almost half the day, what a treat that is! I am feeling really well; the achiness is beginning to subside. It’s the worst in the morning when I first get up, and doesn’t bother me as much during the day anymore. The lymphedema continues to be my nemesis and wish I could find a way to get that under control right away. I see my physical therapist on Thursday and hopefully she will have some good suggestions. Until then, I continue to wrap my arm at night and wear the compression sleeve during the day.

Peyton made it home from Canada safely about 1:15 this morning. They made really great time back from Vancouver after the Tri-Cities Americans successfully beat the Vancouver Giants to win the WHS Western Conference title. Dad has decided that Peyton and Katie must be good luck, since the Ams win every away game that they attend, and figures he must find a way to send them to Calgary for the next round of games. If they win against Calgary, they go to the Memorial Cup. A pretty exciting time for our local sports team!

I had a little bit of excitement tonight. I was scratching my back and felt a rough spot in the center of my back. I looked in the mirror and could see a round black spot, which really freaked me out. All I could think of was some sort of melanoma or skin metastasize. I was so scared. I thought I would wait until Peyton to got home to look at it, but checked the time and figured that my chemo nurse, Michelle, would probably still be at the cancer center. So I took my chances and ran on over there. Michelle wasn’t around, but my previous chemo nurse Gloria, was available. I asked her to look at my back. You are not going to believe what it was. I had a tick embedded in my back! Gross. Disgusting. Creepy. A TICK! I am sure I can thank my dogs for this nice gift. They run through the brush, bring home ticks and sweetly deposit them on my bed. Gloria went and got Mitra and she swiftly removed the little predator from my skin. She saved it in a specimen jar so she could share the story with the rest of the staff. Glad I could be a source of amusement!

So, I have an early day tomorrow and I look forward to seeing my board members and continuing to share the triumphant news of survival! I love life, ticks and all.