a day in the life of kelly....

2009-04-20T13:24:00.003-05:00

Hello and I am so sorry it has been so long since I've written on this blog. I've become addicted to Facebook and spend much of my computer time there. I've been able to reconnect with childhood friends and it's been so much fun. One old friend posted photos of us at her 6th birthday party. Wow!

I have been able to stay out of the hospital lately. I had two of the best gastrointerologist (stomach) doctors in Houston run test after test on me and there really isn't much wrong with my stomach other than the severe gastroparesis. That's something I'll live with the rest of my life and just have to adjust my diet and take medication for it. At least in all their tests they did not find any more cancer in the stomach or small intestines. Hopefully it stays that way for a long time.

I finally got up the nerve and started driving again. I still do not have all of my energy back but from what other chemo patients tell me, it can take around a year for the body to be back to normal. My hair is about an inch long. It grows soooooo slow! But at least it's finally growing now. It's very gray now so I have to color it every few weeks. The texture is different than before. There is a little bit of wave in it (for as much as I can tell since it's still so short). But wave works for me because my hair was so straight before.

Well, that's all for now. Just a short update. I'll try not to let the next one take so long. Take care and be blessed!!

2009-01-28T15:56:00.003-06:00

Well.... it seems like I've spent most of the month of January in the hospital. I was in because of the problems with my stomach/intestines, my anemia and low white blood count. My friend joked on my Facebook page and asked if I had my own personal room at the hospital now. Ha ha. Speaking of Facebook, I'm on there as Kelly Bradford Muhl. Another friend talked me into signing up on Facebook. I was not interested in MySpace but Facebook is ten times better. I have reconnected with old friends from elementary school, friends I knew in Europe, high school friends, current friends, etc... It's so wonderful!!! Plus it's easy to post photos on Facebook and I've been able to look at all my friend's family photos. I need to post some photos of my cats on there.
Anyways.... I have a vacation coming up to Disney World and I'm praying my health will cooperate and behave.
My GI (Gastroenterologist) doctor referred me to another GI specialist. He is supposed to be one of the best in Houston and specializes in Celiac, severe gastroparesis and other problems with the intestines (problems I'm having). He is one of the few doctors that is able to actually go into the intestines and take biopsies. My initial appointment is next week so we'll see how it goes.
My hair continues to grow back very sloooooowwwwwwwwlllllly. I'm taking extra vitamins for hair growth but I don't know if they are working. I need to color it because what is growing back is coming in VERY gray! My hair seems to be growing back a thicker texture than before. I had baby fine hair before but it's different now. it'll be interesting to see what it'll look like in six months. Some of my friends think I should leave it super short but I just don't see that happening. I miss having a pony tail.
I'm on my bed on my laptop and all four of my cats are crashed out around the bed. Most of them are snoring and it's so cute.
That's all for now. Hope all is well with everyone. I'll post again soon......

2009-01-13T19:18:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!! Christmas sure did fly by this year. I'm currently in the hospital. I've been here since Saturday. My stomach/admominal pains have been hurting and my low white blood count and anemia are acting up. One of the doctors plans to put me on water therapy. I do not like to swim but I'll tread water next to a bunch of grandmas.
I'll either get to go home tomorrow or Thursday. David brought up my laptop today so I finally have communication with the outside world.
Christmas was nice. Christmas Eve day we spent with my mom and stepdad at my step aunt's house. Then we spent Christmas Eve with David's mom, brother and his aunt/cousins. David and I went to the Christmas Eve church service at 7:30, which was beautiful! Christmas morning we drove up to my grandma's in Conroe. My dad, stepmom and brother were there. My stepmom made this fabulous gluten-free dinner that I could eat and enjoy. Even the desert was gluten-free and very yummy. Veronica also made me some gluten-free chocolate chip cookies which I loved. I wasn't feeling too great because of the running around I did for three days so we left my grandma's around 2:00 and came home. I've had a few problems here and there. We were hoping 2009 would keep me out of the hospital but so far it's not happening. As long as I'm well by the middle of February when we go on vacation.
My hair is starting to finally grow back. It's coming in slowly and very gray. I'll have to color it soon.

2008-12-22T12:10:00.003-06:00

Is everyone ready for Christmas????? So far I have all the presents purchased but haven't wrapped them. I also have not done my Christmas cards.... oh my!!!!
I spent last Tuesday through Thursday back in the hospital due to abdominal pains, low white blood count and anemia (the usual). My new year's resolution is to stay out of the hospital!!! After the first of the year I'll have a test done where I swallow this large capsule that is actually a camera. I'll wear a fanny pack for about 12 hours that contains the mechanism that records what the capsule/camera sees. It will check out my small and large intestine to see what in the world is going on in there. It will also check to see if there is any cancer in the small intestine. Today's technology.....

The weather here has been crazy. One day it's hot and the next day is cold. Everyone's allergies I'm sure are going nuts too. I know mine are.

Christmas will be busy this year as usual. Christmas Eve day will be spent with my mom and stepdad and my step aunt's house (she lives in the same subdivision as me). Then we'll head over to David's brother's house (luckily also in the same subdivision) and open presents and eat dinner. David's mom flew in from Pennsylvania last Tuesday. Then David and I will go to church for the Christmas Eve service (which is absolutely beautiful at our church). Christmas day we will get up and go to my grandma's for the day, then head back home that evening because David's mom is flying home the day after Christmas (we want to spend that last night visiting with her). So it'll be run, run, run.....

I finally set up an account on Facebook at my friend's urging. That website is so addicting!! I've gotten back in touch wtih many of my high school friends. I've had so much fun looking at everyone's photos. Facebook is similar to Myspace but I think a whole lot better. I don't like myspace. Facebook seems to be for an older generation like us. So if you are on Facebook or join it, email me and let me know so I can add you as one of my friends. email me at kbm927@gmail.com.

Well, that's all for now. If I don't get a chance to post again this week...... I hope everyone has a very MERRY and BLESSED CHRISTMAS!!!! And I hope Santa leaves you lots of terrific presents!

2008-12-12T11:54:00.002-06:00

Who ever said "bald is beautiful" obviously was never bald. I think some woman came up with the phrase to soothe her husband's ego when he was losing his hair. Maybe men look good with no hair but women are another story. God have us hair to the end for a reason. As you can probably guess.... MY HAIR STILL IS NOT GROWING BACK and i'm getting really frustrated. I have even less hair now than in the picture on my prior post.
My internet has been down for over a week so I've not been able to post. It's like the world is ending when our internet goes down. We had to order a new modem.
Well, last month I spent a lot of time in the hospital. My stomach was really hurting bad and my white blood count was super low. I was in the hospital for about four days each time. My doctors put me on some new stomach medications and I'm feeling a little bit better. My energy is still lacking. I keep being told that it comes back slowly but my gosh... this is ridiculous.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I spent Thanksgiving in the hospital on a clear, liquid diet. So I imagined my chicken broth was turkey and that my jello was green bean casserole.
I'm sorry, I've got to make this posting a little more happier...... well.... my mother in law is flying in Tuesday. Lot's of cleaning to do before then. David is doing a lot of it today for me. Such a good husband. Christmas is almost here and I've done all my shopping online. Thank goodness.
The weather has been pretty cold here in Houston and we even had snow flurries the other day. Most of the day it was either snow flurries or sleet. Nothing stuck to the ground though. We never get snow in Houston so it was a nice change. I love cold weather but it makes my chest hurt where my sterum was cut open for my surgery two years ago. I can always tell when it's going to rain or when we are going to get cold weather.
I guess that's about all for now. I wish it was a happier post but just haven't been that happy lately. I thank God that I'm alive and well and in remission. I just wish He'd give me my hair and energy back soon! The good news is that thanks to all of you lovely people, I have lot's of hats and scarves to wear!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so blessed :-)

2008-11-23T21:28:00.007-06:00

Will my hair ever start growing back?!?! It still continues to fall out, mostly when I wash my hair. Maybe I'll just quit taking showers!!!!!!! Just kidding. Luckily my eyebrows are tattoo'd so I don't look like a total zombie. But I have to be somewhat insane anyways because I post these ragamuffin looking photos of myself online for the world to see. Hopefully people will look at the earlier photos when I had HAIR!!!! People at MD Anderson (my cancer center) tell me I should just shave off the rest of my hair like everyone else does but I'm just not sure I can do that. I keep hoping it'll quit falling out and I can salvage some of it at least. I wasn't suppose to lose this much of it!! I was only suppose to have partial hair loss as a result of my chemo drugs.
I went to see my oncologist last week. She said my hair should not still be falling out since I finished my chemo on 10/27 so she ran some blood test to try to figure out what is going on. I'm still tired all the time and am still afraid to drive. I haven't driven in months! I'm just not secure with my reaction time on the road and I'd hate to get into an accident and hurt someone. So right now my present goals are to get some hair back on my head, start driving to the grocery store and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day. If I can accomplish that I'll be a happy camper.
Only three more days until Turkey day!! So looking forward to eating a leg and some sweet potatoes! Yummy!

2008-11-21T14:57:00.002-06:00

Not much has been going on this month. My hair STILL continues to fall out. I have very little left. Anyone out there know how long the hair will fall out after chemo is finished? I'm ready for it to start growing back. I still continue to be very fatigued all day. I'm still afraid to drive because I'm so tired. I was in the hospital earlier this month for a few days because of fever and my white blood count was really low. They have me these WBC booster shots called Filgrastim injections and it worked. My WBC got up to 7 from 1.4. But i had a doctor appointment yesterday and it had fallen again so I'm not sure if the shots will become regular or not. My Sjogren's Syndrome causes me have chronic low white blood count to begin with so the chemo didn't help it much. I have to be so careful about germs and getting sick since my immune system is so retarded. It fights my good organs but it doesn't know to fight simple colds.

We had a cool front come in so the weather is lovely. Thanksgiving is next week and we plan to spend it with my mom, stepdad, stepaunt and my cousins. They live close by so it won't be too tiring for me. I get to see my cousin Brooke's adorable baby Paige and play with her. She is just too cute!

I tried making some gluten-free sugar cookies last week. They didn't turn out too good. Does anyone have a yummy recipe for gluten-free sugar cookies or gluen-free snickdoodles??? Having Celiac disease, especially around the holidays, really is a bummer. I am unable to eat all the wonderful baked desserts everyone makes.

If I don't write again before next week, I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!!

2008-10-29T09:58:00.008-05:00

Great, great, GREAT news!!! I am officially in remission!!! Finally, after two years of treatment!! I can relax and heal. Thank you God and thank you EVERYONE for all of your prayers! They worked! Who ever tries to say prayer does not work is crazy. I had my LAST chemo treatment on Monday. I was suppose to have one more treatment after that one but my doctor said she was happy with my last biopsy results and didn't see the need for the sixth treatment. Yea!!! I'm so happy. My BBF Kelly W. took me to my chemo yesterday (what an experience it was for her). She couldn't believe all the IV medications that were going into me. We stayed in a hotel by the medical center with the plan on going antique shopping the following day but that didnn't happen. I woke up sick and kept throwing up through the entire day, I felt awful. She winded up taking me home around 10:30. I had a bad day after chemo day, probably the worst ever. But..... that's okay because I won't have to do it again! At least hopefully for a really long time. I know with Lymphoma that we can't say never but at least hopefully for a really, really, really, long time. Hair is really falling out today. I think my doctor must have put a little extra something in my chemo treatment this time because the after effects are definitely worse than ever before. I'll have my next biopsy in about five or six months - please pray that my doctor doesn't change her mind and make me do a followup of radiation.

We have a cool front in Houston right now and it's LOVELY!! I love the fall/winter time. We don't actually have four seasons in Houston. The year kind of goes like this - kinda cold, cool, hot, hot, hot, hot, kinda cool. Our coldest month is January. My husband did have to put the heater on last night though. Mmmmm.... can't wait to crank up the fireplace. Ours is gas, not nearly as good as wood, but it gives off a good effect at least. The cats are acting all frisky because of the weather and are driving me crazy running around and getting into everything. They are indoor cats but they can still feel the difference. My 17 year old cat is still hanging on. Every time I think it's time to put him to sleep, he starts acting all perky like a kitten. He'll probably outlive me.

I got all of my Christmas shopping done! I did every bit of it online. It was quite fun. No crowds, no standing in line, no driving. All the boxes are arriving and I think my mail lady hates me right now. She just leaves a postal box full of packages on my doorstep every day. Some arrive by UPS and FedEx. I usually try to have all my shopping done my Thanksgiving because I hate crowds. I'm crowdaphobic :-) I broke my record by having it all done my Halloween. Ya Hoo!

Well, that's all for now. Now that I won't have my cancer to talk about I'll have to think of other topics. Take care and Lots's of Love to all !!!!

p.s. check out the photo of my cute cousin at the bottom in her halloween costume!!

2008-10-26T13:30:00.003-05:00

St. Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are
exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite
possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you
have received, and pass on the
love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you
are a child of God. Let this presence
settle into your bones, and allow
your soul the freedom to sing,
dance, praise and love.

2008-10-26T10:54:00.007-05:00

Atticus! Such a handsome guy!

2008-10-16T14:20:00.003-05:00

another photo of my thinning hair.....

2008-10-08T10:04:00.004-05:00

My oh my...... I can't believe it's been so long since I've written on this blog. Much has happened since my last post. We had Hurricane Ike come through and spent five days with no electricity. Thank God we had a mild cool front come through to help endure the heat so it was not too bad but having no electricity really is a pain in the butt. My parents did not have electricity for I think 8 days. Luckily we did not have any major damage. Just some missing shingles and some water leaks. We lost a few fence post and lots of branches. Most of our neighbors did not fare so good though so we felt quite happy with the little damage we had. Our subdivision is older so we have huge trees everywhere and many are long gone.... ripped out at the bottom. It took three weeks to get all the trees, branches and fences picked up around the neighborhood. It's unbelievable that only a category 2 hurricane could cause so much damage!

The other big event last month was I turned the big 40. I spent the day in the hospital so it was not a fun birthday. One of the big side effects from my chemo has been really horrible, severe migraines. And I had a doozie of one on my birthday. So at least I got to spend the day on some very potent pain killers :-) Actually the last few weeks I've spent some time in the hospital because of fever or migraines. Last week I spent two days in the hospital. It was a new hospital by our house and it was the worst experience I've ever had in a hospital. I left feeling worse than when I went in.

I had my fourth chemo treatment two days ago. The treatments still take about six hours and I'm there all day. I still feel nauseous and now I get the migraines but at least I still have my appetite and am not actually throwing up. But I've put on so much weight because I still have my appetite but am too nauseous and exhausted to exercise. Other bad side effect of chemo is the horrible fatigue!! Today I have no migraine so I'm doing pretty good but, boy, I can barely get out of bed. I'm continuing to still loose my hair little by little. I had to cut it again because it was thinning. I'm okay until I get into the shower and then it comes out a lot in my hands. It is really a gross feeling. Another side effect of chemo is bad day and night sweats so that was the other reason of chopping more of the hair off. The other day a person asked David if his son was okay!!! The nerve!!! I look like a boy now.... lovely. A boy with big boobs.... was the woman blind or am I just fat now? Anyways.......

I got a box of hats, scarves and caps from my beautiful Aunt Karen and her co-workers last month. It was a fun surprise. My dearest and favorite cousin, Susan, sent me this scarf thing from the show Survior that is the coolest invention in the world. Not only can you wear it like a million different ways but it is perfect for pulling your hair back to remove makeup!! I love presents!!

Well, that's all for now. Here is the latest photo of my short hairdo:

2008-08-25T12:14:00.005-05:00

Hello my favorite people!
It is one very HOT day here in Houston. We need a nice storm.... just enough rain to cool things off and water the land. Not much has been happening. I've been feeling okay. I'm good some days and really nauseous other days. The best anti-nauseous medication is Zolfran and unfortunately I can not take it because it gives me horrible headaches. I was actually in the emergency room a few times over the last three weeks due to the horrible headaches/migraines. So my doctor gave me another "MD Anderson" only special concoction called ABH (it's a capsule containing ativan, benadryl and haldol) for the nauseousness. It works pretty good.
My hair has been thinning out in spurts. It comes out most in the shower. It seems thinner to me but my stepmom yesterday said she couldn't tell a difference. She brought me over a pot of her homemade chicken tortilla soup (yummmm.... it's good) and my dad brought me a pink harley davidson bandana cap (it's cute). Anyways - cutting my hair short was a good idea because it does look thicker and hopefully I won't have to lose it all and shave it.
David's truck is on the fritz and the a/c went out in it. He is driving my car until we can either fork out the money to get his fixed or buy him something else. With me not working, we have to be much tighter with our budget. My medical bills get thrown into a box in the bedroom..... I'm afraid to even look at them. Insurance of course doesn't cover everything.
Well, it's lunch time so I'm going to go have a bowl of the tortilla soup!
p.s. this is a photo of me getting my chemo last time and yes, my hair is that short now.

2008-07-31T16:06:00.006-05:00

Howdy friends ~ I got a wonderful surprise today!! My stepgrandmother (Barbara Gauthier), who is one of the most sweetest, dearest people in the world, sent me a whole bunch of scarves she had. They are sooooooooo beautiful! Is is weird to say I'm kind of looking forward to losing my hair now because I'll have such fun, pretty, scarves to wear??? Barbara is a true southern lady, through and through and such a great role model. She raised a bunch of terrific daughters (5 of them!) and a talented son and unfortunately lost her husband not too long ago. The surprise gift was nice and much needed because this morning I was feeling all whiny and wimpy and it put a big smile on my face. I do not like feeling wimpy but this week I just have not been feeling that great. I was in the hospital Sunday/Monday. With the chemo I have to take my temperature daily and if it gets to 101 then I have to go to the ER for antibiotics. I can't take the normal medications I used to take... no advil, no tylenol, no aleve, no aspirin so dealing with headaches and pain is a challenge now. My chest still hurts where the port was placed. The doctor told me it would take about 3 weeks to heal and he wasn't kidding. There is a big bump out of my skin where the port is so it looks like I have some freaky tumor or something in my chest and you can see the catheter along the inside of my neck where it meets up with my jugular. Lovely...... I think I shall also wears scarves around my neck!!!! My neck and chest is becoming full of scars. My husband has a t-shirt that says "scars are just tattoos with stories". That is no doubt. I still have that lovely 5 inch long scar down my chest where I had my thymectomy surgery and chest sawed open in 2006. None of those scar creams worked on me. I just don't wear v-neck shirts anymore. C'est la vie! I wonder which is worst... no hair, scars or wrinkles??? I think I'd have to go with the wrinkles :-)
Well, my cats are insisting that I give them my undivided attention for a while so I best go. Love to all!!!!!

2008-07-26T11:07:00.006-05:00

I need scarves, caps and hats (summer or winter)! If you have any old ones laying around not being used.... please send them my way. They will be very MUCH appreciated and put to full use if all my hair falls out!!

2008-07-22T18:40:00.003-05:00

I started my next new round of chemo (R-CHOP) yesterday. Last week I had my port implanted in my chest for the chemo. I actually had a Powerport placed in so it can be used for CT and PET scans since I have a lot of those. The surgery took about an hour and I have about a quarter size triangle port under my skin (looks like a bump) and it connects to my jugular by a catheter. It took two incisions. The catheter is sewed into my jugular. This will keep me from having to poke around my veins for an IV each time I get my chemo and give labs since my veins are so tiny and roll. Yesterday's chemo session actually took about 9 hours. I was to be given four drugs but wasn't able to get one of them because my liver enzymes were way to high so I'll have to have an extra treatment at the end. The nurse told me to be prepared to lose most of my hair. It will start falling out in about three weeks. When it does.... I'll go ahead and shave it. I think it's worse to watch it fall out slowly. I will need to start finding scarves and hats to wear. No goofy wig for me! The hardest thing for me during this treatment will be to stay healthy. Chemo makes your white blood count drop and since I have chronic low white blood count, I have to be extra careful. I'm suppose to stay away from crowds, kids and unclean places. I have to go to the ER if my temperature gets to 101 in order to get antibodics. I basically have to be really careful. And my husband says I'm never careful about stuff like that so he's going to be watching over me like a mother hen.
I'll post more later ~ thanks for all the emails, posts and calls!!!

2008-07-12T15:52:00.005-05:00

Hi people!! I hope everyone is doing well out there!! It's another agonizing hot day in Texas.... I wish it would rain today! I LOVE rain and storms. Presently I'm at my grandmother's house visiting and have been here most of this week. She lives just north of Houston so no relief from the heat here. My brother lives with her now so I've enjoyed spending time with him. But I need to get back to Houston tomorrow because my husband's mom and her husband flew in from Pennsylvania. Monday I have jury duty and will do all I can to not get picked. Since I was a probation officer for 17 years I'm not always first to be chosen luckily. Tuesday I am suppose to spend a few days with my best friend Kelly W. in Galveston at the beach at her family's condo. Busy week next week. I think my mother-in-law will be in town for about three weeks. Today I went to Bath and Body Works and got her some goodies to make up for me not being there.

I finally had my follow-up visit with my oncologist to find out the results of my last bone marrow biopsy. The really good news is that the cancer is NOT in my bone marrow yet or in my spine. I will do six more treatments of three different kinds of chemo. To make it less agonizing (less side effects) for me, the oncologist will have me do one treatment session every three weeks. So it'll take a total of 18 weeks to do all the treatment. The IV chemo medicines will be Vincristine (Oncovin/Vincasar PFS), Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and Rituximab (Rituxan) again. I will have an IV port in my chest put in surgically this time since I had such a difficult time with my veins/IV's last time. I'll start the treatment after I get that put in. The treatment takes 5 to 6 hours each time (for the IV drugs to go in) and it's at MD Anderson Hospital. Anyone want to volunteer to take me???? David and my stepmom took turns taking me last time and they didn't die from boredom so it must not have been too bad. I'll keep everyone posted as soon as I get the port put in.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far! Keep in touch!! kmuhl@sbcglobal.net

2008-06-21T15:20:00.003-05:00

Hello, hello, hello!
For those of you that do not live in the south, be thankful. It is HOT here in Houston!!! The humidity is so high you can barely breath outside. Not to mention we have hardly had any rain at all. We have so much yard work to do but it's just too dang hot to get out there, even in the mornings and evenings. It's times like these that I wish we lived in Alaska or Oregon.

David got his MRI scan results. Great news ~ no new tumor growth. His doctor will not need to see him again until his next MRI next year. What a relief that is for us. All of your prayers worked ~ thanks!

I had my bone marrow biopsy the other day. It was nice since I got to be put to sleep this time. I'm always awake, with no sedation, when I have those things and they hurt like hell. Now I'm just sore in my hips. The bone marrow is extracted out of both hips. I basically feel like I've been kicked in the back by a horse. I've never actually been kicked by a horse but I can image that it would make your hips hurt. I'll go back to the doctor next week for my results. For the last few weeks I've been having to go in to give blood samples, not sure why. I guess I'll find out the answer to that one next week as well. I have chronic low white blood count and sometimes my WBC gets dangerously low, so that might be what they are monitoring. I always have to be super careful being around children (because they carries millions of germs and also being around sick people). My immune system does not like to fight off infections.

Since I have Celiac Disease I have to eat a gluten-free diet. I've been trying different gluten-free recipes for sugar cookies but they all taste yucky. If anyone knows a good recipe for gluten-free sugar cookies, please email it to me. kmuhl@sbcglobal.net I am CRAVING a real, Shipley's donut. There are a lot of foods I miss eating, especially donuts!

I'll post more next week. I hope all of you out there are doing great!!!

2008-06-10T15:10:00.002-05:00

Hi to everyone!
Well, I went to the oncologist last week to get my latest stomach biopsy and PET scan results. The news wasn't as good as I would have liked, but I have to remember it could always be worse. The biopsy showed cancer still in my stomach. There isn't a lot but enough that it'll need treatment again. The PET scan showed "activity" in the lymph nodes under both my arms and also "activity" in my spine. So my doctor is having me do another bone marrow biopsy (I just had one six months ago) but she said I'll get to get sedated on this biopsy - which is a relief because those dang things hurt. The results of the bone marrow biopsy will determine if I'll do radiation again or some more chemo.

Tomorrow I will go with David to see his new doctor at MD Anderson and get his MRI results. Hopefully it will show no new tumor growth. I can tell he is nervous.

I haven't been feeling well for the last two weeks so I haven't even been able to go see my cousin's new baby. I've had fever off and on so being around a newborn is not the best idea.

Not much new news other than that. I'll post more later....

2008-05-28T17:18:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! Yesterday I had a PET scan to restage my cancer. I'll post the results as soon as I find out. Next week I'll find out the results of my stomach biopsy. I'm suppose to make an appointment to see the radiation oncologist to start my next go of radiation therapy.

Earlier this month I spent a week up in Pennsylvania at my mom-in-law's house. I flew up, without David, so we could spend the week shopping in the amish towns. She lives close to Lancaster. We had a wonderful time! It is so beautiful up there ~ totally different than Texas. The weather was nice and cool which was a nice break from our 100 degree heat down here. The amish are amazing people. I never get tired of looking at their farms, their absolutely beautiful children and the horse/buggies they ride in. It's a totally different world than ours. I saw one amish guy on roller blades which was a surprise. We spent one night in Intercourse, PA which is right in the middle of amish and mennonite country. Mennonites are similar to Amish but not as strict in their lifestyles. I bought lots of goodies and lots of yummy smelling candles.

My cousin Brooke had her baby on mother's day. I haven't had a chance to go see her yet. I need to take photos of her and post one on my blog.

I FINALLY got David to transfer his medical care over to MD Anderson. He has an appointment tomorrow for a MRI and will see a doctor next week. I plan to go to both with him. Please pray that the MRI shows no new tumor growth. (For those who don't know: David had a golf ball size tumor removed in 2000 and more tumor removed in 2005. He went through radiation after the last surgery in 2005). I'll keep everyone updated on his status as well. Just keep praying for him please!!

2008-05-07T15:36:00.002-05:00

Sorry I have not written in quite a while. Not much has been happening lately. The last few months have been pretty slow. I had my stomach biopsy this past Monday and am awaiting the results of that. If there is still cancer in my stomach then I'll do some radiation. Since I've done it before it'll be a piece of cake. I'll let everyone know the results as soon as I know them.

Today I got to take my cousin, Brooke, to the doctor. She is due to have a baby on Sunday but we are hoping she has it sooner. She feels like she is about to pop (she's going to have a BIG baby girl) and I want her to have it before Sunday because I'm flying out of town Sunday!! Please say a prayer for her and the baby (Paige). I also got to take her last week to the doctor so that's been my highlight of the last month. My life has become so boring..... I need to start volunteering or substitute teaching.

My best friend from high school, Lisa, got back in touch with me recently. She emailed me out of the blue and it's been a few years since we've seen each other. I can't wait to get together with her to catch up on things. We were cheerleaders together. How time flies....

Sunday I'm flying up to see David's mom for a week (just me, David is staying here). She lives close to Lancaster, Pa. We plan to spend the week shopping and going to lots of Amish craft shops. I can not wait! It's so beautiful up there.

Hope everyone is doing great and I hope all of you moms out there have a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Great news!!

2008-02-26T14:26:00.003-06:00

I went to the oncologist at MD Anderson yesterday and got wonderful news. The antibody chemo treatment I did back in Nov/Dec worked really well and knocked out most of the cancer in my stomach. The doctors were very pleased at how well the treatment worked. But there is still a very, very small area in the stomach that still showed cancer. Dr. Pro said sometimes the antibody chemo can take up to six months to fully work so it might still knock out that small bit of cancer. So... in May I will do another stomach biopsy and PET scan. IF the cancer is still there I will do radiation (just like I did on the cancer in my chest area at the end of 2006). She does not think I will have to do full blown bad chemo at all. At least I can keep my hair with the radiation! And I just had seven inches cut off it last week because I was anticipating bad news at the oncologist. I figured I'd cut half of the hair off now and then then the rest of it off when the chemo started. I just have not been feeling well at all the last few months and so I had a bad feeling the antibody chemo didn't work. Thank goodness I was wrong! Dr. Pro thinks my not feeling well has more to do with my rheumatology and autoimmune problems than with my cancer. I have an appointment to see my rheumatologist next month.
So... thank you all for all of your prayers! They worked!!

Just another day....

2008-02-22T11:37:00.003-06:00

I suck at tennis. Anna Kournikova.... I definitely am not. The first time we played I fell on my butt twice. Lot's of padding there... so no harm done. David spent more time laughing at me than hitting the ball himself. Luckily the courts we go to have practice backboards as well, so I've been sticking to them for now. I actually asked a man there (he had just finished playing a match) for a couple of pointers and he winded up giving us a nice lesson and lots of tips. I still suck though. It's pretty sad that my back hand swing is better than my front hand swing.

Monday I had my stomach biopsy. I will go see my oncologist on Monday 2/25 to get the results. I'll post the results when I find out.

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2/07 and have not eaten bread in a year. I finally decided to bake some gluten-free bread in my bread machine and oh my..... warm, fresh bread.... god it was so good! My bread machine in old but it worked good enough for now. There's a new model out that actually has a "gluten-free" cycle on it that I really want. It's the Breadman TR875 2-Pound Breadmaker - pretty inexpensive on amazon... hint, hint.... my birthday's coming up. But of course I already sit around the house eating chocolate, drinking diet cherry chocolate dr. pepper..... and the last thing i need to put in my mouth is BREAD!!!!! But oooohhhhhh.... it was so yummy. There are so many things I miss eating - like Shipley's glazed donuts.... sigh..............................

Nothing new....

2008-02-05T12:35:00.000-06:00

Not much has been happening around the Muhl household. I spent five days in the hospital last week. My blood pressure has been really low, lots of headaches, falling down and irregular heartbeats. It was mostly my vertigo acting up. The cardiologist and neurologist ran tons of tests - all seemed fine (except for the vertigo). So I finally begged them to let me go home and they did, despite the low blood pressure. David kept me stocked up on chocolate while I was there... what a great husband. The doctors put me on a bunch more   medications (like I need anymore medications) and I've just been taking it easy since I've been home.  I really, really do not like being in the hospital.  Not only was the food totally horrible but I counted 26 needle holes in me! I believe that falls under the catagory of cruel and unusual punishment. It seems once I go in.... they never want to let me leave!

My next stomach biopsy is scheduled for February 18th. I'm actually looking forward to that so I will find out if the antibody chemo treatment worked. I should hopefully have the results on the 25th when I go back to see my oncologist. Keep your fingers crossed.

David and I have been getting very lazy and both of us are gaining weight..... all that chocolate and Mexican food (not eaten at the same time of course)! So we bought some tennis rackets last night and plan to start playing at the courts located close to our house. There are also backboards there so David can get a more intense workout and I will be able to take it easy. I can not imagine how sore we will be after the first time! I have not played tennis since Iwas in college.  David and I will probably spend most of the time bent
over laughing our butts off at each other though.

Diet Dr. Pepper is my lifesaver. They have a new flavor.... cherry chocolate!!   Oh MY gosh - it is soooooo good! Truly heavenly.

Well... I hope everyone is having a great new year so far. It's already flying by. I can't believe we are already in February. I can't believe I'll be 40 in seven months!!!   OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm officially retired!

2008-01-10T14:06:00.000-06:00

Not bad for only being 39, huh? Well.... as of December 31, 2007, I was approved for early medical disability retirement from my job. The amount of course will not be as much as if I were to actually normally retire (which would have been in 10 years) but it will help out somewhat. I haven't had an income since September when I took my leave of absence from work so the retirement check will be welcomed! My medical bills are absolutely enormous.... unfortunately insurance only covers 80%. After over 16 years of working with the department I'm still having a hard time getting used to being at home. Some days I want to just stay in my pajamas all day and read or watch movies! But I have to get myself motivated and do stuff around the house.

One of my cats, Jax, has a new addiction. He loves Ruffles potato chips and Cheetos. He keeps stealing the bags out of the kitchen. He'll drag the bags to my closet to hide them from me! Strange cat......

Happy New Year!

2008-01-09T12:17:00.000-06:00

Okay..... I'm not doing too well right now with keeping up with this blog. Nothing new has been happening so I haven't had much to write about. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. David and I spent a quiet Christmas in San Antonio this year. It was nice and relaxing. David lost a very dear uncle the week before Christmas so it's kind of been tough for him. His Uncle John was David's golfing buddy and was a very special man.

I was supposed to have gone to my oncologist last week but wasn't feeling well so had to reschedule. So I'll go next week for my checkup. We'll probably still have to wait a few months before we do another stomach biopsy, which is fine with me because I'm currently enjoying the break from treatment.

OMG! it's almost Christmas!!

2007-12-14T15:11:00.000-06:00

Wow.... I did not realize it has been so long since I've written on my blog! I've received emails wondering if I'm okay. Yep, I'm fine. I've been under the weather since about Thanksgiving. So I've been laying around the house, not doing much of anything. I can't believe Christmas is almost here and I have not shopped at all. Unfortunately, it's difficult to get into the Christmas spirit when you don't feel well. I'm at MD Anderson right now getting my last treatment. I had a few complications from my last few treatments. Hopefully this will be it for a while. I'll have another stomach biopsy in a few months to see if this IV treatment works. If it doesn't, then I'll be back to getting IV's of chemo. I have very difficult veins to get into so it takes quite a few sticks to get either an IV in me or to draw blood. Last week I was in the emergency care here at MD Anderson and I got stuck a total of 11 times that day. I look like I'm a drug addict because of all the bruises all over my arms and hands from the needles. A few weeks ago they had to put the IV in my foot because they could find no vein in my arm. After about three times of getting stuck it starts to hurt! Last week they finally had to use an ultrasound machine to find a vein in my arm to use. Oh well.... instead of God giving me a small butt, he gave me small veins instead. I need to talk to Him about that......

God's Grace Will See You Through

2007-11-21T12:57:00.000-06:00

My mother-in-law loves Joyce Meyer and I think has every one of her books. She copied this from Joyce's newest devotional and gave it to me:

I want you to face the mountain
so that you can see,
when the mountain is out of the way
all there is left is Me.
Only I can move the mountain,
only I can push it away,
only I can conquer the problems
that you face today.
Your only job is to believe, to listen
to My voice,
and when you hear what I command,
obedience is your choice.
But I will not make it too difficult for the
victory is already mine,
and I will fill you with My Spirit and through
you My grace will shine.
Not when you are perfect,
like you think you need to be,
but when your heart is willing to become more
and more like Me.

---Joyce Meyer

Fist day of new treatment

2007-11-18T16:45:00.000-06:00

Well.... I survived my first of four sessions of the IV antibody treatment. I was at MD Anderson for 10 hours. The treatment took 8 hours. I was put in a small hospital room in an emergency room like setting. There were about 20 beds that are used for the chemo patients around the nurses station. The nurse hooked me up to six different IV fluids. She started the Rituximab in small amounts and gradually increased it every 30 minutes. I had an allergic reaction to it after about an hour. More IV of Benadryl was given to me. Then about an hour later I had another reaction. Each time I had a reaction I got more Benadryl in an IV. I was so sleepy when I left at 9:30 that night that I thought David was going to have to carry me to the car. I was groggy all day Saturday.
Over all the treatment wasn't that bad at all. I think I can handle three more sessions but hopefully the next ones won't take as long. I brought a book and read but next time I'll bring my laptop. I was fed lunch and dinner (order like you do in the hospital) and there was a TV in the room. The nurses were all very nice.
It's Sunday night. David's mom is in town from Pennsylvania so we've been getting yummy home cooked meals (she loves to cook for us). She'll fly back home after Thanksgiving. I wonder if she can cook us a bunch of meals and we can freeze them!?!?!? Just kidding.... I wouldn't let her do that.

a wonderful surprise!

2007-11-15T14:17:00.000-06:00

I got a terrific surprise yesterday. My BFF from work, Kelly W., dropped off a beautiful large green plant from my co-workers. I've been on a leave of absence from work since Oct. 1st. There was a card and everyone signed it. It brought tears to my eyes to think that so many people care! I'm such a lucky person to work with such a wonderful group of people. Dealing with cancer is so much easier when you have people there for you to help you get through it. I can't imagine being alone at this point in my life. God has blessed me with a great set of friends and co-workers and a great family. My parents (both sets), my brother, my grandmother, my mother-in-law, my brother-in-law, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. And of course my number one person in my life is my husband. The thoughtful cards and emails I get from people have meant more to me than I can describe.
My BFF Kelly W. has been one of those people who has been there for me from the beginning as well. We both started working with the probation department about the same time back in 1991. We became great friends when I transferred to court services in 2000. She's been there for me through both David's brain surgeries and my own medical problems. Everyone calls us two peas in a pod and double trouble. Of course we are the "Kellys" to everyone. She is Kelly 1 and I am Kelly 2. Kelly is three years older than me.... ha ha! Kelly is also my favorite shopping buddy in the world. We can antique shop until our feet fall off. Having a really good shopping partner is very difficult to find. You either have someone that is always in a hurry or someone who is a slow poke. But Kelly is just right. We love to hit the antique shops in Spring, Tomball, Rosenberg and Brenham. Kelly is single (good husband prospects please send applications to me as I must approve you first), has a dog and our biggest goal is to be the BEST Red Hat Society women when we hit 50. As soon as we turn 50 you will see us with our purple and red and flaunting some wild hats around town. Kelly is actually able to be a "princess in waiting" right now because she is over 40 but she's waiting for me. Next year I'll be 40 so we'll be wearing our pink hats until we can officially wear the red ones - can't wait!!!!!
Kelly W. - if you read this blog.... thanks for all the happy times - love you!!

Test results

2007-11-14T12:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I went to see my oncologist at MD Anderson to get all my latest test results. My bone marrow biopsy was good - no cancer in the bone marrow. Whew.... When the cancer gets into the bone marrow it automatically makes it stage 4. I will be happy if I can limit the bone marrow biopsies to just once a year. They are not the most pleasant feeling thing to go through. All my scans came back good as well, just a few cyst and bumps here and there. So we just have the cancer in the stomach to treat. It looks like the cancer is only in the stomach right now so that means it's in remission in the chest area where I did the radiation last year. We are going to treat the cancer with an antibody treatment called Rituximab/Rituxan. The handout my doctor gave me states.... "Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody that is given intravenously (into the vein). It works with the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. Rituximab is used to treat non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and may be given alone or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs". So I will do the treatment once a week for four weeks. I'm not sure how it will work with my immune system since it's next to null. Because of my sjogrens syndrome and chronic low white blood count, I don't have much of an immune system. In about four months I will do another stomach biopsy. The doctor said we'll do chemo at that time if the Rituximab doesn't knock out all the cancer. I will begin the antibody treatment this Friday. It'll take about six hours. I guess I'll pass the time on my ipod and bring my laptop. Luckily it won't make me lose any hair but it will make me feel sick. Chocolate time!! A good 'ole Hersheys bar seems to do wonders for me when I feel nauseous for some reason. And that would explain why I've gained 15 pounds over the last year. Pistachio nuts seem to help with nauseousness too. I never even liked those things until this year.
So.... that's the latest news. Until later......

canton, texas

2007-11-12T10:22:00.000-06:00

The first weekend of this month I went to Canton, Texas with friends Karen and Jill. For those who do not know what Canton is.... it's like the biggest craft/antique/flea market in the world. It's HUGE!! I flew into Dallas from Houston and Jill flew in from Colorado Springs. Jill rented us a car (a new Mustang) and we drove out to Karen's house which is on a beautiful lake about an hour and a half east of Dallas. We got there in less than an hour because Jill was Mario Andretti in a former life. We stopped at a bait shop and saw the funniest scene.... in the large yard next to the bait shop was a little pony chasing a great dane around the yard. The pony was so frisky and jumping around. It was hilarious.
Of course Jill stayed up until 1:30 that Thursday night fishing on the boat deck. We spent Friday and Saturday at Canton walking around. We had such a wonderful time. The weather was totally beautiful. God blessed us with such a perfect weekend! Everyone must experience Canton at least once in their life. The best thing to do though is to stay in one of the cheaper bed and breakfasts or guest rooms within walking distance to the shops in Canton and plan on spending all day friday, saturday and sunday there. It's worth it to purchase a shopping cart for $20. Make sure to wear the most comfortable shoes you own and bring a backpack instead of a purse!

Tomorrow I have a doctor appointment at MD Anderson to get my last bone marrow biopsy results. I'll tell the story behind my cancer diagnosis on another day. It's a long story. My cancer is in my stomach now so I will also be finding out what my next treatment plan will be. I did four weeks of radiation in December 2006 in my chest area. Keep your fingers crossed that it's radiation again and not chemo.

girlfriends......

2007-11-10T15:04:00.000-06:00

I turned 39 this year and also celebrated my 20 year high school reunion. I learned a few things this summer and can say it's been my most maturing year yet. Not just the extra gray hairs and wrinkles, but learning a lot about myself.
For one, I took a trip this summer with four friends I graduated high school with. We were all classmates in high school but some of us didn't really know each other that well.... we were all from different social groups back then. So a few weeks before our reunion we met up in Colorado and spent the most incredible four days at my friend Jill's yurt. For you Southern folks, a yurt is like a cabin. I know... I'd never heard of one either. Not only were the mountains breathtaking and wholesome, but the laughter of old friends was priceless. After not seeing each other for 20 years it was amazing how easily the chemistry and memories sparked us all back together. Not to mention I accidentally blew up the Tiki torch thanks to Debbie.
There is Jill, the artisit. She is an x-cop, x-band director and the world's greatest fisherwoman. Give the girl a reel, a worm and a glass of wine and she's in heaven. Then there is Debbie, the kick boxer. She is so beautiful she doesn't realize the heads that she leaves turning in her wake as she walks past. Karen is THE world's greatest mom. She has raised two wonderful kids and always has the perfect thing to say at all times. Last there is Alicia. She is in Never Never land and like me.... doesn't want to grow up and get old. We are always looking for her a husband but husband applicants must love Starbucks and be able to support her daily latte habit. And they would describe me as the former high school cheerleader, the serene and happy one. Debbie is trying to teach her 8th grade daughter to not judge a book by it's cover.... and that even the cheerleader can get the cancer....
These women have become my rock and I love them so much. Because they have become so special to me I will occasionally talk about them in my blog.