Making it a habit

They say you have to do things repeatedly to make them a habit so I am going to try and write a little bit each day to try and get in the habit of writing things down.

Food has started going down again which makes me very happy.  I was getting sick of ensure as the only food source.  I've been thinking more about the idea of a drug trial and while I would be open to one I don't really think I will qualify.  Jeff didn't know if they were taking people with ascites and he isn't sure if they will allow people to be on other medications. I have no idea what my platelet count is and whether or not it will have a limit to start the trial. 

I have been trying to clip Lacey myself to save money.  :)   Oh my oh my, what a job this is.  I am afraid for starters as I don't want to hurt her.  I had one false start and ended up taking her in to be groomed and cut really short to fix my mess.  The worst to do is her face and her "lady parts" but this last time I bit the bullet and got out the clippers and stood her on a table and just started shaving it down.  She looks like a bit of a ragamuffin and her face and feet still need some work but overall I can live with the results and that is $60 saving every six weeks!  Lacey did quite well and stood like a very good girl.  No restraints and I let her down every so often to get a break and we were both happy!

The last time I got the clippers out and tried to entice Lacey into the whole scenario she was not having anything to do with it.  Nemo on the other hand thought the clippers were great!  The cat has never had a matt in his life or a bath and he is a sparkling long haired white cat but he presented himself and asked for a trim.  So.........I gave him a bit of a thinning which actually took off a lot of hair which i regretted.  This time he stayed clear, smart boy that he is.  :)

The girls and I (J & L) are planning on a trip to Hawaii this next winter.   Some excellent prices out there right now if you book early. We would fly out of Bellingham (just half a hour across the border) which is way cheaper for us than flying out of Vancouver.  How sad is that!!!   Anyway we would probably go for 2 weeks.  Man that is something wonderful to look forward too.  Nice warm breezes off the ocean, hot sun and sand.  What could be better?

Hmmm blog........what blog.......

OK so I'm a lousy blogger and it has been 7 months since I've blogged.  A lot has happened starting with the last apartment.  I was there a month and then had to move again.  I am now in my new place and have been for 6 months.  I am really happy in this apartment and signed a years lease when I moved in.  Hopefully I won't be moving again any time soon.  I've had to do things a bit differently but so far I am really happy with things.  The kitchen was the one drawback to the apartment because of cupboard space so I ended up putting up too bookcases to hold dishes etc and that is working well. It has a dishwasher, fridge and stove.

My money situation is finally clear and I know how much money I have to live on each month and what bills I can afford.  So far I have managed to keep my car and that is a very good thing. :)  Summer is coming on and I am looking forward to the warmer weather and being able to get out more and walk.  This winter has been wet and cold and I really haven't gotten out as often as I would have liked.

The animals love the new place and the big balcony with the huge big doors.  Nemo scratches at the door like a dog bugs and bugs until I open up for him and let him out there.  He can't get down as we on the second floor and there is nothing out there except trees and blackberry bushes.  Full of birds the come and go all day long.  Lacey also likes the balcony and there is a squirrel that sits in the tree and shouts insults at her.  They will love it when the weather is warm and I can just open the doors for them all day long.

Josh and David went to Thailand last September and had a great time.  It was the second trip in two years for them and they are already talking about new places to go.  I love seeing them travel like this and hope they continue to see the world as often as they can. 

Dave's Christina is wanting a trip to Thailand with Daddy and Uncle Josh but she needs to be a bit older yet for that kind of a trip. 

She is 9 years old now and a real little beauty.  She is a big sister to a brand new baby brother and she is thrilled.  She loves Dax and that is the first thing she wants to do when she gets to my place is see if Dax can come and visit too.  Dax is now 14 months old and he is such a sweet little lovie. 



My health, well let's just say I am maintaining.  I see the doctor's regularly and do as I am supposed to.  My doctor is happy with me and that is a good thing.  I had my regular visit to VGH for the follow up of the last drug trial I was on.  While I was there the guys (Jeff and Kirby) decided to do a fibroscan on me since it has been 5 years since I had a biopsy.  The results showed that I do have cirrhosis but we already know that.  I have ascites which we are controlling with diuretics so far and I have esophageal varices which I have been having banded regularly.  The last time was on last Thursday and I am still not feeling great from that.  Having a hard time getting food down but the Ensure is taking up the slack and I am doing ok.  I am 125 lbs right now and really don't want to fall below that.

Jeff did mention that there could be another drug trial coming up this summer.  It is for relapsers like me but he did not have the criteria yet and did not know if they will take patients with ascites and varices but he will stay in touch with me and let me know if anything comes up.  Really until they can kill the virus or at least get the virus to stop killing my liver the damage will just continue until my liver fails. So I am open to any and all drug trials as they appear.  This one will be a 4 drug cocktail which would include the interferon and the ribaviran along with the two other drugs. Probably a protease inhibitor and another drug.  Guaranteed to make me very sick.  The problem is can I stay strong enough and maintain well enough to manage a drug trial.  One thing at a time and one day at a time.  In the meantime I maintain. 

Well I am going to try and keep this up now as a record of appointments and such as well.  Josh I know you are my only reader so no nasty comments or I will ban you!!   :)

March 15 - Ultrasound at Valley Imaging

March 22  - Endoscopy and banding at MSA with Dr. V

March 27 - Drug trial follow up at VGH  Fibroscan and bloodwork (Fibroscan 16.5)

I have a place!

I am so excited!  I have found a perfect place through a friend and can move in immediately. So I will take my time and move in slowly and get it just exactly the way I want it. It's in a great area for shopping and walking.  I can get out with Lacey and there are lots of walking trails around and I can walk to shop if I have to.  It is small with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, laundry in suite, nice balcony, underground secure parking and it's in a locked secure building with intercom.  I can see the front door and intercom from my suite. There is nobody below me and there is nobody on the one side of the suite so it should be fairly quiet.

Things have been very busy and I have been feeling very well and peaceful. I have been spending time with family and friends and enjoying the gorgeous weather we have been having this month. I spent a few days in at Moms.  She had to have her kitty put down and she was really sad and depressed. We went to a cat rescue place and she adopted two older cats.  Both fixed etc. so she is feeling much better.  Her and I are going to Victoria in a week and we are both looking forward to it. We plan on doing some walking and touristy stuff.  :)

My last trip up to Celista was great.  The Celebration of Life was very nice and lots of friends and family came. Sue and Peter might be heading down to the coast in the next week or two so I will get a chance to see them again before the fall sets in.  I would like to make one more trip up before the snow flies.  We'll see how it goes.

Heading back to Celista

I am heading up to Celista on Thursday and will be up there for a few days. Sue may be coming back down with me for a few days too. Josh and I took Lacey out today and ended up in Yarrow. We stopped in a park and took a few pictures with his new lens. The pictures turned out pretty good! Josh took the ones of me and I took the pics of him.

Time flies.....

Wow, time does fly and I'm a bad blogger. All is fine with me. Life's ups and downs. I'm still living with my middle son for the next few months. He and his older brother are heading to Thailand for 3 weeks and I will be here until he gets back. Then I will start looking for my own place. As Josh says, there is no great hurry. We can look until we find the perfect place for me.

I would like to find a place that is within the shopping core. Right now I have my car but I may not always have it and so I have to make sure I am close to shopping. I also have my kitty and dog. Both are litter trained and house pets so we'll see how that goes.

I have been up to Celista once already this summer for 3 weeks and I am heading back up this week. Pete's mom Sandy passed away last week and they will be holding a Celebration of Life for her out at Sue and Pete's place. Lots of family and friends. She was a lovely warm person who will be greatly missed.

Mom's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and my brother and his wife and mom and I will be going out for dinner to celebrate. Then the first week of September mom and I are going to go over to Victoria and spend a few days at the Empress. With my brother Steve working for Fairmont it gives us good rates. My cousin Michael who lives in Victoria has cancer and mom and I would like to go over and have a visit. We are going to take the bus I think because we really don't need the car and it is expensive. This way we can just relax and enjoy and let someone else drive.

The girls and I want to have a camping weekend too. We are thinking we might do it at Judes as she has a nice big private back yard and we can lock ourselves in, pitch some tents, fire up the grill and just vegetate and read and visit and eat.....mmmm sounds heavenly. She has a hot tub too so we can just enjoy!

Now I am making some potato salad and then I am going to take Miss Lacey and a blanket and head over to the park on the corner and read and relax.

I love this little face.

Steve & Gabrielle

My brother Steve and my niece were here from Quebec last week. We had an excellent time seeing them. Gabrielle is 14 now and a very pretty and very nice girl. It was Steve's birthday on the 11th, the morning they were leaving. Mom wanted to get us all together for dinner so we went to the River Rock in Richmond. It is a Casino/Hotel and has a very nice buffet style restaurant. We went downstairs and played the slots for a couple of hours afterwards. Had lots of fun. Willy and Joy (my brother and sister-in-law), David (my oldest son), Mom, Steve and Gabrielle, and I.

 

Dave

 

Steve's Birthday Cake

 

Steve and Gabrielle

 

Joy told us if we keep our heads up our double chins won't show!
Steve & Dave in the back, Gabrielle, Me, Joy and Mom in the front


Me, Steve, Mom and Willy