Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Amazing News!!!! :D

MY COUNTS ARE UP!!! yayyyyyy :D That means I am no longer neutropenic! I get to eat in restaurants and see people and not feel like I'm quarantined in my house! I had the most amazing Japanese food, in a restaurant, with people around, tonight for dinner, and it was HEAVENLY! :) The doctor said my counts should stay high for about a week (yay freedom!!) which is perfect timing because my birthday is on Friday and I'll get to do whatever I want!! I could not be happier! wooohoooooo :D

Today the doctors talked a lot about the next stages of my treatment because this is the end of stage one but I forget the specifics of what happens next so I'll post them later. I got like a 10 month timeline of all my treatments so I'm super set. I do know that tomorrow I have to go in for a surgical consult to talk about getting a more permanent line in my chest for treatments. I'm actually kinda happy about that though because this central line thing that I have now is starting to annoy me. I have three little tubes hanging out of my chest that get in the way of everything and the new line is supposed to go under my skin and not bother me nearly as much. The only down side of it is that it's a more invasive procedure to get it inside of me but oh well. The actual surgery is set for about a week from now assuming all goes well.
Today they also gave me another plasma transfusion to help my blood clot which I can't really tell you anything about because they completely knocked me out with Benadryl (to prevent any bad reactions). Apparently they hooked me up for about an hour and then I went home and slept for another three hours. I was out the entire time, but hey, no complaints, I do love sleeping :)

In other news, spa day was kind of a failure. I was hoping to just get a manicure at the salon (seeing as I don't have any hair) but when we got there, we were told that the manicurist was not there. I proceeded to lounge around while my sister and mom got blowouts (I was happy to wait because seeing them getting pampered made me happy). They then brought in a makeshift manicurist who did my nails and then proceeded to tell me that she usually wears glasses :) (needless to say, it wasn't the best manicure). Overall though, the people who organized the event (Chai Lifeline) were very nice and the gesture was very much appreciated.
In the end, (because I think my mom felt bad) we ended up going shoe shopping which honestly was sooo much better than spa day :D Let me just say that I love new shoes. I only got three pairs *;)*

I also wanted to mention that Chai Lifeline is a great organization that helps families with children with severe illnesses. They have volunteers come to the hospital and hand out snacks and food to the kids and they organize fun events for parents and siblings of patients. They also help with schooling and insurance and whatever else people need. I honestly don't think I've ever appreciated the work that charity organizations do as much as I do now and not at all in a selfish way. I'm not saying that because they benefit me specifically, I'm saying that because it genuinely warms my heart to see how much people care and that other people are getting as much love and support as I am. I think going through this has made me see just how much the support truly means.
There's also this fun organization called Look Good Feel better that gives chemo patients free makeup and free makeup lessons that "teach beauty techniques to female cancer patients to help them combat the appearance-related side affects of cancer treatment."(from to their website). I think it's a really fun little self-esteem booster. I'm totally doing a workshop especially because 1) I had to throw away all of my makeup because of the bacteria living in it and 2) I think playing around with my makeup will be especially fun now that I don't have hair :). That's on Wednesday so I'll let you know how it goes :D

Tomorrow after the hospital I'm gonna go the paint store and start looking at paint swatches for my room. It's getting a makeover for my birthday :D

If you got all the way to the end, thanks for reading! Sorry for rambling! I hope it was at least somewhat entertaining :)
Love,
Ella <3

9 comments:

  1. hi ella its your cousin Rafi,
    I very much enjoy reading your blog because it shows how much positivity you have in your situation. I also find it interesting to know what you do every day or so..
    I love you soooo much and hope you feel better soon.
    rafi

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  2. Hi Rafi! Thanks so much for reading! I love you too and I'll try to get better as soon possible :)

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  3. hey ella! it's your cousin Rena. Ella I can't even begin to tell you how amazed I am by your positive outlook. I feel for you and have been thinking about you all the time, and am so happy to hear how well you are doing. It's really unbelievable how you have been so optimistic and strong in such a difficult (thats an understatement) situation. Thank you for sharing a snippet of what is going, and you look beautiful!! can't wait to hear how the makeup session goes...miss you and hope you enjoy this week!!

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  4. ellamery - Uncle Geoff, here. We love every blog-gone word. Your insights & strength are inspiring.
    love & good vibes, from Philly! Go Phils!

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  5. yayyy so happy that you can go out now! glad your staying positive and THANKYOU for writing so often bc i love to keep up with how you are doing! hopefully i can come visit soon and good luck with your surgery. i miss you so much! <3 love you
    -swass

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  6. Ella,
    I came across your blog because I'm an HM '07 alum and have a good friend with a sibling in your grade (long way to get to me, but nevertheless, it did). You're incredibly inspiring, and I'm impressed by your optimism and frankness about your experience. You remind me why I'm in med school- even though it's terribly hard and frustrating sometimes. It's because there are people like you who want to get better, and in the process, inspire those around them.

    Good luck to you and your family!

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  7. Happy birthday Ella! So happy you get to celebrate with such a good week. Wishing you a 17th year filled with love, and happy times. You bring lot of joy to a lot of people. Love, Kim

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  8. Thanks Kim! Your present was amazing, I can't wait to eat it :)

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