Sunday, October 21, 2012

The beat goes on....

It's the weekend and we are all busy running around as if it were the last days we have to check off our lists. Since we received a call last night about the scans being good, we are all in great spirits. I get to sleep in on Saturday, but do I? Nope!!! I have all these ideas in my head before going to sleep. I wake up , Frank has gone fishing with Jeff and Matt, so they will be gone until at least Noon. I love doing things when no one else is around, kind of a "surprise" effect! Zack comes in, he spent the night at Drake's and came home early to get some breakfast and hang out until Drake wakes up. I decide to surprise Frank and let's face it, all I have done for days is sit. I have put on way too much weight and need to start getting back into shape, so I go outside with Zack, who is starting to feel the effects of low blood count but is determined not to let it stop him. We pile up the cardboard, recycling, etc.. to haul off to the dump. Zack is heading by there anyway with Drake so he tells me he will be glad to take it with him. He gets the leaf blower (professional grade backpack) ready for me and heads back out to Drake's,  It takes me two hours, I go up and down the street, around the water feature, the driveway, front of the house and patio, side of the house and finally the back yard. Once finished, I come into the house, start a couple of loads of laundry and relax until time to go to Linda's for dinner.

Zack has decided to stay with his friends while we go to dinner with the family. He knows if he doesn't feel well, he can return home and rest. Frank comes home from fishing and can't believe everything we did. He had that on his "to do" list for the day, so now he decides to sit and relax as well. At 3:30 we head out towards Rosman about 20 minutes away. Linda has fixed up the house since Big John (Franks Dad) has been moved into a nursing home. He was a chain smoker and it took her forever to get the smoke "look" and smell out of the house. She is so proud and wanted to share with us. All the kids, with the exception of Jamie (younger sister in law) were able to make it. We were all sitting around and catching up on recent events, when Thanksgiving was mentioned and then Christmas. I pull out my phone to see "where" we are going to be. Everything in our lives revolves around the treatments. We determine that we will be done with week one of his treatment for Christmas and in the hospital New Years Day! It's hard to get excited about the Holidays, though I know we need to for Zack's sake. Within a couple of hours we all head out, I'm anxious to come home and make sure Zack is okay.

We arrive home around 6:30 pm and within an hour Zack returns. He runs to his room and crawls in bed. He is so white it's hard to look at him without saying anything. He looks disappointed and finally tells me that everyone is going to be at Austin's house for a fire and he is coughing so much he didn't want to go. He is frustrated that he is not feeling well. Usually when he doesn't want to share much, I just hang out in his room quiet until he starts talking.  He tells me that he doesn't like all the changes, he likes to know what is going to happen! He is pissed that he has to have another blood transfusion on Monday. He broke up with his girlfriend and after about an hour finally tells me she is a "B" and never came to see him at the hospital even though she lives in Asheville. He says he doesn't need that kind of friend. After awhile I leave him alone so he can get some much needed rest. I stop in his room again at 9:30 to remind him to have his shot. He is still taking the Lovenox (blood thinner) to prevent blood clots. This too is getting old for him, the shots are more painful as his stomach is full of bruises and no where that he hasn't already given the shot.

Preparation for new floor
Finished!!
 It is Sunday and I manage to sleep in until 7:30 am. Zack is still sleeping and Frank has gone down to the pond to fish for an hour or so until it warms up enough to do some things around the house. I had decided last night just after returning home to redo the kitchen floor, so after making a quick run to Lowes I returned with four boxes of  "peel and stick" floor tiles. I am learning that part of all this running around makes me more OCD, not sure what the connection is other than having to keep everything in order to make sure we make appointments, pay bills on time, do Franks bookkeeping within the right time, etc...  Our kitchen floor was white and more than seven years old. I was getting more and more frustrated with every little speck of dirt and determined to get rid of that problem. Having never installed flooring before (not without Franks help) I was all pumped up to do it myself. After spending only $100 and taking five hours, we have a new kitchen floor. It came out great, even Frank was impressed, Zack came in and even took his shoes off! Once the floor was finished and realizing I wouldn't be at work tomorrow (with double transfusion and the first radiation treatment) I borrowed Franks truck and headed to the office to get some "winterizing" done. Most of the leaves have fallen so I brought his leaf blower and ladder. I Cleaned out the gutters (which is really the landladies job, but wanted to really get them clean). I ran water down them to wash them out and grabbed all the gravel that fell into them from the roof. They are so bad about overflowing with the slightest rain, I knew if I gave them a good cleaning it would last a lot longer. I did the usual cleaning and prep for tomorrow so the day will go smoother. I know it is not expected, but as usual I like to make sure everything is in order. Okay... OCD!!!! There are worse things I could be right now!! 

I finish in about two and a half hours and head home. Frank has fixed a wonderful steak dinner, salad and potatoes. Zack, as usual arrives home thirty minutes after dinner is served. He is happy even though he is very tired. He had a great day with his friends "mudding" in their trucks.  He mentions he is not looking forward to tomorrow and Tuesday (next chemo treatment), but is still in a good mood. We know that he will feel so much better after the transfusions, he always does. Having done all the physical work leaves me sore, but a great sense of accomplishment, not to mention feeling good about not just sitting around. I know tomorrow and Tuesday I will have plenty of time to rest. A new routine will start for us this week. Zack will be going to Asheville every day for the next five weeks, let's just pray this doesn't affect him too much. 

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