Posting from Colorado

I had intended to blog about the fun Easter we had, but now it's almost a week later and I have too many other things to say. One thing I wanted to mention is that when Jesus came back and showed Himself to the disciples, the first thing He said was, "Peace be with you." I know, too, that when my eyes are on Him and His word and I'm not overspending my time and energy on cancer blogs and websites, I, too, experience His peace. It's a great reminder as I continue this journey of surviving cancer.

Today I'm in Fort Collins, Colorado. I have been having a great time reconnecting with my extended family, taking long walks and seeing the sun. This morning my sister Patty, my dad and I took a leisurely stroll to the grocery store. Then I took a quicker trip down around Colorado State University and a bit of Old Towne. Then Patty and I walked to New Belgium Brewery where my brother, John, works. My aunt Enie, dad, and some other family met us there, and John gave us a fun tour. After eating a delicious spinach salad for lunch, I took another walk to see if I could find a book light. Even though I was unsuccessful in my shopping, I cannot ask for nicer scenery or weather. On one of my walks, I even got to chat with Walt back home via phone. Becca went with the rest of our family to take a horseback ride in Estes Park. They stopped at a few shops and had lunch on the way home and haven't gotten back yet. I'm eager to hear how her day went.

On the Thursday before I left for Colorado, I thought I had a 9 a.m. appointment for Herceptin. After battling traffic and rushing for my appointment, I got there only to discover that my appointment was switched to noon, and I needed to see the doctor, too. After a bit further investigation, I discovered the mis-communication happened when I wasn't aware that Dr. Kohn wanted to check in with me after my Echo and I should have picked up a revised schedule the last time I was in the hospital. So, I had to rearrange my day to get kids to their lit co-op and a backup plan for Becca's horseback lesson in case I couldn't make it back in time. I went home for a few hours to help the kids with school and get a few things done and returned for my second trip to the hospital.

Dr. Kohn explained that the result of my echo wasn't worrisome. My baseline echo showed an ejection fraction of 60-65. My previous echo saw a drop to 55. This recent echo had a range of 55-60. She thinks it's probably a normal range of my heart, especially since I haven't experienced any other side effects of heart problems. So, that should be the final echo I'll need to undergo. My next Herceptin is April 26, which I'll do along with my mammogram. Then I have one Herceptin and doctor visit in May, and my last Herceptin and doctor visit is on June 7th! That date is one week prior to the year anniversary of my first chemo treatment. After my mammogram hopefully comes out clear, and I have nothing else worrisome, I will be asking Dr. Kohn when I can get my port removed. For the most part, the port hasn't been a problem, but it does prevent me from swinging a golf cub or tennis racket. I look forward to doing both of those sports again.

Becca and the gang just got back from Estes Park. She had a fun time on a chestnut and white horse named Lakota. Her aunt Sue bought her a new Estes Park sweatshirt. She's looking tired but happy. Everyone filled the room with stories of their horses and which ones wanted to eat or was too slow or was just perfect. I'm running out of battery right now, so I'm going to wrap up this latest report. My cousin Kevin is sitting on the couch with me, and my other cousin Joe came in to watch the last half of the Wichita State Louisville basketball game. I think I'll be social now and help with dinner prep.

Technology...

I know technology has improved many things, but sometimes I wonder if an old-fashioned slip of paper wouldn't work better. This morning I took Ben to the doctor to check out his blood-shot eye. The doctor diagnosed allergies and wrote a prescription for some eye drops to help clear the irritation. She told me that she would send the prescription electronically to my pharmacy. A few hours later, I went to this pharmacy but they didn't have any record of a prescription for Ben. I called the doctor's assistant. Yes, she said she can look online and see that it was sent. Back to the lady at the pharmacy. Well, she doesn't have any record of it. Can the doctor resend it? Another phone call to the doctor. This time I spoke with a different lady who said that the prescription was not sent yet and the doctor was in the file so it couldn't be sent yet. I drove home from the pharmacy without the medicine and no clue when I would be able to pick it up. By the time I finished running around today, the pharmacy was closed, so I need to drive over there tomorrow to see if I have better luck.Yup, sure would have been nice to walk out of the doctor's office with a prescription written on a piece of paper.

A similar thing happened when I tried to schedule my echo this time. I walked out of the doctor's office this time with the paperwork but handed it off to scheduling who was supposed to fax the request to Evergreen Cardiology. I gave a few minutes and called them to set up the appointment. Nope, don't have paperwork yet but she said she'd call me as soon as she got it. This was on a Friday. By the following Wednesday, I still hadn't heard from anyone. After a phone call to Cardiology, I was told they still haven't receive the necessary paperwork. So I called my doctor's nurse. She transferred me to scheduling. I spoke with someone there and gave an additional fax number she could use. Thursday....no phone call to schedule an appointment. Still nothing on Friday. Keep in  mind that the two offices are just on the other side of the hospital...not across town. I called again on Monday to the Cardiology office. "Nope, no paperwork." Back in touch with scheduling... "We faxed it to both numbers." Fortunately at this point, the lady in scheduling said she would call cardiology directly and see what is going on. I willing gave up my middle-man-status. Waited for the rest of the afternoon, but still no appointment. Finally, on Tuesday, the scheduler for Cardiology called and asked if this was a good time to schedule an appointment. I told her of course it was (I didn't dare let her off the phone!) We scheduled an appointment for the next day and it should be plenty of time for the cardiologist to look before my scheduled Herceptin infusion next Thursday. For something that should have been so simple, technology certainly complicated it.

Despite my mini-rant on the "joy" of technology, I am very thankful today. Because I deserve to die for my sins. Jesus didn't have to, but He stepped in and took my place. He died a cruel death. Wretched. Good Friday. A day for thankfulness. A day of grace and mercy. A good day to pause and reflect...