B Positive

Well, I THOUGHT I was feeling better!!

Last week I was feeling pretty damn good. Really good considering the week after treatment #1 had me on my ass for a FULL WEEK. I was seriously concerned that every treatment would do that and Im out of sick time so I really need to be at work.



I dont think I mentioned that at treatment #2, I almost didnt even get chemo because my hemoglobin was so low. (Should be 12-14 range. I was at a 7.9 and they usually transfuse at 8) But as usual, I begged for the chemo and Romer gave it to me as a slightly lower dose and insisted I get another CBC test a week later to make sure everything was still ok. I got a shot of aranesp to increast my counts temporarily, but they were pretty sure it would be low again, and soon. I was really surprised how good I was feeling last week, but like a good girl, I walked across the street to the hospital to get my blood work done.



Thank goodness I had such a HOT lab tech take my blood!!!!

Thats right, I went over to Deaconess and had one of my bestest friends from high school stick me. I didnt feel a thing!


ewwww....
So I wait for the results to be sent to Dr. Romer. The hemoglobin is down to 6.7 and my ass is instructed NOT to leave the hospital. (Had I not gotten the results I would have no doubt sped-walked back to my office a half a mile away)



So yeah, I ended up getting admitted to the hospital and once again, had another blood transfusion. John was working 2nd shift all last week so I ended up having Julie come pick me up at 11pm when it was all over. Thanks Julie!!!



I went back to work the next day and felt fine. Actually, I didnt really feel much different. I am an odd bird. But I did what the docs said, got to be a patient of one of my best friends, had dinner served to me in bed, and got a awesome shot of Benadryl to knock me out for the whole thing. (Ive been having a hard time sleeping lately so I said, "They usually give me a shot of benadryl for these", like Im getting transfusions on a monthly basis or something. im such a hack) All in all, a positive experience.


I took this picture to make my dad jealous. High School Football warm-ups visible from my office on a Friday afternoon. Look in the stands, you can see all the Donny Fortener dads there five hours early. That night was the St. X/Colerain game...I think Colerain won. Go PUBLIC SCHOOLS!!

Saturday morning I treked down the road to the Finneytown JV and Varsity volleyball game -first game of the season. If you remember, they had a phenominal senior class and I believe there were five of them that graduated, so they're struggling a bit to fill those shoes but it was really encouraging to see a scrappy JV team with a lot of talent, coached by one of those graduating seniors!
GERMANIA OKTOBERFEST

Yeah, Yeah, Oktoberfest in August - We're crazy here in the 'Nati. We only do it because the German contingency here is so incredibly strong that there are SEVEN STRAIGHT WEEKS of various Oktoberfests....and they're supposed to take place in September so they just start theirs a little early to get a bigger draw. Germania has hands down THE BEST sauerkraut balls - they made 24,500 of them this year and start in MAY!!!
But what Cincinnati festival would be complete without one good, solid novelty tee:

We worked the pop booth on Saturday from 2-5....although John did most of the work while I sat around. When you look like a chemo patient you can get away with that. Ok, I AM a chemo patient but I really felt fine to work.

The Kelts men put in a tug of war team and needed some sexy inspiration to cheer them on....Derrick filled that void by dressing in drag as a little German Girl....
And then got fresh with dad.....
The parade of champions! They make a great big deal about the Tug-o-War event here. This is no joke. The teams (seven I think?) Were paraded around the whole event before settling at the venue.
They do not take this lightly!!
Hmmm....well, the event was on Sunday, and as of Saturday, the Kelts werent even going to particpate. Then, last minute, a few guys recruited some others, and now the kelts have a team. Its a bit disorganized, they're the only ones out there with out uniforms (which is ironic because they were the only actual sports team registered) and looked a bit rag-tag.

Lets hope they get an easy first draw.....hmm....the Hamilton County sherrifs department. They dont intimidating at all.

No really, not at all. (that guy was like 8 feet tall & made Deebo look like Webster)
C'Mon Kelts!!!!
HOLY CRAP THEY'RE WINNING!!! (as Derrick aka Broom Hilda cheers them on)
Kelts actually WON the first TUG! Although you have to compete - best out of three. They lost the second one pretty easily and really gave it a good effort on the third pull. Then they were done. But a really good effort. I think the whole crowd was impressed!!!

Rant of the day:

I just have one quick rant that I hope evolves into a lesson for those of you who have ever found yourself in this situation. (On EITHER side of counter)

When organizations hold festivals, they make a deal with ONE pop vendor and they sell that vendors beverages. That means if they have Coke, they wont have Pepsi. If they have RC cola, they're NOT going to have Coke or Pepsi. If they dont have the brand you prefer, deal with it. Dont tell me you're "going to see" if they have Coke products anywhere, because I can tell you, theres one other pop booth and they've got the same thing we've got.

We were peddling RC Cola, Diet Rite, Rootbeer, Country Time lemonade, Seven up, Diet Seven up and Sunkist and Water.

I could not believe how many people came up, asked for a Diet Coke....or a Coke....or a Pepsi....and you could tell they were having a full-on MELTDOWN in their heads because they had to chose from RC products. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

First of all, I was raised on Diet Rite and it is an EXCELLENT diet soda. Period. (Even though it never did much for my 'diet') Many people prefer it OVER Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke. period. If you havent tried it, suck it up and try it lady.

And dont even get me started on the KIDS! Im sorry we dont have Coke little girl, I told you RC is "pretty good" and "you should try it!", but you look at me like Im trying to give you Peach Faygo or something (Another great brand...what happened to Faygo?) and then you say, defeated, "Ill just take a water."

Im so sorry you HAVE to settle for WATER on a hot day! LIFE IS HARD!!!! whaaaa.

All Im saying, people, is be flexible.

Oh...one last funny thing.

While I was working the booth, there was an older gentleman who looked to be hitting on another older woman. They were both so cute, all dressed up in their full German regailia...I was so close that I couldnt help but over hear the conversation, and at one point, I heard the most adorable geriatric pick up line. He says to her, "Maybe I can come over sometime and show you how to Google something."

Old people. Love em.

John's in NC all week and Ang is staying with me....for almost a whole week! Im so pumped! Its SLUMBER PARTY WEEK! I told her Im crimping her hair tonight and Im going to dig up "Girl Talk". Then when she goes to bed, im totally going to do the Shaving-cream-nose-tickle gag....

Neighbors better look out, someones gettin' tee-peed!