Walking on Sunshine

I just returned from a not-so-balmy, but very relaxing trip to Fort Myers, Florida. It was exactly what I needed!

The day before I left, I had a big scare & was afraid I wasn't going to be able to take the trip. The doctor received my lab work & told me my kidney levels were dangerously high & my liver was having trouble filtering the antibiotic. They told me to immediately stop the IV infusion and I would probably have to go to the hospital to receive the first dose of a new drug. Luckily, they switched me to a drug that I now take once a day over 20 minutes. It is so easy & I feel so much more free! I thought the way I had been feeling was mostly due to the infection. However, once I switched drugs, I no longer have the fatigue, shortness of breath, fevers, difficulty focusing and overall depressed feeling. Within 24 hours of stopping the IV's, I felt back to my normal self. I was even able to walk the beach and went from lying on my couch to riding a camel at the zoo - LOL! I'll post photos at some point...

The nurse comes tomorrow & hopefully this drug is bringing my levels back to normal. I get an MRI on Monday & the 8-week course should be done a week from Monday. Hopefully, this infection is resolving and I can be done with all of this!

Hope you all have (or had) a great Spring Break! I'll post again after my MRI...

And some good news... Not only has my luck changed with feeling better, but the week before I left I got a call from the Illinois State Department of Rehab & was told that they would pay for my handheld magnifier, my computer software which allows me to use my computer again & an acrobat that has a camera that can enlarge any image (e.g. tv, documents, books, even my own face so I can see to put on makeup!). This is HUGE because the cost of these items would be over $5000 & they are not covered by insurance! I'M SO HAPPY!

I'd like to thank...

After watching the Academy Awards the other night, I had a dream. In it, I started my speech by thanking the academy & then I said, "No wait, I want to thank my friends and family for all the support over this past year." LOL Can you believe it has now been a full year since this story began? It was last February when I tried to get into the chemo study at NIH for the optic nerve tumor.

I have done a lot of reflecting as I have been laying around this last month. Not a day goes by that I don't think about all that everyone has done. I hope you all know how much I truly appreciate every little thing - be it a phone call, a visit, a card, etc...

I've been down for the count the last month. I continue to have an infection and remain on antibiotics via a pump that I schlepp around with me 24 hours a day. I just completed week four & have at least 3-4 more weeks to go. I have an MRI scan in three weeks to see if the infection is clearing up.

Alyssa and I are going to Florida next week to stay with my aunt in Fort Meyers, FL, along with my cousin and her two boys. I hope the sunshine will work wonders on my energy level!