I have quite a story to tell about my visit to the clinic today but I’ll save it for tomorrow when hopefully I’ll have more energy.

Since I couldn’t get ahold of any of my regular ride-offering people, Honey dropped everything and came right home to take me to the clinic this afternoon. He sounded somewhat eager to leave the office, if I do say so myself!

I may have a mild infection but it’s not strep. My WBC are low low so they gave me a neupagen shot. I will need two more these next two days but we got them to call our insurance company who approved sending me home with them. That means I get to give them to myself! Not a big deal, they don’t really hurt and draw no blood. A pretty big copay on them but we got 12 shots…that’s enough for four more rounds.

They took me off Xeloda for the rest of the week. Apparently, while the brown spots and some pain in my hands and feet are somewhat normal, the redness and swelling in my hands and knuckles is a sign of toxicity. So I’m off it till I go back Friday and then they’ll determine whether or not I should go back on it on a lower dosage or what.

The soreness in my throat should subside as my WBC increase. But, as I’ve hinted here before, it tends to get worse before it gets better. So tonight’s shot and probably tomorrow too. More resting for me. Getting used to it.

I may need to take a couple of these shots while on vacation the first couple of days next week. That’s inconvenient but not impossible. Honey suspects I’m supposed to stay out of direct sunlight after chemo so we’re talking about renting a cabana or large umbrella or something for me when I’m on the beach.

NOTHING IS PREVENTING ME FROM GOING ON THIS TRIP NEXT WEEK!!!! (Unless I’m throwing up and running a fever, of course.)

More tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know I’m A-OK.

it all falls apart again.

The toilet got clogged this morning and still won’t succumb to my frantic plunging efforts.

My post from yesterday has mysteriously disappeared and I can’t seem to get it back nor figure out what the heck happened to it (and Maggie hasn’t even read it yet!).

I called Nurse Skippy to see what he can offer me to help soothe my extremely sore throat and swollen lymph nodes. Guess what he said? Dr. Kane was sitting right next to him so he relayed all that I said to her. Go ahead. Guess! I bet you guessed that he offered me another prescription, eh? Well, you’re wrong. It’s even BETTER THAN THAT! I get to drop everything and get my butt to the clinic this afternoon and every day this week for more of those DELIGHTFUL neupagen shots! LUCKY FREAKIN’ ME!

Do you think they can give me a big fat shot of PATIENCE while I’m there? I seem to be running low lately…

We were checking out of Borders Bookstore the other week and one of the books we purchased was one of those “Buy One Get One Half Off” deals. The cashier told me to go over to the table with all the qualifying books and pick another one out to get the discount on. I ran across the store, scrambled my way around this long table, filled with books (most of which I’ve already read or have no interest in reading) when eventually, I grabbed this one. I’ve looked at it before. I’ve thumbed through it, not really sure what it’s about (instead of a detailed description of the story on the back there are reviews from various newspapers and other authors). This time I grabbed it and flew back to the cash register, having no idea what the story is about. I took it home and shoved it in my “To Be Read” pile.

I’m planning on reading Pillars of the Earth while on vacation, though I don’t want to start it until we get to the airport on Monday. In the meantime, I’m reading shorter books that I can fly through in a couple days. Well, late last week, I grabbed this book off the top of the pile and cracked it open. I was all prepared to hate it for some reason. But the night I started it, I couldn’t put it down.

I finished it in three nights! And so far it’s the best book I’ve read this year! (Previous Abbey’s Best Book of the Year winners include The Time Traveller’s Wife and Life of Pi, just to give you an idea.)

It’s a story told from the point of view of an old man (who’s either ninety or ninety-three years old, he can’t remember!) about his experiences as a young adult: he dropped out of veterinary school at Cornell University in 1931 and ended up joining the circus! The author did lots of research on the old circuses that would travel by train across post-Depression-struck America. It’s an incredible tale and Carolyn, you were right…the ending is THE BEST!

I’m not a big fan of books turning into movies but as I read this one, I kept picturing a movie of it in my head: Shia LeBouf would play the lead character, Scarlett Johanssen would be Marlena, Edward Norton could be August and Robert Duvall should be Camel. Maybe they could get Rosie O’Donnell to play the role of Rosie the Elephant! Haha!

I don’t review books often because, well, I think reading is a spiritual and therefore extremely personal experience. Just because I say I love a book doesn’t mean you’ll like it at all! But it’s worth a try with this one, trust me. It’s very well written, easy to read, funny at times, and it’s just downright a great story. That’s all I have to say about it.