Don't Worry (make yourself) Be Happy

DAY 0

Don't Worry
What a beautiful morning!  The sun was shining, the children were laughing, I got to lay in bed until about 7.  It was lovely.  My mom and dad are here for treatment this week.  Papa is staying with the boys while Mimi is coming with me to see what The Block Center (I'm calling it "TBC") is all about.  Pete will be home for work and home with Papa and the boys in the evening.
My mom and I were packed up in good time.  We ran errands without a hitch.  Made fairly good time on the drive up to The Block Center.  I told my mom on the way how strange the drive was because, on the one hand I was nervous about treatment (due to some difficult side effects the first time) and yet how excited I was to be going back to TCB Checked in, had my port accessed and was ready to go with the Vitamin C by 1230pm.
There is a cooking class four days a week at TCB.  We made it just in time to catch the tail end of the demonstration and to enjoy some of the food it had produced.  Afterwards I met with the financial personnel who gave me a voucher to stay at an area hotel for the night (we stay 2 nights but only had the one voucher).  We planned ahead for my next treatment as well.
Back in the pod I had a talk with the PA about some rough side effects I had after the last treatment  (especially but not limited to the most painful stomach cramps I have ever endured in my life to the point of nearly passing out from the pain...).  She made some suggestions and told me to discuss them with Dr. Block later.  I agreed to most certainly do that.
My mom and I were able to spend some time talking and I caught her up on the full documentation of the head shaving event.  We had a little time to chat and soak up the sun streaming in from the windows beside and above us when a friend of mine and former supervisor from The Cancer Support Center came to talk with me.  She is now working at TBC and it was so wonderful to get to see her and catch up a bit.  
After our visit, I went to a personalized yoga session, which was A.mazing.  I want that every day.  Because of the space issue my mom was not able to participate but she watched to see what I was learning.  I felt so wonderful after stretching, relaxing, meditating, breathing.  A.mazing.
Feeling good and back in my pod, not the usual Hickory (that was taken by the time we arrived) but we camped out next door at Fir.  I finished up the Vitamin C and had the line capped off until tomorrow.
Dr. Block came to meet with us to end the day.  It was so nice to be able to check in with him about the things I had discussed with the PA in regards to the side effects from my first treatment and brainstorming ways to prevent the same from happening this time around.  He is a very genuine and pleasant person.  Just what I would imagine anyone would want in a doctor.  I also appreciate the way he thinks about medicine, and that doesn't always mean conventional medicine.  Many of the ideas we came up with for troubleshooting the side effects of last treatment were natural.  I was happy that it wasn't more prescriptions.  (I have a BOX full of those y'all!  Well, I have a box full of supplements too, but still prefer the natural interventions.)  We discussed implications for future treatment due to the diagnosis/discovery of Li Fraumeni Syndrome.  I will know more about that after my appointment with the genetics counselor in a couple of weeks.  We also discussed the referrals he had given for surgeons (both home runs) and I thanked him for each.  Both surgeons were kind, personable and took time to talk with me.  In such a delicate situation that was exactly what I (and Pete) needed.  I have to say it's easy to trust a referral from a doc you really like, and I told Dr. Block as much.

(Make Yourself)
All in all it had been a fine day.  TBC was found to be quite warm due to all of the lovely windows that let in such beautiful sunlight so when Mom and I were leaving we decided it would be nice to go to the outdoor mall and walk around, maybe do a little shopping and grab a bite to eat before going to our hotel.
With voucher in hand we went to the first hotel and unloaded the car, walked into the impressive lobby and waited in line for our turn.  I was excited at the proposition of staying here even if just for one night.  It just looked like such a nice place.  Upon reaching the desk I was promptly told that the hotel was booked for the night.  I would be able to use the voucher for the following night should I choose.  I booked the room for the next night and while a bit put out was undaunted.  The parking lot is shared by two separate hotels.  We would just scoot across the parking lot and check in there.
I entered the lobby there and inquired about a room.  No room at the inn.  Hm.  I was starting to get a bit worried.
For the next 20 minutes using Yelp and a prayer I called several different area hotels.  All booked.  On a Tuesday night.  Full house.  I could not believe it.  Pete called soon after receiving the following text from me: "We can never come here without a reservation again."  He suggested that he would look on Priceline for a hotel.  Within 10 minutes we had a reservation and were checking into the second hotel we had visited.  
With a smile on our faces and a collective deep breath we grabbed our room keys and asked where the best place to park would be to unload the vehicle and head to the room.  They directed us around to the side of the building nearest our room.  This would have been ideal had the elevator not been in the lobby.  We parked around side the building and walked with our arms loaded down the length of two and a half halls to get back to the lobby to use the elevator.  Double-hm.
With room keys in hand we trekked back down two and a half hallways to get to our assigned room.  At the door I said something to my mom and pointed at the door.  As I spoke a dog with a deep, gruff voice started barking from the room across the hall.  We looked at each other and shook our heads.  About face.  Back down to the lobby to inquire after another room (which I already knew was more than a long-shot).  While going back and forth with not one, not two but three different ladies behind the desk it was determined that we could, no wait, we couldn't be changed to another room.
We resigned ourselves to our lot and headed up to unpack.  
Unpacking, I was looking for the pre-medication I was to take that evening at dinner.  It is important for me to take this medication to avoid a reaction to the chemotherapy I would be receiving the next day.  The search began patiently searching every bag I packed for myself, twice, thrice then turned into a frantic flurry of dumping bags, rearranging purses and ended in a call to Pete.  Before I left home my box (yes BOX) of medications had been flung to the floor in a collision with sweet Sammy.  I thought perhaps the mediation had rolled under the dresser or chair in the living room.  Pete checked and negative on that.  So I did what any person in my situation would do, I called the on-call doctor to beg for a prescription. I left a calm but urgent message with the answering service and awaited their return call.  They called moments later and connected me with the on-call doc who interrupted my attempts to explain my situation by yelling, "I can't hear you!  I'm in my car, you're on speaker phone.  Can you speak up?"  So I yelled back explaining my situation in detail and she very quickly responded, "I can't help you." 
What the what?
"You will have to call your regular doctor and ask him to help you.  Call the answering service back and tell them to get in contact with him."
Near tears I called the answering service back and explained in great detail all that the "on-call" doctor had said to me.  The woman I spoke to, with a deep sigh, told me she would be make the call.  
While waiting for yet another call from another doctor I applied my coping strategies to calm myself down, using the new form of deep breathing I had learned in yoga earlier in the day, telling my body to relax.  It was working.
I received a call from said doctor who was very clearly frustrated from the word "Hello."
"I don't know how I'm supposed to help you.  I don't have your chart in front of me.  I'm not at the office.  I don't know what medication you need."
In a soothing tone I explained that I had had the same prescription added to my regime last visit and a Walgreens in the area had filled it.  Perhaps they would have record of the exact dosage and could help us.  He was agreeable to this idea and instructed me to contact said Walgreens and give them his answering service number.  He dictated the number to me and because my pen wouldn't work it took several tries to actually get the number down.
Praise God for Walgreens.  I called and gave my name inquired about the script.  They told me my refill would be ready in an hour!  Just like that.  Just. like. that.
I called the answering service and left a message for the doctor that the script was being filled and headed off to a previously scheduled outing with my mom-Whole Foods.

Be Happy
We made our way through some very hefty I-want-to-get-home-after-a-crazy-day-of-work-so-I'm-driving-like-mad traffic in between Skokie and Evanston.  As we drove we discussed the events of the evening.  I was determined to make sense of it.  There HAD to be a lesson in it...just had to be.  What was the meaning of it all?  My mom and I suggested to one another that perhaps lessons of joy, patience, perseverance, and/or kindness was behind it all.  
Thankfully we made it safely to the Whole Foods Store and no not-in-the-bike-lane-cyclists were harmed in the process.  It was a nice relaxing time to walk through the store and stock up on the good foods that we would be snacking on for the next couple of days.  For me I was anxious to find some of the ingredients and supplements that had been suggested to prevent painful side effects.  I found all but one thing and knew that could be found elsewhere so I left encouraged that things were coming together.  While in the store perusing I received a text from Walgreens saying that my prescription was ready.  I was happy to see the text but hesitant to celebrate just yet.  I was able to admit that it seemed as though things were coming together.
Traffic had dissipated since our drive to Whole Foods making our drive from Whole Foods much less stressful.  The evening was cooling off, the sun setting and I had applied some newly acquired breathing techniques and smiles to help my shoulders drop and loosen.  No need to remain tense, I told myself.
Google Maps took us straight to the Skokie Blvd Walgreens where I purchased pink ear plugs, a bag of almonds and my much-needed prescription all for under $19.  I must say I left with a (genuine) smile on my face.  Things were coming together and it seemed as though the perseverance, patience (kind of), and kindness my mother and I were determined to practice in the midst of the mess, was paying off.
Happiness is a SkinnyLicious French Country Salad from Cheesecake Factory with romaine lettuce, grilled asparagus, fresh beets, goat cheese, candied pecans and vinaigrette at 8pm with my mom.  It was so refreshing to put food in our stomachs and our collective frame of mind truly improved with the nourishment.  It also helped that that salad was A.mazing.  For the second time today, something was A.mazing.  (I'm sure there was more amazing in this day that I may have failed to recognize and will look for more tomorrow!)

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.” - Denis Waitley

"...and it is only then that pure joy can truly be experienced." -Sarah Falk

James 1:2-4 NIV
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.