Deb Crowe Schlosser Beats Cancer

Welcome Mrs. Cluckers. Yesterday I noticed that the 12+ eggs she’s been sitting on are starting to wiggle. Maybe some squeaks heard. She is the new official mother hen of the tiny jungle garden, roosting under Barbara, my super amazing night-blooming jasmine.

I’ve been home since Thursday afternoon & am still trying to find my footing after a very difficult week. The port installation was last Tuesday. I went into that procedure very emotional & scared & exhausted after no sleep. I was picked up at 5:30AM after it had thundered & rained all night, still a steady rain from Kingwood all the way into the belly of Houston, which took over an hour. I just cried until they put me out of my senses. When I came out of the anesthesia, I felt so surprisingly better. No more intense emotions. Those drugs must have been good! The pain from the surgery didn’t kick in until late in the day. But Wednesday I was sicksicksick. Just nauseous, like my body was already rejecting the piece of plastic that had been inserted under my skin, onto my chest & connected to a tube flowing to my jugular. Still freaks me out thinking about it. And it continues to smart.

I felt a bunch better by Thursday morning & Stacy took me to the airport right after dropping off Kaya to her last day of her freshman year. I was very fortunate to be able to book a business class flight home using points. Stacy dropped me off right up front & immediately flagged down a very kind soul who helped me get inside with way too much luggage & into a wheel chair. I did fine on the flight & my awesome Steve was right there to pick me up. He hadn’t seen my new ‘do but thankfully really likes it. Has told me 3 times, unsolicited, so that’s a very nice plus. He is true medicine to my soul – just immediately makes me feel safe & secure & loved. Did I say how fortunate I am? Seriously.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve still had bouts of nausea & weariness. No true good night’s sleep yet. And man, have the hot-flashes returned. Haven’t started any treatment yet so this is not cool in my book. I’ve been trying to take it way easy this weekend & focus on good stuff, since last week was so difficult. Sunday is my favorite day of the week, and my BFF Jane is coming over later, so I’m expecting to have an excellent day.

But I can’t do much until it completely heals. No lifting – so I can’t really do any true gardening. And I can’t do my laundry. Or lift my bag that has my laptop. I am WAY behind on work and have this week to get caught up before I go back to Houston the following Tuesday for my MD Anderson appointments. The young lady that had come on board to help me has already departed without completing her tasks, so I need to pick those back up. Part of the reason I think I’m feeling so off – I’m not balanced with work yet, and that is a big thing for me. I’m realizing that I may need to downsize quite a bit but need to see what chemo does to me before I make any big decisions.

Here’s a good thing….. I’ve been able to reconnect with some of my very favorite friends after long communication-hiatus. Yeah, I’m scared & am having a tough time some days, but dang – you guys make me feel super loved & cared for too. Thank you for reaching out. I love y’all right back.