#readyforadrink

[andrewburkett]

Pre-cruise selfie #latergram from Monday last week. Such high spirits and lack of tan we have. #selfieforshari #sydney #carnivallegend #setsail #readyforadrink (at Carnival Cruise Line Australia)

[twiggy2203]

👏👏👏👏👏 #readyforadrink #friday

[adventuresofatincanpixie]

When you're sick af but the sesh is calling and you just can't say no 😂 #poorly #selfie #nightout #sesh #seshtime #readyforadrink #happy #stillcutetho #whyamilikethis

[adventuresofatincanpixie]

I have a sparkly tiara headband cos I am a fairy princess in human form and if anyone wants to disagree come at me bitches I will zap u with my fairy powers #summer #nightout #makeup #ginger #readyforadrink #fairy #fairyprincess

[cutelilprncss09-blog]

#selfie #readyforadrink #weekendgetaway #washingtondc #chillinginthehotelroom

[tangledupintubes]

The Year in Review

2015 started off with such promise.  I spent New Year’s Eve at my usual haunt, the Farm, with my dear, dear friends, Tom and David.  

Trey was behind the bar, looking dapper as always, pausing for a selfie here and there in between mixing cocktails. The next afternoon I went over to Dogwood Manor to hang out with the guys again along with all the pooches and had a great day.

I had a good freelance gig I was enjoying (and making some overtime money from) with people I liked working with.  All was well.

By spring I had moved on to an even more promising gig that might have turned into something permanent had my boss been able to convince the powers that be our busy department needed expansion (it did).  It looked like I was finally getting somewhere. 

Then, derailment.  

My battle with leukemia has been well documented here, so I have little to add except to be utterly amazed, again, that I had fucking leukemia! Even now it doesn’t seem possible.

I saw an ad for St. Jude’s hospital yesterday with an adorable little bald girl wearing earrings.  She said she had leukemia, “a disease kids get.”  EXACTLY. How the hell did I catch that thing?  Oh right, a genetic defect convinced two of my chromosomes to switch places for shits and giggles.  Very funny 4 and 11. You tried to kill me.

But, lo, you did not succeed.  

It was only after much time had passed that I realized I was pretty close to death though.  A few days or a couple more weeks (at most, it’s hard to say) without treatment, and that would have been that.  

But once I was in the hospital, diagnosed and getting treatment, there didn’t seem to be the possibility that I wouldn’t beat it. After all, I remember thinking that first night in the ICU, I can’t die.  I haven’t been to Scotland yet.

And my friends wouldn’t hear of it.  And everyone rallied to raise money for me for the long months ahead (still in progress) where this vagabond freelancer would be out of commission.  And they looked after my cats, and brought grilled cheese sandwiches, and other treats, good cheer and support.   Now I’m out of the hospital and out of the woods.  I’m recuperating at Dogwood Manor until my doctor says it’s okay to go home.  I’m hoping it’s soon, but I’m grateful for Tom and David’s continued hospitality.  I’ve gotten to know the dogs a lot better (Foxy is by far the smartest and Huckleberry is completely neurotic).  I love them. They are all wonderful animals who have reinforced why I’m a cat person.

My blood counts are normal.  NORMAL.  My immune system still has a long way to go (no antibodies or t/b cells and my immunizations were wiped out with the transplant so keep your kids away from me), but my red blood count was 11.1 last week (we started this tale with a count of 5.9).  There is no trace of cancer.  The donor’s marrow has taken over, and so far we don’t have any complications (knock wood, cross fingers, rub that rabbit’s foot).  Still waiting for final cytology results from my last biopsy, but there is every reason to believe the defect is gone along with my original bone marrow.

I still have outpatient treatments and am slowly rebuilding my strength and appetite.  Still very bald, but my eyebrows should be fully re-grown in another week.  I can wear my contacts again and not feel like I look like Uncle Fester. It’s hard for me to see progress, but everyone assures me it’s happening. “Baby steps,” my sister keeps telling me.  I try to believe.

Days before diagnosis I lay in bed one night feeling horrible and alone and thinking no one on earth gave a shit about me.  Then I had my Frank Capra revelation in the hospital and knew without a shadow of a doubt that the opposite was in fact true.  I watched It’s a Wonderful Life the other day and cried at the end, like I always do.  Clarence’s gift to George was his copy of Tom Sawyer, with the inscription “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”  

Well, ain’t that the truth! It’s really the only thing that matters.  Thank you all, friends and family, for keeping me alive in 2015.  See ya next year.  I’ll be pretty thirsty once I’m approved to resume drinking, so clear your calendars. 

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[dlitefulday]

Leo life

You're a sociable person with a gift for small talk and interesting discussions. Today you will find some amazing information that will keep your conversations fascinating for months. It could involve a new discovery, possibly in a foreign land. A friend or relative you haven't seen for a while could reappear. This is a day full of surprises, Leo, so be prepared for just about anything!