Update

BACK INJECTIONS ARE NOT FUN! But, the good thing is that the pain has gone from about an 8 to about a 1 or 2!!! And that 1 or 2 is more of an ache than a pain. I get the priviledge of having another injection on 4/29 and they seem to think that will take me to pain zero! I am functioning almost normally now, and boy does that make me happy after 2 months of this mess!

Oh my aching back

Just an update for those of you who have asked about my back. I went to the spine/back/pain guy in the orthopeadic group today. They had originally thought that I had 3 bulging discs which was what was causing my pain. Well, nope, they have decided I do have bulging discs and one herniated disc, but they don't seem to be pressing on any nerves. They are reasonably sure that I have sacro iliac joint dysfunction: http://www.medicinenet.com/sacroiliac_joint_pain/page4.htm
They are going to give me an injection tomorrow morning and with any luck at all (which I have had very little of healthwise in the past year) I should feel better by Friday. We can hope!!! He did give me some strong pain medicine to get me through until then - sure wish somebody had thought of that over the last 8 weeks!!!! Now if I can just stay awake through DWTS and Idol tonight - can't miss them!!! haha
I did get a chance while in Hickory to buy myself a new outfit to wear to Stepanie's baby shower on the 26th. That eased the pain a little bit. :-)

Ah Spring!

Today was a beautiful day here, so I decided to work outside. First I went to Town and Country Greenhouse (my favorite place in the spring) and bought a boston fern, a firetail, a wandering jew, 3 regal geraniums and a citronella mosquito plant. Then I was off to Lowes and added to my collection with lots more stuff. (daisies, woodland phlox, marigolds, caladiums, and a few more odds and ends.

Elizabeth came over and we made another trip to Lowes for more gorgeous plants and then back to the house to plant them. Unfortunately I have hurt my back and can do very little bending. Fortunately, Elizabeth is a wonderful friend and master gardener. She did most of the work. I did most of the supervising! :-)

I also hung my new Easter door wreath that you see above. And to top all that off I went to a new store in Lenoir the other day and bought the little green table you see below and the green cushions for the rockers. Now I can sit comfortably outside and admire all the wonderful things as they bloom!

In memory of Brady Thomas Meyer

This little white rose was placed on the altar of our church today in memory of Brady Thomas Meyer. The greenery (no flower arrangements during Lent) on the altar was also placed in honor of Brady, Drew, and Jordan, the Meyer triplets.

I never got to meet Brady, but he has touched my heart and has been in my prayers since the day he was born.

Knitting for my granddaughter

In honor of my granddaughter's maternal grandfather I decided that I needed to knit something that my new granddaughter could learn from even before she traveled to Indiana and was able to share her grandfather's interests. Steve, I hope I did it justice!!! haha I have had so much fun looking for things to knit, not only for my granddaughter, but also for her 3 cousins who will be here before her. After that I'm going to have to get busy knitting for Christmas - after all, there are three other cousins that I can knit for, too!!!
It's pretty chilly here today (Sunday) and we have an inch of sleet on the ground, so I'm in for the day. Guess I'll get back to my knitting!!!

WOOHOO!!!

This will be a quicky, but had to write and let everyone know. I just got back from the oncologist. He said, "You have had a major cytogenetic response!" Sounds pretty good huh? Well it is!! That means that the leukemia cells are undetectable in my blood!! That's about as close to remission as you can get - 0.017% Of course I will have to continue on the oral chemo for the rest of my life, but, I can live with that!!! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers - they sure did work!!! I don't even have to go back to see him for 2 months!!!

Also went to the chiropractor for my lower back strain that I've had for over a week now. He put me on electrodes for 1/2 hour and it eased it considerably. He wants me on ice for 20 minutes every hour as much as possible and then back on Friday for the electrodes again.

That's all the good news for now!

Back from Cleveland

I just got back from Cleveland, OH, after 5 days of work. We were in schools from 9-12 each morning and then trained from 3:30 - 6:30 each evening. The highlight of my trip was buying myself a new phone - an iphone - and learning to use it. My sweet son told me at Thanksgiving I should get one. I thought and thought about it and finally after seeing several people with one and seeing how amazing they are, I took the plunge. I texted my dear son saying, "I got an iphone." The response I got back was, "God help us all!" Later when I called him (by mistake) as I was learning to use my phone, he said he was just kidding when he told me to get one and that this would be the most underused piece of technology on the planet!!! I shall try my best to try to prove my child wrong. And my first try is the picture above. It is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Does it look a little like the Louvre Museum in Paris? It was designed by the same guy!!! Pretty good pic for a phone, huh? And the good part is I got it transferred from my phone to this blog!!!

Next week I'm off to Tennessee and an evening with my brother in Nashville, fly to Atlanta on Wednesday and work there two days. After that it slows down bunches again.

On the 25th I get the results of my latest leukemia blood test. Keep your fingers crossed for me, I'm hoping for remission. It will be a year in March since I was diagnosed and it would be great to be in remission 1 year later!!