this is what I spent my whole day (well 3/4 of it at least) doing - making the Dessert of the Month from Martha Stewart's Living - Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Cashew Brittle!!! I had the best time - once the cake was finished, I made lobster-stuffed salmon pinwheels, roasted new potatoes, and salad for dinner. This might seem like a lot, but you should see the b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. COACH bag Pete gave me this morning!!! He came in the bedroom this morning and casually asked if I wanted to have breakfast with him -like he does every morning- and when I walked into the dining room I see this giant box on the table, with the kelly green bag I saw at the mall last week inside!
I got home yesterday from a (less celebratory) trip to Arkansas to visit my parents - my mom, specifically. She was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma at the end of January and started chemotherapy last Friday. I wanted to be there to support her and offer my assistance if she became ill or had other side effects. Luckily, her only major symptom of chemo was fatigue. We went shopping on Saturday, she rested on Sunday, and Monday she went to the hospital with dad for another round of chemo. The drugs the oncologists wanted to use are called R-CHOP. The CHOP portion was given Friday, and the R part was to come on Monday. It is so strong that it has to be given separately. Unfortunately, after about 6 hours at the hospital, mom's reactions to the R were too adverse, and they had to stop trying to administer it. Luckily, the CHOP itself is pretty strong, so her rate of remission is still a pretty positive 70%.
Tuesday morning mom and I headed over to the Reynolds Cancer Support House to see what kinds of services they offered and try on some wigs. My mom might not lose her hair, but if she does it will start in about 3 weeks and she wants to be ready. We had a pretty good time - trying on some different styles and colors, and finally deciding on one she would take home.
This bottom one is the one she ended up taking (I did NOT keep the Laura Bush wig, however).We ended up having a good time trying to put some humor into what is a pretty crappy situation. The Cancer House is a wonderful facility with broad program offerings - I'm hoping my mom will take advantage of them.
