ROUND 2 OF CHEMO.

For my dad. Surprisingly, he came through the first bout in good shape, no serious side effects. Yesterday, knowing what the last visit was like, we at least knew what to expect. Not only did I bring a puzzle to do, but I didn't schedule anything else for the day either. And I let my office know I would be out, based on the timeframe from the first time. It makes a long day for me, no matter how it works.

First, I have to pick him up at his house, which is about 25 miles from where I live and 35 from the clinic. Thankfully, the snow/rain mix that came down overnight was melting off by the time I had to leave, and it was smooth sailing all the way to his house and back to the clinic. I finally learned how my 4 wheel drive works too, so that made me feel more secure. LOL! I can't believe I went a whole season last year not knowing how to use it, so didn't. I was seriously starting to question the need for or usefulness of a 4 wheel drive vehicle until I figured out how to use it.

Next, when we arrived at the clinic, I was a little dismayed to see so many people already there waiting for something to be done. He had to have his blood count checked first at 9:30, then see the doctor at 9:45, and finally have treatment at 10:30. We all know that once a doctor's schedule gets behind, it never catches up. He didn't get called for his blood work until 9:50. I just sighed and kept doing my puzzle. Surprisingly enough, they called him for his doctor visit shortly after, and another surprise happened.

When he got called for his treatment, it was 10:31. Amazing! As usual, once you get to the treatment area, there isn't any place to sit, and barely enough room to stand, it is so full of people. Today, I couldn't help but notice some very young women there, bright scarves on their heads, doing a jigsaw puzzle, waiting to be called in for their chemo cocktails. It certainly is a humbling experience, observing all this. Sort of puts a lot of things in perspective and makes me thankful every day for good health.

Once he gets started on his treatment, I race off to work and try to play catch up there until its time to leave and go get him again. I was especially thankful there was no bad weather, since, not only would that prolong the whole trip, but I hate all that driving in bad weather!

I did manage to get in a brief weight workout and then ran 1 mile on the treadmill after. My heel is okay with just that amount of time. I should have done my swim workout, but I realized I was neglecting the upper body weights, and that won out for the day.

This morning, it was up again at an un-Godly hour and back to the gym for the real workout (LOL!). I was a little skeptical of trying to run again after the night before, but finally settled on a bike/run workout. Yes, I did both! 30 minutes on the spin bike, with a moderate amount of resistance, and then I hit the treadmill. At first, I was thinking of doing just a mile. But as I went along, I felt so good I decided to go for 15 minutes. Before I even got to 15 minutes, I had already decided to go to 18 min. and then walk it to 20. So, 18 whole minutes without stopping. That's my new record! The running was SO much easier after the bike, I might just consider doing this twice a week for my short run workout. I figure it certainly can't hurt.

As I am sitting here typing this, I am getting blinded by some unknown light source. Wait! Can it be?? The sun, missing in action for days now, is actually shining into the sliver of a window I have to look out of and reflecting off my crystal Christmas tree on my desk. Get out the sunglasses!