Moving ahead...

I'm determined to make sure this blog doesn't become all about cancer, but since that's such a big part of my life right now, it's going to take a balancing act.

So how about we start with happy things this time around?!

Little by little we are making this apartment our home. Thanks to Tina, we were mostly settled in with what we had by end of day one. But since we'd brought very little furniture, we've had to do some shopping. I've scored great deals at a furniture consignment store, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, IKEA, Amazon and my latest favorite: Wayfair. Both of our kids gave me gift certificates to Wayfair for Mother's Day! They know me so well 😂 I've always loved "nesting" and doing my best to create a calm, restful space to call home. The process of doing that this time has proven to be quite stress relieving in the midst of all the medical and insurance drama, and it just makes my heart happy to make things pretty. The world could use more pretty things, don't you think?! 

Have y'all heard of the Marco Pollo app, where you create video messages and form little groups with whom to share them? Our kids got us going on this, and we have a family group which is SO FUN! It's so nice to hear that little ding on our phones and know that either Jon or Tina has posted a short video. You know, grandparents can sit and watch a cooing baby face for a really long time, totally mesmerized by their beauty! Or laugh at the silly antics of the older grandchildren. What will they think of next!?

And because I am the quintessential grandmother, of course I have to share some adorable photos of my adorable grandkids 😘

Adalyn is as besotted with her baby sister as the rest of us. Aren't they absolutely precious?! Counting down the days until I get to see them!

I think they are going to be best friends, don't you?

I've mentioned the pool which the kids love (and Papa too!). So refreshing on hot days! I've not been in yet, but it's only a matter of time. Once I start feeling better and gaining some energy, I'll be joining them.

Simon loves, loves, loves to help Papa with projects. I ordered a set of Eames style mid-century modern chairs from Amazon and picked up a Tulip style table from IKEA for our dining nook, and Simon was Papa's #1 assistant on assembling those. I'm going to have to get his picture with a pencil stuck behind his ear like one of his favorite cartoon characters, Handy Manny. (The chairs around the table in the background are extra folding chairs we picked up for when we are more than four, and they are seriously the most comfortable folding chair I've ever sat on.)

And I'll finish up the cuteness allowance with this picture of Betsy, in her favorite spot in our apartment: the walk-in closet. Girl not only likes to play in there, it's where she takes naps (her choice!). Such a funny, sweet girl  💗💗💗💗 Love how each of my grandkids is so different and unique and special. 

Today Ivan and I celebrated our 39th anniversary by going out to breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi's, a lovely restaurant with some great gluten free options. I had the lightest, fluffiest, best waffles in my life! Usually gluten free baked goods tend to be heavy, but I really don't think I've ever had a better waffle, with or without gluten!

I'm so deeply grateful to be this man's wife as he continues to love and cherish me in sickness as well as health!

And then we came home and I'm hunkered down as day-four-after-chemo side effects hit. At least it doesn't seem to be as bad this time and I'm hoping the trend continues. 

But backing up... We left off last week with me in limbo regarding chemo when our insurance still hadn't come through for us. Ivan continued working the phones for hours on Thursday, Friday, and Monday but it wasn't until 9 a.m. Tuesday we learned I'd been approved for chemo -- which was scheduled for 9:45! To be honest, we'd been disappointed so often we weren't expecting the approval and had to rush around to get ready and out the door pronto! But we made it, and after meeting with the nurse practitioner first (since the oncologist wasn't in that day), chemo recommenced.

I felt better prepared this time, after a "chemo class" the week before, where the physician's assistant walked us through each of the side effects I'd struggled with the first round, and how we could mitigate and deal with them. I'm already experiencing fewer and less intense side effects. I think it also helps that I'm getting less chemo (they really blast you the first time and then ease up on subsequent treatments). Plus I'm not on antibiotics like I was last time which, along with the steroids they give you to offset other side effects, created the perfect storm for a horrible yeast infection in my mouth. I won't lie, I was a big baby for two weeks until the appropriately named Miracle Mouth Rinse finally cleared that up. 

But the biggest factor in experiencing fewer and less intense side effects is, I'm convinced, that I'm not packing and moving across the country right after a chemo treatment, so MUCH LESS STRESS. I'd highly recommend that no one else try that daring feat, because it almost did.me.in.

In other medical news, I had a brain CT scan on Monday. Fastest test yet, at just about five minutes. I told Ivan they must not have found anything to scan. "If I Only Had A Brain" from the Wizard of Oz immediately came to mind 😉 Since we haven't received a call about the results, I'm assuming everything checked out okay.

Continuing to deal with insurance stuff. Ivan spent another hour and a half on the phone yesterday as we are still trying to get assigned the primary care physician we want. He's been calling for three weeks about this, and every time we're told it's being handled and within 72 hours he can set up an appointment. And every time he calls the doctor's office, he's told we are not on the list yet! So frustrating, you have no idea. We've asked for a case manager with AMBetter so we don't keep getting booted around, and going through the same rigamarole every single time, but we were told they don't do that. But somehow (?!) Ivan ended up talking this Friday to the same person he'd talked to last Friday (coincidence? I don't think so! Thank you Jesus!) and when he pointed out she'd failed to follow through on a single promise she'd made, I think she felt guilty enough to go the extra mile and call the doctor's office herself and talk to someone in billing.

That meant Ivan was finally able to make an appointment, but not with the PCP we wanted because he doesn't have any openings until July. Ivan had been scheduled for an endoscopy in April because our doctor in Indiana thinks he has ulcers, but we naively thought it would be better to wait and get it done here (since, you know, life was a little crazy between me starting chemo and trying to move cross country at that point). We had no idea it would take more than two months to get this handled! He has an appointment to see another doctor in the same practice as the PCP we want on June 6th, at which point he'll get rescheduled for that endoscopy and hopefully we'll find out what's going on. Ulcers? Gallbladder? Something else entirely? We just want to know what's going on so we can address the issue.

Today was a perfectly beautiful day here in Las Vegas, with a high of just 81. Sad I wasn't able to spend more time outdoors, because the intense heat arrives this week and I don't think we'll have a break until fall. We've been told by many here that this Spring has been quite mild, and that last year this time it was already up around 110! I'm grateful for God's grace in easing us into the hotter climate. I recall our years in Florida back in the 80s when I'd get the kids up early to go grocery shopping (most of the big stores were open 24 hours even back then) so we could be home and back in the air conditioned apartment by 9 a.m. Pretty sure that's how I'll survive Nevada summers too! 

Waiting is not my strong suit

Warning: Long post. You might want to make a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine. You might be a while, if you make it all the way through this post. And be prepared for a lot of VENTING.

So much has happened in the past month and I've had neither time nor energy to write. In fact, I've felt pretty miserable most of the month. My hope that the side effects would be confined to dry mouth, nausea and the occasional headache was just that: a hope. Reality set in four days after chemo when a bunch of stuff hit at once. I won't go into details but let's just say there wasn't a part of me that didn't hurt. I lost 13 lbs in two weeks. The trip to Nevada was, without a doubt, the WORST trip ever; I couldn't even keep water down. It took me a week to recuperate and be ready to move into our apartment.

God granted energy and a mostly pain-free two days that allowed me to help at least a little with the move last Friday and Saturday. But honestly, the bulk of what was accomplished was due to our daughter who was a woman on a mission! On Friday she helped Ivan unload the pod and then, while I slowly unpacked kitchen boxes and put things away, she whipped through, organizing the bathroom, bedroom, big walk in closet (that's serving double duty as both closet and storage space) and started on the living room by unpacking and putting books on shelves. Later that evening Ivan and Kyle picked up the couch we'd found at a furniture consignment store. Saturday Tina took me shopping (this was our third outing specifically looking for furniture) and we found some nice big, tall end tables at a ReStore. Do you know how hard it is to find nice big, tall end tables?! What's the deal with all these tiny, short tables being passed off as end tables today? The arms on our couch are 27" high, and it would look downright silly to put little 20" tall tables next to it.

Sunday I started feeling yukky again and that lasted through Tuesday morning. Ugh! As if feeling physically ill wasn't enough, the emotional fallout of this week has been intense. Our insurance, AMBetter, has been an absolute nightmare. I was supposed to get a CT scan, but the morning of the appointment, it was canceled because they hadn't received approval yet. And Wednesday I learned they still hadn't approved my next chemo so that, too, was canceled for Thursday. Ivan has spent SO MUCH TIME on the phone, it's ridiculous. Every.single.time. they start out by telling us we're not in the system. Ivan persists and "Oh, yes, here you are!" happens. But that's about it. I know the people we're dealing with are just the worker ants and they're all taught to sound sympathetic and helpful, but the truth is they are just giving you a run-around and nothing actually gets done.

Ivan's been calling daily since May 4th, trying to get us assigned the primary care physician we want (who is in network). That still hasn't happened! How hard can it be to put our names on a specific list?! He's been calling multiple times a day since Wednesday and it's been so frustrating! We did learn Thursday that a big part of the problem is that the folks at AMBetter were looking at our old policy in Indiana and saying I was no longer a client. Duh, no I'm no longer a client in Indiana, but I sure am in Nevada! (None of the call centers are in Nevada; he's talked to people in several different states but none of them our own.)

Today Ivan spent at least two hours on the phone. He was on hold for 20 minutes the first time and then they hung up on him. That's happened several times this week. He's learned to immediately ask for a supervisor because those who answer the phone have no authority to do anything anyway, so it's completely useless talking to them. With some coaching from our daughter we are learning how to deal, and today Ivan asked for the supervisor's full name and for her extension in case the call got dropped. The upshot of that call is that we learned the two tests the doctor ordered were being held up because the person reviewing them had flagged them as requiring "peer to peer" review. But no real news on why the chemo is being held up.

Ivan called our contact at the doctor's office and told her about the peer to peer review requirement, and a few hours later she called back to say that had been handled and I'd been approved for both tests! So some progress. I'm thankful my oncologist is being proactive and jumped right on that, once he knew. Would have been nice if AMBetter had communicated that with him directly. We only found out because of Ivan's persistence in calling and calling. We're all hoping that Monday we'll get approval for the chemo. Our contact at the doctor's office said that now I'm in the system, things should start moving along.

If not, we're prepared to keep calling AMBetter AND file a complaint with the Nevada Commissioner of Insurance. We've already filed one with the Better Business Bureau. Is the tactic by insurances companies to make it so difficult that people just give up? That's not gonna happen here! My husband is like a bulldog and he's not going to let it go until there's resolution and I can resume my treatments. It's ridiculous that it should be this difficult to get approval for a treatment that literally has life or death consequences. Tuesday I'm rescheduled for chemo IF I get approved; that day marks four weeks since my first treatment...they're supposed to be given in 21 day cycles.

Aside from all the insurance drama and my low energy levels/continuing bouts of intestinal problems, we're loving Las Vegas! It's dry! It's warm! Tina totally scored when she found this apartment for us. It's in a gated complex so it's secure. People are friendly. The grandkids love the pool! (I haven't been in it yet; just watched from the sidelines.) Ivan likes working by the pool; he takes his backpack with files and computer, and sits and makes calls. There's hardly anyone at the pool during the day, so it's a great "office" space for him.

The apartment is small (one bedroom, one bath) but there's tons of storage so I can keep most of my junk hidden, which I love (clutter is my enemy). The main living area is open concept, with the living, dining and kitchen all opening into one another, but the spaces are delineated which I also love. It's just the right size for us, right now. I don't need -- nor want -- a big space to clean. It's not ideal for entertaining, but then I don't anticipate feeling like entertaining much this coming year. Treatment is supposed to last 15 months, without any pauses. And of course, we are currently in the midst of a big pause while awaiting insurance approval for treatment.

It's absolutely wonderful to be close to Tina and her family! In Indiana we were an hour away and with our busy schedules, we typically only saw them once or twice a month. This is so much nicer! And I found out we don't have to wait until September to meet Eisley in person! I knew Jon was coming to visit next month, but I had understood it would just be him and Adalyn. But everyone is coming! Doing the happy dance!!!

So we moved last weekend, and this weekend Kyle and Tina move! They closed on their house this week, and their pods get delivered tomorrow. We'll keep the kiddos here and plan to wear them out with lots of pool time! We want to hand them back to their parents absolutely exhausted and ready to sleep like little logs. Because I'm pretty sure Kyle and Tina will be ready to sleep like logs themselves! Moving is not for the faint of heart.

And on a completely unrelated note: I got tired of shedding like a dog and had Ivan shave my head. It was a bit traumatic which caught me by surprise, but once it was done, I was fine. I already had a bunch of scarves but also bought two cotton beanies. The beanies are easier and cooler, but I'd really like to find a pattern to make the twisted turbans. All the ones I've found for sale are polyester and I want 100% breathable cotton. I'm looking at these turbans online and thinking "how hard can it be to make one?" Right?! Has anyone ever made something like this? Any hints or tips? I don't want anything too ornate {i.e., no big bows on the top of my head or large fabric flowers on the side of my head}, just a simple turban with a twist at the top. I started searching patterns but haven't found what I'm looking for yet. As warm as it is already, there's no way I'm putting a hot, sweaty wig on this summer. I'm all for soft, cotton turbans and beanies, occasionally dressed up with a scarf. 

A Great Big Welcome to Eisley Laine!

Our fourth grandchild, Eisley Laine, made her appearance on May the 4th; she's a true Star Wars baby! And crazy coincidence but Jon and Natalie chose a space theme for her -- how cool is that?!

It wasn't an easy birth and I'm so proud of how Natalie soldiered through and delivered her naturally, despite the complications they ran into throughout the long labor.

Everyone is enamored of this little cutie! And how could you not be?! She's totally adorable!

Does Jon look a little solemn? I think the enormity of being daddy of two may have just sunk in. Haha!

We won't know for a week or so, but we're hoping for another red head!

Baby burrito!

She's got the most adorable outfits. Lots of polka dots which I'm completely obsessed with (have been collecting polka dot fabric for years and one of these days I'm going to make myself a polka dot lap quilt).

 And girl can totally rock just a diaper too! 

Good morning world!

Adalyn has been waiting and waiting and waiting for her baby sister and can't get enough of her!

The quilt they're on is the one I made for Eisley. At the end of the post I'll include a few pics I took before I mailed it.

And is it just me, or do you want to pretend you're Rosemary Clooney and start belting out the song "Sisters" from "White Christmas", too?

We are hoping I'll feel up to making the trip to visit this sweet little addition to our family after chemo and before surgery, sometime in September. It's wonderful seeing photos and videos and FaceTiming but Nina wants to hold and snuggle this cutie!

And now here are pictures of the finished quilt.

The concept was a little girl floating past a window, holding planet "balloons".  Adalyn's quilt has a lot of purple in it and that's the color that kind of ties the two quilts together; the pretty sparkly purple fabric I used for the border worked really well with the background fabric.

I "auditioned" several color fabrics for the hair but the orange popped on the background better than the others (and as I mentioned, we're hoping for another redhead!).

Ivan had the fun idea of adding the Disney Pluto sticking up from behind one of the planets, as a nod to the Pluto that is no longer considered a planet.

I was insane enough to decide to do a two-sided quilt this time around! Jon and I both love the Apollo space program so I did a whole cloth appliqúe of an astronaut and then embroidered the line details with blue thread. The flag is a patch I bought online.

I had the background fabric already. Actually I had all the fabric I needed to make this quilt, except the front background and the black I bought to do the binding. It took far longer than it should have due to being sick so much since the beginning of the year. I mailed it the day before she was born and it arrived the day they came home from the hospital. Talk about cutting it close!