Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Today is week number three of chemo tripping (nine more to go).  Today's Chemo Buddy is my nephew Ben, who flew into town for work, and stayed several days to do Chemo Tripping and Chemo Watch (Chemo Watch duties are described as making sure that Susi doesn't drown in her own spittle).

Like last week, I asked to see my liver enzyme readings.  Remember Alkaline Phosphate S, AST (SGOT), and ALT (SGPt)?

Where we last left off in our story, all three of the readings dropped by 10 to 30 percent after just one chemo treatment.  Here's this week's numbers, after chemo number two:

Alkaline Phosphatase, S    244 (started at 286 pre-chemo, high normal 150, 15% drop from start)
AST (SGOT)                    50 (started at 150, high normal is 40, 33% drop from start)
ALT (SGPT)                     71 (started at 124, high normal is 40, 43% drop from start)

So kids, looks like I'm here to stay and Beatrice the liver keeps feeling better and better. Go Bea!

Here's my list of plans for the future:

• Re-do my basement and second floor bathroom;
• Get my nose pierced;
• Have my leg tattoo purtified and then have another tattoo put on my lower right back;
• Adopt a child through the foster care system in DC (I've always, always wanted children but was afraid to go forward because I'm single. Screw that. I'm adopting.).

You see it. Survivor carved into the hair.

In other news, I had my hair buzz cut last night (just in time, since the hair began to fall out wholesale last night).  The cut was done at Diego's Hair Salon, a barber shop in Dupont Circle (I'm not paying women salon prices for a buzz cut).  The young Camillo did a wonderful job, especially with the carving of the word "survivor" into the hair on the back of my head. 

Now I'm officially in wig and head wrap world.  I have a few knit caps being made by friends (Ingrid is an incredible knitter, and I hear Helen, the wonder knitter, is knitting one too).  But in addition to getting to play with wigs and head wraps,  I also have had a truly fun experience getting a buzz cut and stencil, with pictures to prove it (thank you, Jo Ann).  The cut looked pretty good for a buzz cut on a chick, and I found out that my real hair color is light brown shot through with grey (my natural hair color has not seen the light of day since I was 24).  My hair dream? That the hair will grow back a different color like dark brown (it's not uncommon apparently).

The young Camillo at work.

Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures.

And this week's shout outs go to:

• Deborah and Carole for the incredible quiche and brownies they left on my front porch.  Gourmet food left at the door;
• Connie and Emma for incroyable soup delivered to me at church. Gourmand with God;
• Jo Ann for coming with me for the survivor hair cut and to take pictures;
• Ben for taking time out of his upwardly mobile professional life to shuffle his poor, old decrepit aunt to chemo and to watch over her after. By the way, he is only 17 years younger than I am;
• Jessica, the two time breast cancer survivor who keeps me going with regular venting phone calls. And;
• Cathleen from Ohio, another breast cancer liver mets survivor matched up with me through Y-ME Breast Cancer Support, who is helping me believe I can survive this and live.