I had my weekly blood test today.  Good news...after getting 2 pts of blood last week, my hemoglobin is now 10.  After one week of chemo, my WBC was 3.46 (considering in past chemos, it's been below one for at least 1-3 weeks). I ordered an upright walker so maybe I can get a bit more exercise with it.

I had a virtual phone call with my primary today.  It seems that because my current oncologist is in Illinois (Cancer Centers of America), he could not order Home PT for me in WI. I had to have a physical with my primary who is certified in WI.  I wish Congress was talking about how to streamline ( make easier and more accessible) healthcare for all Americans no matter what it's called.  Here's a REAL number...pulmonary charged $4091 to aspirate my pleura with ultrasound and Medicare approved $122.27. Imagine those who have health insurance and still have to pay 20%.  My supplemental picked up the $24.95 not paid by Medicare.  Since they did surgery and put a catheter in my lung, my plural effusion gets drained daily by Linda and me...we've been getting 400cc daily. And we're draining for free since Medicare covered all the equipment expenses.  My body has become a human fluid making machine.

Back to my primary care phone visit.  It's a good thing these calls are encrypted because I'm sure what my body exposed to her today would border on the pornographic (and I'm pretty sure Medicare would not pick up that fine!) I challenge all of you to try to show different parts of your body to the computer screen and see what kind of balance you have...yes, my friends, this is what a physical online is looking like.  I don't even want to think about how my oncologist would do a pelvic exam.

I continue to be grateful for each day and even live with a glimmer of hope when I'm feeling so good (a card sent to me reads..."Deep inside us, God has placed a Spirit that refuses to be broken, and we call this HOPE."  I'm so blessed to have my house yard back up to a woods...the color changes have been exquisite until the winds blew in yesterday.  Even in the stripping of leaves, I find profound meaning.