Health Update on my Cousin and Me

We got some good news about my cousin Mark! The one who has cancer... Anyway, this is what his sister e-mailed me this morning:

"So its called small cell lymphoma, or something to that effect. They finally got back to us with biopsy results. its more common, and lower on the severity scale than the first one mark was diagnosed with. his treatment starts again Monday, he should get his teeth taken care of this week or his next off week, he's not gonna have to stay in the hospital, just go to treatment and come home, he is going to need the stem cell/bone marrow transplant, but they can do it at any time during his treatment instead of waiting for the chemo to be completed. thats the quick synopsis anyways."

It's still serious, it's spread through out a large portion of his body, but it's nice to know its not a scary rare form like they originally thought, and this gives a little bit more hope :) He's already lost his hair from the chemo. Mom knit him a hat a week or two ago to help keep his head warm!

Now my news....

I'm continuing to stay healthier. I'm still having some asthma attacks, but they are much more infrequent than they were and I'm able to go for fairly regular walks. I've also been able to finally add some milk back into my diet after almost 2 years of having to completely avoid it! I can't tell you how happy that makes me :) There were so many foods I missed!

We are trying to get me on a daily migraine medication because I'm continuing to battle migraines almost daily. There have been a lot of hiccups and miscommunication in the process, but I'm hoping to have something by next week. Until then...I've given in and I'm drinking caffeine again. I'm not supposed to because I have an elevated heart rate from my asthma meds, but its the only thing keeping me functional. I'll trade an elevated heart rate for not being stuck curled up in bed. As soon as I get the daily meds I'll stop drinking it again. And I'm being careful not to drink too much so my heart rate isn't getting too high.

Now for the bad news. I've had bad teeth for years. It's a combination hereditary and from the steroids and other meds I've been on over the years. Yesterday I had couple handfuls of popcorn, and accidentally got a hard kernel, and it broke two teeth! One of the teeth wasn't that unexpected, they had put a temporary fix on it that was supposed to last for about 6 months...and that was two years ago. But the second tooth was a big surprise! I'm going in first thing tomorrow to get them worked on. I'm expecting to lose at least one, if not both of the teeth. I don't think we'll be able to afford anything else.

Trying not to get too depressed, they are both molars so it won't affect my smile too horridly, but it's still really frustrating. Especially because I'm already missing a tooth on the opposite side of my mouth so this just means it'll be more "fun" to eat! I'm hoping and praying that this doesn't throw my body for too much of a loop. Dental work tends to trigger my other health problems from the stress and pain. I'm trying to think positive though and really praying that I still make it to my cousins baby shower on Saturday!