Monday, November 26, 2007

Chemo Day


Well, today was a chemo day. I had to be hooked up to an i.v. pole for FIVE WHOLE HOURS!! Well, I guess that only having to do it once every two weeks is a good thing though. Others are not so lucky.

I met a nice girl named Diana. She is 15 too. We were chemo buddies for the day, and we watched Phantom of the Opera. She named her iv pole(her boyfriend) David Beckham. So, I named mine Bullwinkle. We actually had fun together. I just hope it is as fun in two weeks. Diana, if you read this, will you meet me at the clinic in two weeks? I'll bring the beef jerky! I hope you feel better and get out of the hospital tomorrow.

Henry, Thanks for all your interesting stories! I like to read them.

Kelly

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Chiiiiild!!!!

I love you!!! I'm so glad that you are making new friends!!! any how...I'm sorry that you were stuck for 5 hours!!!! that must have been really lame, but I guess Phantom of the Opera would have helped a lot!!!! LOL.....any how, I love that movie so I guess that it would have helped me a lot.....Can you read a book while you are hooked up to the iv? if you can i just finished a great one, i think its called lightning...i dont remember who its by ill have to go check my backpack, ill get back to you later on that....hmmmmmmmm and there are a lot of great movies that you could watch too, have u ever seen pay it forward (sp?) any how i love that movie. ya that one and the producers are pretty good...Im glad that i finally figured this out lol.....hey did i tell you that im visiting? ya im gunna be there the 19th i think, maybe i can come see you....or if u just want to like get out of your house and just hang out, you can come to my grandparetns too we can just sit arround and play games and talk and stuff like that....oh ya another movie that you should watch is all of the cast videos that we took, my fav is children of eden with all of the back stage stuff that your dad did, it was a lot of fun....well any how, talk to you later!!!!!!

Love ya!!!!

Love,
~Jeannine

Tracy said...

Hi Kelly,
Wow, 5 hours! Glad you had a buddy - I hope you can see Diana next time too! It would be amazing to think you could actually look forward to something during chemo! I like your name for your chemo pole! Sounds like you two were getting pretty creative in how to keep yourselves entertained!

Are you getting excited about Christmas!? We've been trying to pick out a photo for our Christmas card - but none of can agree! Emily doesn't know why we all don't just let her pick it out! I love the photo your mom picked out for your family! You and your sisters are beautiful!

Love you lots!...
Aunt Tracy

Anonymous said...

Once again you amaze me! Chemo for 5 hours and you have a big beautiful smile! Do the doctors and nurses just fight over who gets to take care of you! You are just a sweetheart no matter what you are doing! Diana is a lucky girl to get to hang out with you - now we will keep both of you in our prayers.

This Henry friend of yours - has he ever thought of writing children's books - he has some great stories to tell! Well hugs to you and the family - I will come see you soon for real hugs.

Love, The Turner family and furry friends

Anonymous said...

Hey Kelly!

What a trouper you are! Five hours hooked up to an iv? You are one amazing young lady...and you have the most beautiful smile. Somehow the word "angel" sticks in my head. My students say hello and would really like you to come visit sometime. (Your card from them is sitting on my living room table.) Keep up your wonderful spirit. Last Friday, Nick, my Dad and Mark and I went up to the cabin to do some work. Well, that night the wind was so bad it kept blowing the pilot light out on the heater. We FROZE that night. Nick laughed at me because I was layered with so many clothes and also slept with my snow hat, jacket, gloves and scarf...and I was still cold. Oh well, it was an adventure.

Take care, sweetie! Love to your family. Did your Dad have to go back to Hawaii? It sure was good seeing him and your family. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Love and hugs,
Laurie and Mark

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,

Wow-5 hours! That's a long time to be stuck in one place. Glad you were able to turn it into an entertaining time. I hope you see your new friend again the next time. Are you having a good time with your dad, or did he have to go back already? Enjoy the two weeks off from chemo now.

Love,
Sharon, Allison and the rest

Anonymous said...

Dear Kelly,

Five hours! Someone should see if that's Constituional. It's probably a violation of the cruel and unusual clause. If not, someone should look at the various Geneva Conventions. I'm almost certain it's a violation of one of them, at least.

Today, I have another Viennese (mis)adventure to tell you about. As you know, I went there one Christmas break. The Burgtheater (the old Imperial Court theater) was performing Lessing's "Nathan the Wise." That's an 18th-century play about religious tolerance among Christians, Moslems, and Jews, and its lessons would benefit the world today. But I digress.

The concierge at the hotel got me a ticket, and it was a nice, warm night, so I walked down the Ringstrasse to the theater, got there in plenty of time, got to my seat, and enjoyed the performance. When it was over, I started to leave the theater. As I made my way down the stairs and toward the front door, the lights behind me were being turned off. That's quite an incentive to make haste, I think you'll agree. I got to the front door, but by that time, ALL the lights were out, and the front door was locked. There was a chair in one corner, so I thought "Well, at least I won't have to stand all night." Then I thought: "What will I do if I have to pee?" I decided then and there that I'd better make a racket. I did, and in the process, I learned something. In Vienna, firemen walk beats, much as policemen (used to) do here. The fireman walking his beat heard me, and pulled out a huge bunch of keys. There must have been half a million of them. He said an obscenity, then shouted that the right key was on the other bunch back at the firehouse, just around the corner. He promised to come back (and he did, too, bless him), and he released me. So, I walked back to my hotel, greatly relieved.

The next morning, I had a neat story to tell the other guests over breakfast.

By the way, if you like 700-plus-page historical novels that start at the dawn of time, practically, and work their way slowly to the modern day, you might want to look at anything by Edward Rutherfurd. Something like that might make the 5 hours go faster if you and your chemo buddy have appointments on different days next time.

Enjoy your vacation from chemo!

Henry

Aunt Denise said...

Dear Kelly,
I sort of know how you feel I was once stuck in a van in a NYC traffic jam with you and your sisters watching Phantom of the Opera (also Bride and Prejudice because it was a big traffic jam). You must be a Laude even if we all have different blood types because only a Laude would name their IV pole "Bullwinkle". Your father gave me a Bullwinkle a few years ago. I keep him with my Wimpie, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Edgar Allen Poe dolls. I must warn you my friend Henry is a German translator. He'll have you learning German and reading German classics before you know it. Then you will be contemplating the "gestalt" "umbeuvosta" and whatever else German literature and philosophy has. On to more serious things. I've already asked your sisters what they want for Christmas(and no I can't swing a car for Megan) what is it you want? You can tell your Dad he has my e-mail if you can't find it.
I love you fierce,
Aunt Denise
Plus lots of love from Nana and Poppie too.

Anonymous said...

Dear Kelly,

Manners! Manners! (Mine, not yours). You were kind enough to pay me a compliment, and I forgot to thank you. Well, thank you!

While I think of it, if you ever go to Vienna over Christmas, bring 2 or 3 days' worth of food with you. You will NOT find a SINGLE restaurant open on Christmas Day, and finding one open the next day is hard.

When I went to Vienna, I had to change trains in Basel, Switzerland. I had about an hour between trains, so I bought a small bunch of bananas at a stand in the station. I put them into my bag and got on the Vienna-bound train. On Christmas Day, in the hotel, they did serve coffee and rolls for breakfast, but my Christmas dinner consisted of three bananas.

The next day, after much searching, I found a place that was serving a light lunch. I have to say, I was hungry.

Enjoy your breakfast!
Henry

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly!

I am showing my students your blogspot. They would like to send you an e-mail. I am showing them how to do it. Hope you are having a good day. We prayed for you again this morning, as we do every day. Hope you feel better after your chemo yesterday. My students now know what an i.v. is. :o)

Break a leg! (Chihiro said that!)

Love,
Laurie, Miranda, Alexa, Michael, Nicky, Cobi, Alexandrea, Lucas, Allison, Alex, Elizabeth, Jeremy, Caylee, Corey, Nick, Chihiro, Alexandra, Daniel and Emma.

Anonymous said...

Hey kelly, this is chiara one of Mrs. Martin's students. I really want to say that I think you are the bravest person that I ever heard about. I admire your courage. Mrs.Martin is always telling us how brave and nice you are and I know it's true. So don't stop trying kelly. Love and prayers, chiara!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. I'm in class 4-1 at St. Jeanne's.

Anonymous said...

Dear Kelly,

My wife and I have been warned that a big job is coming. Before it gets here, I want to tell you a Fergus story. The story is true, and it's a story of the Christmas season, too.

Fergus was our collie, and he weighed about 110 pounds. It was Christmas Eve, and the Fishers, friends of ours for years, came over with their traditional gifts. He always gave us a bushel of apples from Washington state, and she always gave us something she had baked or cooked.

So, there we were, having a nice visit, and Fergus was lying in one of his favorite spots, watching us all. By about 9:30, Fergus started yawning quietly. By ten o'clock, the yawns started getting bigger, and noisier, you might almost say theatrical. By 10:45, the yawns stopped, and he started the fixed, silent stare at poor Ken Fisher, a psychologist by training. Ken got agitated and moveed to another chair. No problem. Fergus just shifted his position a bit, and the silent stare continued. Ken took it for about 5 more minutes and said: "Come on, Kathleen, let's go home. That dog's making me uncomfortable." Kathleen said: "Well, good for Fergus. It's nice to know something can get under your skin." So, they said "Merry Christmas" and "Good night", and Fergus went to the room that was, by unwritten agreement, his, and he let out a huge groan. Pretty soon, we could hear him snoring.

Hang in there,
Henry

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,

Hope you feel better! I've been praying for you. I hope you can visit my class soon! It would be fun if you did come.

Allison from Mrs. Matins class

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,

I've got another Lower Five Islands/Fergus story for you today. One time, we went to Lower Five Islands, and our usual cabin, cabin 2, was occupied. The people in cabin 2 were going to leave the next day, so Mrs. Spencer, who owned the place, put us up in cabin 6, which was smaller, for one night. The next morning, Fergus went out, went over to cabin 2, and lay down against the wall, but away from the door, so the people could come and go as they pleased. The lady who was in cabin 2 saw Mrs. Spencer running around with towels and things and said: "Excuse me. There's big dog outside my cabin."

Mrs. Spencer said: "No, dear, you've got it wrong. That's not a dog. That's Fergus. He's a Jackson. He comes here every summer and he ALWAYS stays in cabin 2. So, you're actually in HIS cabin. But he's a nice guy, and he'll just wait there until you leave." Then she said: "Isn't that right, Fergus?" Fergus wagged his tail a few times, then they lady said: "Oh, I see." But I don't think she did, really.

You have a great day!

Henry

Anonymous said...

hey kelly!
that sucks that you were stuck in the hospital for 5 hours, but at least something good came out of it. thats so cool that you got to totally just hang out with your new friend. im sure you made her smile and laugh a lot. im still praying for you lots and i'll tell rebecca to write to you soon. i think she really busy, but she better make time to write something soon or i dont know what im going to do with her!!! lol
<3christina

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly!

We are now in Religion class with 4-1. They want to know how you are feeling today. They all admire how brave you are. We are writing this letter together as a class. There are 18 students in this class and 18 in my homeroom class, also. I teach 4-1 Religion, Social Studies, and Music. Take care! Sending love and prayers!

Laurie, Chase, C.J., Annie, Chiara, Parker, Madison, Alexander, Kelly, James, Brandon, Katherine, Daniel, J.P., Michelle, Soraya, Timothy, Carlos, and Zoe.

cindy hurley said...

Hi Kelly,

I love to see the pictures. Since the rooms are so small, it is good that you can watch movies and make friends. I guess you can eat and go to the bathroom? Hang in there. Great material for your memoirs.

Love,
Cindy Hurley

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,

I have a riddle for you. How is it like an international incident when a waiter drops his tray?

Give up?

It's the downfall of Greece (grease), the overthrow of Turkey, and the destruction of China.

Isn't that dreadful?

Henry

Anonymous said...

hey kelly

its annie clare from mrs.martins s.s and religion class you are so brave for what you have done i admire you the most out of anyone i know besides my parents but you are filled with courage
love,
annie clare
4-1 you rock!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,
I'm J.P. from Mrs. Martin's Religion/Social Studies class. I'm a kid from 4-1 ( Mrs. Martin wrote my name in the 4th line, 3rd person) I'd admire you. Prayers from my class type to you ( Chiara and Annie) and hope you survive the painful surgery.

I saw your blog spot and read all ( I mean AAALLLL ) of your days. I've been wondering if you could see my library ( Bookshelf ) and read some classics and some favorites like "101 Dalmations. You should be grateful to have to get away from the 5 hours ( Fro me, 5 hours are nothing but a long time) and maybe you can type 4-1 in your next day.


This is a saying from my sister before we leave.
Hope u survive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, see you next time,
Sweet Prayers,
J.P. and Juliette Nguyen

Anonymous said...

hi kelly!
i'm kelly, one of mrs. martin's religion and s.s. students. i just wanted to say that i admire your bravery. you've got a lot of courage going through 5 hours of surgery! i've been keeping you in my prayers. i think you are special because mrs. martin is always talking about how nice you are. i'm glad that i'm writing this to you because i don't have anything to do. i heard you like to read books. books are really interesting sometimes. my sister says ''you are awesome!!!!!!'' i think you are to. i will keep you in my prayers.

From,
kelly hulme

p.s. do you have any pets?

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,

I have a true, and truly scary story for you today. After my year in Freiburg, I found a job in Ingolstadt, Germany, as an English teacher. That's a town on the Danube, about 50 miles north of Munich. It's also where they build Audi cars.

One night, I went out, only I forgot my key. It wasn't late when I got back, so I went to my landlady's, two flights up. I rang the bell. Her dog started barking a blue streak. She asked "Who's there?" I anwered, but the dog barked another blue streak, and my landlady didn't hear me. I tried again. Same result. Now, I knew that the old bat had a gun. It was a nasty little piece of ironmongery she had picked up on a trip to Prague, and then smuggled back into Germany in her handbag. It was a small .25 caliber automatic (she had shown it to me once). I figured, I'd better stand off to one side of the door, in case she shoots.

Finally, the dog shut up, she heard it was me, and she opened the door. There she stood, gun in hand. She said: "I was just about to shoot."

She got her key and let me into my place. You can bet I NEVER went out without my key after that.

Not long after that, I moved as well.

Have a good day,
Henry
(who is glad to be alive)

Nicki said...

Hi Kelly!!

We haven't met yet but I'm hoping we will get to very soon. I work at Wishland and I'm in charge of Kid's Club. Your mom and I have e-mailed a few times and I'm really anxious to have you as a member!

I've just been reading your blogs (while I'm supposed to be working...shhhh :O) and you are truely an inspiration! You have such bravery!

You will be in my prayers! I'm really looking forward to meeting you.

~Nicki

Nicki said...

...By the way...you have fantastic taste in movies!!

Hugs,
Nicki

Anonymous said...

Kelly,
We just found out about all that is going on with you and are sending tons and tons of prayers!!! You are an amazing girl...Give yourself a GREAT BIG HUG from us and we will keep reading your website to see how you are doing. It just seems like yesterday you and Jared were starting school in the same kindergarten class...remember the Pumpkin City field trip and all the fun things you did with Mrs Smith???You are a special girl!!!
Hope you are feeling strong today.
Love,
The Murray family Jared, Megan, Melanie, Jenny and Jay

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly,
It's great seeing your picture on your blog. Your beautiful smile can brighten a room! We miss seeing you and your family. Please tell everyone we said, "Hi!". You have our continued prayers.
Much Love,
The Nitinthorn's

Anonymous said...

Dear Kelly,

I think your Aunt Denise told you that my wife and I translate German. I've translated a few things about a number of drugs used in chemohterapy, and I know that some of them can make the appetite, shall we say, selective.

You also know that I once lived in Ingolstadt, where they build Audi cars, but I bet you don't know about Lent in Ingolstadt. Now, Ingolstadt is a predominantly Catholic town, and they do observe Lent. As you know, it's forbidden to eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. In places like the US and Canada, where there are seacoasts, fish is the obvious choice, but for much of its history, it was difficult, if not impossible, to get fish down to Bavaria before it went bad.

So, the people created a lot of meatless dishes of their own as Lenten specialties. One of the most popular was (and still is), hot apple strudel with 3 or 4 small scoops of vanilla ice cream melting over it. I'm talking about a big, round dinner plate covered with hot apple strudel and vanilla ice cream. That's the main meal of the day!

Clearly, we have some time to go before Lent, but I imagine one might be tempted to try such a meal, at Advent, say. I know it would keep body and soul together. I'm living proof of that. Who knows, it might just appeal to you.

Have fun experimenting with it!

Henry

Anonymous said...

Its annie clare again from mrs.martins class you still rock
everyone in the fourth grade loves hering about you from mrs.martin you rock
love annie 4-1

bgreen said...

Hi Kelly
5 hours wow I cant even stay still for 1. Your friend sounds really interesting espically since she named her pole David Beckam. Since he is like the hottest guy in the world and all. Bullwinkle is a cool name to, but if I had an iv pole i would have to name it either David Mastersons or Dwane.
Hee Hee! Well I hope to see you soon. Mabey at SKY on Sunday? I hope you feel up to comming I really enjoy seeing you there!
Well feel better soon.
Love Ya!
<3 Becca

Shannon said...

Hey Kelly!

I know I haven't blogged here recently, even though I read your blog every single day. I wish I had more exiting stories, like Henry (Yay for Henry's stories!!) Alas, it's not so. Even more unfortunately, I still haven't seen Phantom of the Opera. I know, it's a crime; so I've been told. I was totally going to see it over Thanksgiving, but instead I wound up watching High School Musical and High School Musical 2, for the hundredth time each. (But, of course, I sang and danced to it 100% of the time!) And lastly, I saw some quick facts on moose in a magazine (Nick Mag, to be exact. And no, I can't believe I read that magazine either.) But the facts made me think of you instantaneously. You probably know a lot of this already, but to be honest, I didn’t know a single one of them.

1. The plural of moose is moose
2. Moose are the largest members of the deer family.
3. Moose can run 35 miles/hour.
4. They are good swimmers.
5. Only a male moose can have antlers.
6. Antlers can grow to be five feet across and are made of solid bone.
7. Moose eat between 35 and 65 pounds of food every day.

Hope my stories were exciting enough (Ha!) And I hope I can come up with better ones next time. Even more so, I hope YOU continue to get better and I’ll see you soon!! Wishing you all the best, <3 Shannon Hargis, your “Beilke” partner!!