Repeat Labs..
were done today. My WBC remains at 1.6, same as last week. I will remain off the Revlimid for another week and have my labs rechecked again next Thursday when I get my zometa infusion. My rash is gone but now I am itching all over again. I feel like I have been dusted with itching powder and it sometimes wakes me up in my sleep. I am all scratched up from my fingernails and I am being driven crazy. : ) I am taking medication for it and I bought a benadryl spray today which I am praying works.
Today is Jack's 10th birthday.

Sunday after church ..
we went to Heritage Park in Farmington Hills and celebrated our niece Robyn's 16th birthday. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was close to 80. Muriel had bought kites for everyone to fly. It was nice and windy and the kites got off the ground easily, although a few ended up in the tree tops. Below is a picture of Muriel, Tara, Robyn and Brad.

Norfolk Botanical Garden..

has a webcam featuring a pair of American Bald Eagles who have 3 eaglets. On tuesday they removed the eaglets one at a time and banded them. I couldn't believe how big they were. The first one hatched March 11th and the other tow within a few days. It is very interesting and if you would like to check it out click here : http://www.wvec.com/cams/eagle.html

Last week I developed...

a rash all over my body. I had a rash previously just on my thighs, which I thought was from a new pair of pjs. I stopped my Revlidmid a week early per my doctors instruction. My rash got worse after stopping the medication and now 10 days later it is gone. I had my appointment with my oncologist today and my WBC is down lower 1.6 (normal is 3.9 -10) so I am suseptable to infection but my platelets recovered nicely. I will have my blood count redone next week and the plan is to reduce my dose of Revlidmid. I have been getting cramps in my fingers and he thinks it is because I haven't been taking a calcium supplement. Last May the doctors at Karmanos stopped all my medication and the calcium was never restarted. My doctor just assumed I was taking it. Oh well it is a situation easily solved.

Wondering why?..

some of the pictures I post won't enlarge when you click on them. So I am re-entering the photo of my parents at my wedding an another view of cake. : )

Pictures of the parents of the brides..

Here are pictures of my parents Bernice and Fred Brahm. The first was taken in Sept of 1960 at Sylvia and Elmer's wedding and the second one was taken in January of 1967 at mine and Bob's wedding.

Blast from the past...
After lunch yesterday Sylvia and I went to Fran's house and looked at some of the old photos on her computer. Doug had taken them as slides over the years and their daughter converted them to jpegs and put them into folders according to the month and year. What a project that must have been. We were there for about 2 hours and only barely got into them. I think it is at least an all day project, which we will do later. We had a wonderful stroll down memory lane. I am posting a few pictures from Sylvia and my weddings. Fran and Carol's mom, Aunt Esther made both of our wedding cakes.

Cousin visit..
yesterday MaryLou, Sylvia and I visited with our cousins Fran, Carol and Norm and their daughter Renee at Carol's house. Carol fixed us a fabulous lunch She served zuchinni bisque, turkey and crab rollups, a huge vegetable tray and fruit tray each with a dip. We had a cranberry ice cream, whipped cream punch and a delicious cake for dessert. Thanks Carol, I only put on 2 pounds. : ) We had a nice visit, we just don't do it often enough.

Lindah2199..

..was the name my friend used on her email accounts. Linda died suddenly at her home on Feb 25, 2007. Bob found a movie with Linda in it at Steve's graduation party in 1986. He edited the parts with Linda out and we posted it on you tube. So in her memory I am posting it here.

More Easter Bunny photos..

Sure don't want anyone to feel left out. : )

The Easter Bunny was...

a hit with young and old alike.

Had a great weekend..

Jack & Max spent Saturday night with Grandma & Grandpa. After dinner it was movie night with popcorn. They watched Jurasic Park 3 and The Last Action Hero and were still able to sleep without having nightmares They are getting so grownup.

After church we all went to Julie's to celebrate Dean's first birthday. (March21) . We had an unexpected guest at his party....The Easter Bunny. Dean was ok with this as long as his dad was holding and protecting him.

Dean got lots of new clothes and a few toys. He wasn't too interested in his first taste of birthday cake but the rest of us were.

Thank you Connie..

for the beautiful scrapbook page she did of Dean. You are so talented. : )

We had a good visit with..

..Dean today. He is getting used to seeing us and was very happy. Today he quit crying as soon as Julie walked out the door. He loves to follow Grandpa around. : )
Aunt Sylvia came over to visit and had lunch with us. Hope tomorrow goes as good as today.

Here Dean is eating his lunch. Yummy!!

I'm finally feeling better....

after ten days of antibiotics and a lot of rest. The warm weather we have had the last few days has really helped pick up my spirits. It has been so nice to have the windows open and breathe in the fresh air. I start my second cycle of revlidmid tonight. I hope I continue to avoid any side effects. Dean will be over tomorrow while his parents are working and Jack & Max are spending saturday night with us. This week boys rule at our house. : )

Here is a picture of Bob & I

taken at Connie's birthday party.

Feeling under the weather again...

I have a upper respiratory infection for the 4th time since the end of November. The myeloma weakens your immune system and makes you susceptible to infections. I try to avoid crowds and wipe down shopping cart handles and my hands when I am out shopping. But as careful as I am I keep getting these infections over and over again.

I am just finishing my first cycle of Revlidmid. So far the only side effect has been fatigue. My blood tests came back without any damage being done. I am off of the Revlimid for a week and then I start my second cycle.


Last Sunday we celebrated Connie's 50th birthday. This year MaryLou will. turn 70 and I will be 60. It is the year of the big 0's for us.






On the right is Connie, Evelyn, MaryLou & Sylvia

Connie has started a blog of her grandkids scrapbooking pages. If would like to check it out click here.

http://gmaconnie.blogspot.com

My new medication...

seems to working with minimal side effects. So far as I can see the only differnce is that I am more tired than usual. My mind however remains clear which is much different from when I was on the Thalidmide. I see Dr Goldman tomorrow and he will check my blood to make everything is ok there.

Dean is getting so big, he will be a year old on March 21st. Grandpa and I will babysit for him tomorrow for the first time. It has been a long time since we had a baby in our house. Danielle was the last baby and she is 7. Sure hope he likes being with us and isn't too scared. He is just learning to walk. So we should get lots of exercise.

It has been an up and down week

Last Tuesday Sylvia and I went to Florida to visit our mother. We had a great trip there and back. Our visit went well and we saw many family members. We had dinners with Sally and Joyce and another with Bert & Roger, Rod, Kevin and his family. Kevins kids are getting so big it was almost hard recognizing them. Kailanie is 11 and Lucas is 16.

Wednesday Jack was admitted to the hospital with a sinus infection and had surgery for an abcess which developed behind his eye. His eye had swollen shut and they had place a drain in the abcess to drain it. I can't post a picture of him because cameras were banned by him. : ) Max got to spend a few days with his Grandpa while Jen spent the entire time at the hospital with Jack. They had a private room with a shower and a chair that opened into bed.

Saturday our nephew Dave married his longtime girlfriend Stacy. I wish that I had been able to attend but you know how it is -go away once a year and thats when they throw the party. : )

Sunday morning my good friend for over 25 years Linda Haines died suddenly. Her memorial service is being held tomorrow. Linda taught me everything I know about using a computer and was my own private tech support. She will be greatly missed.

And finally to end on a good note. Alyssa turned 10 yesterday. She is such a sweetheart. She both pretty and smart and she loves God.

Happy Anniversary....


Bob and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary with Steve, Jen, Julie, Andy and Dean at Mountain Jacks- January 27th the night before the actual date. We had a great dinner (Thank you kids). I had the surf and Bob had the turf. : ) After dinner we went to Julie and Andy's for carrot cake with the grandkids. My mom sent us 2 dozen long stem pink roses with burgundy tips. I was happy to be here alive and well. With cancer each day is a new gift from God. My next goal is my 60th birthday in August..
This month is the second year anniversary of when I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and also one year off of Thalidomide. The Thalidomide put my cancer into remission but it also left me with severe neuropathy in my feet and hands. It also fogged my mind greatly but luckily that left when I stopped taking it. Well mostly, anyways. Chemo brain is a really good excuse for forgetfulness. I have also been off the decadron for over ten months and have lost 45 of the 75 pounds I put on with it.
The radiation therapy seems to have worked as I have very little pain in my arm. It only hurts when I am having physical therapy and occasional discomfort when lying on my left side. The physical therapy is helping me regain some use of my arm but it is going slowly.
I had a bone marrow biopsy last Wednesday and Dr. Goldman called me last night with the results. My plasma count in Sept. was 1% and now it is 5%. This is not bad but he wants to "nip it in the bud" and I will start on Revlimid in a few weeks when I return from Florida. The Revlimid doesn't cause the neuropathy like the Thalidomide but it does effect your blood counts and will have to followed closely. He is not putting me back on decadron and I am very happy about that. Click here for more information on Revlimid

I have begun two new activities

this week. I have started Physical therapy and Radiation therapy for the pain in my left arm due to the lesions in my bone from the mm. I learned a lesson right away and that is to take pain medication before leaving the house. I am hoping to regain some of the range of motion that I have lost in my arm. I am lucky to have Bob to help me get dressed and undressed when needed. Once again I thank God for our excellent health insurance. More good news is that we learned Bob's social security will not effect my disability as was stated on a paper I have on file. They said that they have changed the policy. Thank you Jesus. for providing for our every need.