My life. My blog.

Today was my initial visit with Dr. Blumenshein at MD Anderson. I really like him. He was much more down to earth and personable than my doctor at UAB. It's not that she's not a nice person but she speaks in medical mumbo jumbo and I usually end up leaving confused. But Dr. Blumenshein wasn't like that and he took a great deal of time making sure that either Kayti or I (or both) understand what his ideas and opinions were. While we don't have a definitive plan yet (and aren't likely to get one; see my remarks on that below!) he did give me some hope. He agreed with UAB about one thing but disagreed about another. Most impressive, he has encouraged me to reach out to some other places that may have some options that MD Anderson and UAB don't/can't offer. He does want me to not worry about vitamins/supplements, start getting some exercise and drink more water.

I don't know why I have a difficult time drinking 60-80 ounces of water per day but I have no problem whatsoever drinking that much beer! lol Not that I drink beer every day so maybe if I did, I'd find that difficult, too. 

I also don't have to stick to a vegetarian lifestyle. He says there is no bad food but we do want to take it easy on sugar. I've stuck to that pretty good, I think.

He was very encouraged that I am otherwise very healthy and asymptomatic. Those two things give me an advantage on fighting this.

Being the type of person that I am, I'm still overwhelmed and frustrated that I don't have an exact, detailed and scheduled plan in place. It's going to be more of a trial and error process from here on. That is what will cause me the most anxiety--the lack of a plan. I'm a planner. And I'm often disappointed--even angry and upset--when things don't go according to plan. I'm okay with a good surprise every now and then but I'm too highly organized to just let things come and go like my sister is. I'm envious of her ability to do this most of the time. Sometimes, it drives me insane!

I don't know what other decisions to make or paths to take in other areas of my life because I don't know how long my life will be. But then again, who does know? The Bible says that we make our plans but the Lords directs our steps. Maybe He is trying to teach me that He is in control. Yes, I know I should know that. I do and I often say it. But it is really hard to live it sometimes.

I have another appointment in Houston Wednesday and we're officially in town until Friday unless there is nothing else they need and we may leave early. But as long as we're here, we're going to take advantage and do a few touristy things. Tomorrow, we are headed to Galveston and tomorrow night, to Lufkint to see friends. We may try and take in the Van Gogh exhibit but it isn't until Thursday so it'll depend on the Dr. We definitely want to come home through New Orleans and not so much of Podunk, Louisiana and all its speed traps! Ugh, that's another blog for another time!