We have PIG TAILS!!!!

All Kinds of Karma on the 12th

We seem to have started out 2010 with a bang! After two straight weeks of
feverishly cleaning, packing and painting our house, we met with two
realtors who basically told us not to bother trying to sell right now as the
foreclosures in our area were driving down home prices and we really can't
get what we would like (need) for the house. SO, the new plan is to wait and
see what happens with the housing market in the next year or two and see if
in that time we can be ready to cut and run when the time is right. We do
want to buy/build a new home (I have been daydreaming about vaulted ceilings
and walk-in closets...and a dishwasher...and a garage I can park in) but the
time is not right for that just yet.

Amanda had her check up at the oncology clinic on Monday where she
thoroughly impressed her oncologist by knowing each of the numbers and
letters drawn on a piece of paper and reciting scenes from the latest
Snoopy/Super Why/Clifford episodes she'd seen. The doctor said for a
24-weeker Amanda is "EXCEPTIONAL". We knew that of course, but it is nice to
hear it from an objective professional. :0) The doctor also told her that if
she would use the toilet she would send her a very special wrapped prize in
the mail. Amanda changed the subject. The potty is a bit taboo with her
right now.

On Tuesday Amanda had her CT scan and hearing screening. These occur every 3
months to ensure if the cancer comes back we catch it good and early. If it
were to come back, it is most likely to happen in the first two years
following treatment. As we are just past the one year mark we are
tentatively sighing half a breath of relief. (This sounds a bit like an
optimistic whimper if you listen close enough.) The scans were completely
clear and she passed the hearing screening again with flying colors. (They
check her ears due to the one chemo drug known to cause hearing loss in the
high frequencies. So far, no deterioration.) The blood work for the cancer
marker (AFP) is supposed to be below 8. Hers was in the hundreds of
thousands upon diagnosis, it is currently 2.4. (YAY!!!!) We will now wait
four months before she has another scan and if that is also clear we will go
to every six months. One step closer to the path that will eventually lead
us out of the woods. (What exactly does out of the woods look like again?)

Tuesday morning, in the Envoy, on the way to the hospital for the scans, we
were rear ended on the highway. Running late and trying to decide how bad
the hit really was I knew Amanda was not hurt when she piped up, "Wow, that
was a BIG BUMP!" I looked in the rearview mirror to see a dark colored sedan
behind us with a man wearing a baseball cap at the wheel. I debated for a
few seconds and, angry that we would be late and probably miss the scan all
together, I pulled off onto the shoulder. I again looked in the rearview and
the car was gone, he'd passed me and accelerated down the off ramp. I
checked my mirrors again and, as Sherriff Roscoe P. Coltrane used to say, I
was in "Hot Pursuit"! I followed the car and got the plate number, then
turned down the road towards the hospital. I checked the bumper when I
pulled into my parking space. The bumper was cracked, scraped with paint and
a piece of the other car's headlight was stuck in my tow hitch connector.
The guy should consider himself lucky we didn't have the trailer ball in at
the time. Anyway, after getting through the scans (the most traumatic part
was when she FREAKED out at seeing the CT machine, they have assured me we
can give her something for anxiety next time) and then finally getting to
work that afternoon, I found out I had to take the truck up to the State
Police Post to file an accident report. I gave the information and the plate
number. They would have to send a trooper to track down the car. I received
the call this afternoon that the "suspect" is not living at either address
that came up under that plate number and his license is suspended. This
leads me to believe he probably does not have valid insurance either. Crap!
I can only hope that Karma will come back around to this guy and I hope he
learns he hit a mother taking her 3-year-old daughter to the hospital!!!!!
*Guilt-Voo-Doo-Guilt-Voo-Doo* Also, thank goodness the damage to my vehicle
is minor and neither Amanda or I were hurt in any way.

Tuesday night thinking about my bumper and the fact we have half of a house
packed and are now not moving and we did not yet have the results of
Amanda's scans I decided that I would trade the stupid bumper for negative
scan results. Putting everything back into perspective. *sigh* It also
occurred to me that the one other real car accident I have been in was on
October 12, 2005. I was six weeks pregnant and T-boned by an elderly couple
who tried to blame everything on me for fear the man would lose his
license...which wasn't valid anyway. The cop let them off and I didn't even
play the pregnancy card! (To this day I am convinced that the anxiety about
that accident and the stress it caused lead to the congenital
brain/nerve/muscle defect in Amanda's eye.)

So, things should be calming down now as the year progresses, but I may not
drive on the 12th of the month anymore. I did hear this morning they will
now have rickshaws downtown, maybe I can ride one of those instead.

Mere :0)

Because We Don't Do Normal

We are meeting with realtors this weekend. We will pick the one we think
will sell our house the quickest. We are talking to builders. WE.ARE.CRAZY.
We have two trips to NASCAR and a trip to Sesame Place scheduled for this
summer.

Hi 2010, I think you will not last long.

Mere :0)