In hot water

Invasion of the germs
When sickness circulates in your house, it's hard not to succumb to the germs; especially with a somewhat compromised immune system. Even though Michael and the kids used buckets of hand sanitizer, coughed into their sleeves and washed their hands regularly, the sickness still infiltrated our home and I got it.

So far, I've been lucky. The sickness has limited itself to a cold. Michael went to the doctor yesterday and, because of his asthma and the stress in his life, he now has bronchitis. The doctor prescribed some steroids to help him kick the illness.

My stomach is upset, but because I'm on the Olaparib and we've been fiddling with my antacids, I don't know whether to attribute the queasiness to the cold or the clinical trial drug. I'll pass along the information when I had to Hamilton today, but I doubt the doc can draw any conclusions at this point.

Solidarity
This morning, I shaved Michael's head. I've been complaining about how cold it is with a bald head and he offered to shed his locks in solidarity with my plight. While I have a tiny bit of stubble peaking out on my scalp, for all intents and purposes, I'm still bald. Hurry hair, hurry. Before the snow flies.

I love that Michael is willing to sport a cue ball head and subject himself to the chilly weather just to support me. What a guy!

Aloha
As I woke up on this rainy, cool morning, I thought of my parents, who are now in Hawaii. It's going to be a high of 25C/77F on those beautiful islands today. I am thankful they've taken this trip and I hope they have a good time. They certainly deserve it after the year they've had.

I have to admit, I'm a little envious. Blue skies, warm sunshine, crashing waves and swaying palm trees sound pretty good right now.

No trip
That brings me to news about my celebration. I mentioned Michael and I would once again go on a trip to commemorate the end of my second bout of cancer. I did lots of research. I drooled over fancy resorts. I dreamt of warm sand and cool drinks.

We weighed our options and decided NOT to head south for some R and R. Instead, we decided to bring the celebration to us - a holiday in our own back yard in the form of a hot tub.

We've dreamed of getting a spa for years, but always put it off because it wasn't in the budget. We decided this year to stop delaying this decadent pleasure. While we don't have the full amount for the purchase and installation of the hot tub, the bank is full of money they're willing to lend us. (A wise fellow cancer survivor told me that once and it stuck.) So we decided to order it and enjoy it, while we're paying it off.

It's scheduled to arrive in the next couple of weeks and the entire Bratscher family is eagerly anticipating soaking in its therapeutic hot water.

Hopefully, by that time, the sickness in our house will be gone and we'll be able to properly toast the end of chemo in the hot tub with a glass of wine or two. And with any luck, we'll toast the exodus of cancer over and over in its frothy water for years to come.

Tina