10/22/09 - Wedding

Posted 10/27. On Monday, 10/19, we were out so I could get a blood test, and it just so happened that the county office that distributes marriage licenses was nearby. So, we stopped there and they did everything but the final notary. I think I was duped...

Laura works at a bank, and I think that everyone is a notary there. She only worked until around 3:00PM on Thursday, 10/22. We planned on having the license notarized after that...

I mistakenly thought it would be a straight-forward process... Big Monkey was the master of ceremonies because he thinks he is the King of Crystal Beach. (more at Big Monkey's House Wedding Part 1,2,3)


King Big Monkey
Cynthia decorated and also presided over the ceremony, Amy decorated and took some photos, and Deb was the official witness. Below, Laura is cutting the cake, and you can see some of the nice decorations that were there.


Laura cutting the cake
Finally, a picture of the two of us. It's not much, but it's what that we can muster right now.


Laura and Mark
Thanks again to everyone at the bank for adding some excitement and cheer to our day!

10/13/09 - Platelet Transfusion

Posted 10/25. Well, I was supposed to receive intrathecal chemo 2.8 and avastin 3.0. Moffitt tests my blood counts before doing anything, and it turns out my platelets were at 10,000. Normal low 140,000. So, they were pretty low!

Instead of getting other treatments, I got a platelet transfusion. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures. So, an old one will have to suffice...


6 units of platelets
My PA also prescribed a mouthwash with some lidocaine in it. Lidocaine helps minimize the pain of the ulcers when I brush my teeth.

My bloody noses and ulcers were side effects of the chemo and the avastin. For the time period, I'm not receiving any treatments to see how my blood counts react. Another side effect I forgot to mention was fatigue. I was not able to update my blog, answer my email, or so on...

10/08/09 - 10/12/09 - Nose Bleeds

Posted 10/25. My nose bleeds proceeded to get worse. It came to be if I blew it at all it would bleed without wanting to stop. I had to apply pressure to my nostril to get it to slow down.

Nighttime was the worst. I drooled and there were some stains on my sheets. During the day, I tried to keep my head back and my breathing constant so my nose wouldn't bleed.

My gums were also ulcerated. The inside of my upper and lower lips were all swelled-up as the nose bleeds went on. As the nose bleeds got worse, so did the ulcers.