An Unconventional Morning

Ahhh, mornings in the Chase household- they never cease to be normal or uneventful. With mom and dad en route to Pittsburgh for chemo treatments this morning at 6AM, I was left in charge to get Zach and Andrew out the door on time for school. One might assume this is an easy task, but that means you've never witnessed a Chase waking up.

I set my alarm for 6:45AM last night, hoping that this would give me plenty of time to wake myself up and then more importantly, get the boys out of their nocturnal bliss and headed towards school ON TIME. Some how though, I did not hear 'I Go Back' by Kenny Chesney blaring at high decibels from my cell phone at 6:45AM, 6:50AM, 6:55AM, 7AM, or 7:05AM. Never good. Nor did I manage to roll myself out of my oh-so-comfy bed and into drill sargent mode. Also not good. Ya gotta give me a break; I was still at the peak of REM sleep at 6:45AM!!!

Thankfully Zach woke up to his alarm. This left him with the task of removing Andrew from his bed. And yes, removing is a completely accurate description of the enterprise. While I may not have actually helped in getting Andrew off to school today, I have done so before and let me tell you, it is practically a full time job that should pay hourly wages with benefits. This boy could have slept through the Hiroshima bombings completely undisturbed. Zach deserves a trophy for his efforts this morning because not only did he wake up on time and get Andrew out of bed but he also managed to get to school BEFORE the late bell. I think the three of us have a new found respect for my parent's efforts in getting us places on time.

Speaking of parents, mom and dad did make it to the hospital (on time, compliments of dad's very, ah, efficient driving) and mom has began her chemo treatments for today.

When she was initially informed that Cancer was shacking up in her ovaries, her CA125 blood levels were hovering in the 830's. Post surgery (i.e. full hysterectomy plus removal of spleen, some of the liver and various other parts) mom's CA125 levels dropped to 475. On Monday, Patty (in-home, Mrs. Clause-look-a-like nurse) withdrew blood to be tested for the latest CA125 levels. Mom is currently boasting a 134 CA125 blood level; a normal CA125 level is 35. Needless to say, we are elated to see that mom's CA125 levels are plummeting with reckless abandon! Also in good news, she is NOT having an allergic reaction to the chemo this time around. Last time she experienced a spiked fever and turned red.

Other than that, today the boys and I are looking forward to the mac n' cheese that Mrs. M is bringing over for dinner. She rocks!!! And so does her mac n' cheese!!! Thank goodness I do not have to cook; I pity whoever has to sample my attempts to be Betty Crocker...