Did you know 86% of statistics are made up on the fly?

Well, I can hardly believe this, but my student teaching experience is over already. The four weeks flew by, and I had my final observation this morning. I'm happy to say that this has been an amazing experience, that I've worked hard and that I feel this was a real accomplishment for me and I'm proud I tried knowing that it coulda been too tough and I might have had to quit. I have to say I learned a lot too, a lot more than I ever EVER imagined I would. And, believe it or not, I'm going to miss this group of kids who taught me so much, even though I've only known them a month. I cannot recommend Teach for America highly enough. It was an incredible thing to experience.
Also really happy that I won't have to be driving as much- gas is killer, and I was thinking of either trading in the luxury sedan for a full tank or selling my kidneys on the black market. Luckily the Boob picked up the last fill-up (what a Sugar Daddy!) and I think I'm good until this weekend when I can work the pole. Hey, some guys are really in to (or, as the case may be, into)cripples.
I did take 2 chemo treatments off this last week to get over the infection in my foot/leg. It seemed to clear up really quickly, after only a few doses of Clendo. That means I was able to cut back a bit and get rid of the hives. I don't know if I could give you a definate on this, but just from my general itchiness today I think I've determined that the hives I've experienced over the last year have been one of the worst side effects. When I say they suck, I mean they seriously suck donkeys and they don't mess around about it.
The Clendo kicked in C-Div, which means I've been eating yogurt like a mad woman and trying to get some bacteria back in my stomach to fight that off. Hopefully that'll help, because nobody likes to give a stool sample, and I know you know what I mean.
So, yeah. I think one thing I CAN give you a definate about is that I overdid it again this morning on my foot. Geez, I'm so bad at this. Will I ever learn? I've got to get better at this taking-it-easy thing, as it does NOT come naturally to me. I know the facts, and that I'll hear from all of you on this, that I need to start paying more attention to what my body is trying tos say to me.
As far as the Interferon goes, a few people have written to ask how work has been while taking it. I'd first like to say that I think taking the year off while doing it was one of the best ideas ever. All 3 of my docs recommended it, and I'm glad I took the advice. I honestly don't think I could've made it a whole year working and doing the chemo. The level of fatigue you feel on it is pretty much indescribable. I've never experienced fatigue like this. Even now, 12 hours a day is not enough sleep, and by noon, I can't even walk across the parking lot without chest pains, heavy breathing, light-headedness, muscle cramps, joint pain, pretty severe pain in my leg, and sometimes nausea. When I try to go all day without my wheelchair, I almost always have to lay down for an hour or two in the afternoon to rest, and then I'm in bed by 8 or so. I'm up to almost 2 Vicodin a day for pain, and even with that, today I was still hurting most of the day. It doesn't help side effects either that chemo causes anemia, bringing on more fatigue and muscle aches. Also, because it tanks out the old immune system, I think it's pretty dangerous in general to be around lots of people while on Interferon. I thought that over time, the chemo side effects would lessen, but it really just changes week to week and you never know when side effects will be better or worse. I still have brain fog, the rash, gastric issues, nausea, headaches, pain, weakness, dizziness, pain, memory loss, occasional vomitting, and diarrhea (did I mention pain?) even after 11 or so months of being on this. Is it better than in the beginning? It depends what week it is, and how many treatments I've had that week. This will only go away after treatments end, as I understand it, but at some point you do start having a regular level of fatigue that feels, as wierd as it sounds, pretty normal I guess. Or maybe you just get used to it.
Anyway, enough of my rant. This week I've got a couple of check-ups and I'm going to start applying for jobs. Exciting stuff, kids! I'll keep you posted.

-MissM