Hear ye, hear ye:

By order of me, I am hereby extending an open invitation to anyone and everyone who needs a break from their lives and would like to visit Chicago. And also see me. I will put you up in a comfortable sleeping space, and I personally will make pancakes in the morning. Or pour your cereal, if you so desire. I'll even give you a choice of juice, milk, or water to drink. We can go downtown, check out the tourist spots of Chicago. I will give you the grand tour of the western suburbs of Chicago, complete with caustic and witty commentary. If lots of people want to come at once, not a problem. Worst case scenario, I'll move my papasan chair into the hallway for someone to curl up in. Hell, I'll sleep in it; you can have my bed. I will offer you treats yet to be determined but which I'm sure you will enjoy. So come, visit the Windy City. And also see me. That is all. We now return to our regularly scheduled blogging.

Today is my ninth day of session two; my chemo started nine days ago. So now is when I start to become neutropenic. The doctors say it takes about 7-10 days for the counts to start falling. It may sound odd, but I actually have a very good relationship with my body. Meaning, I know when something isn't right with me. I might not do anything about it, but I'm usually pretty aware of when something is wrong. Right now, I can tell my blood counts are falling again. I've been getting the lightheadedness that comes from moving too fast or standing up too quickly. I've also been irrationally tired recently. I don't know how it works, living at home with a compromised immune system. Am I allowed to go out? Can I walk outside or go to the store? I feel like I need to get myself to the gym, but that's probably the last place I should go. All those people with their sweating and their coughing and their germing all over everywhere... Meh. Realistically, I'm pretty sure I'll be spending most of the next 7-10 days in my house, how long it takes until my counts start coming back up. I'll probably still be okay outside today and tomorrow, but after that, I think my immune system will be such that I'm really not supposed to be in public much, if at all. So we'll see. I have to confirm all this with my nurse.

Currently, I'm sitting in my front living room, a bright spot with comfy chairs that I think I will make my nest for the duration of the neutropenic stage. I have books and music to entertain me, as well as some work that I should probably at least start thinking about doing. Right around 2:30, the sun starts shining on my chair, warming me up considerably. So it's not too bad here. After this week of confinement though, you can bet I'm going to be outside and happily soaking up the germs of the world. Haha, because I'll be able to fight them! It just sucks for this week. But the last thing I want is to go back to the hospital with an fever, so I'll play it relatively safe for now. Well, enjoy the rest of hump day. I, for one, am going to try. Word.