A Day in the Life of Julie…
Friday, October 10th, 2008Here’s what a typical day is like for Julie out here on the West Coast!…well, not “typical”, Julie was especially tired/not feeling well today.
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- Sleeping Beauty :)...little does she know her day is about to begin!
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- Rise & shine, Princess! :)
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- Once Julie crawls out of bed, Mom steps right in, to make it! She's a regular 'ol Mary Poppins, that Carol! ;)
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- Mom's daily finishing touch...Joey rests happily on Julie's bed. (Isn't his little eye mask cute?)
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- Look folks! She cleans, she cooks! Mom made some fresh, blueberry muffins this morning...
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- Uh-Oh...doesn't look like Julie will be trying those muffins anytime soon :( Unfortunately, Julie's day began today with an upset stomach :(
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- Julie keeps on truckin'...she doesn't let an upset stomach stop her! Here she's in the elevator as we get ready to go to the SCCA (Seattle Cancer Care Alliance)
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- Julie waits for her Chauffeur (AKA Mom, the maid, the cook, the nurse, etc. Mom has taken on a lot of roles out here!)
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- Carol's arrived, & picks Julie up to take her to the SCCA. (One of the perks to having "the Big C", is that Julie has standing rights to shotgun! :)
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- Once she arrives at the SCCA, the first stop is the "Cold/Flu Symptom Screening Desk". Here she's required to fill out a quick form, before receiving a sticker that reads, ...
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- "Thank You, I've Been Screened", followed by the day of the week. This is a quick, visual way for the nurses & doctors (and other patients) to know that Julie is symptom-free & ok to be among the general population
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- Every day at SCCA begins with blood draws. Before the nurse will take Julie's blood, she asks Julie to spell out her name & date of birth
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- Julie's blood is drawn from her central line each day, so her fingers/arms are never poked!
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- And out goes the blood! They then send it off to be tested to monitor Julie's counts; white cells, hemaglobin, hematocrit, platelets, etc.
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- Ok, so maybe I'm going a little overboard with all these photos, but I was in a photo-journalistic mood when I took these. ;)
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- Blood drawn, check! Next, Julie waits for the Doc in an examining room
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- First, Julie gets her mouth checked for sores. (One of the many threatening possibilities facing patients post-transplant)
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- Next, Julie weighs in. (At a whopping Two-Fiddie...just kidding! She's only 127) I checked before posting that, Julie gave me permission :)
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- In between appointments, Julie sits in the waiting room with a throw-up bucket, "just in case". She was feelin' pretty nauseous today. :(
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- Once Julie was done with her doctor's appointments, we headed to the parking garage to get the car...
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- Uh-Oh...Mom forgot where she parked the car!!! So, she pulls the 'ol, 'hit the alarm button until you hear where it's "hiding"' trick ;)
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- "There it is!!!!" (Grrrreat...) ;)
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- Once we finally find the car, & make it back to our "home"...Julie receives a package with this warm, cozy YANKEES blanket inside!!! :) Needless to say, she was more than happy to wear it to keep her warm while she rested.
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- Looks like her "quick rest" turned into a full-blown nap :)
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- Last, but not least...Julie enjoys a cherry popsickle :)
After the popsickle, Julie ate a little mac & cheese and then took a shower. Â (But I didn’t take any photos while she was showering, I thought that’d be a bit much!) 
 Anyway, today she rested a lot and kinda took it easy.  She is beginning to feel pretty exhausted, but somehow maintains her awesome spirit! 
 We love you, Julie!  Love & warm thoughts from Seattle, Laura Â
P.S. Also see the post below…I posted TWO posts today for Ms. Julie!
