My Cancer Journey Update: April 22, 2023

 
The prior post can be found HERE. 

When I last left off, I still had congestion in my lungs. I was getting better, but it was a slow recovery.

PADCEV - Cycle 1, February
The following week I started on the new drug PADCEV. The Padcev website states it is not chemotherapy, but my oncologist calls it chemotherapy. I've seen other webpages that call it an immunotherapy drug. This drug was approved for my type of cancer in December 2019, so not that long ago.  Padcev is given via infusion once a week for three weeks then one week off. One month of treatment costs just under $40,000. Fortunately, this drug is covered by my insurance. All I had to pay was my annual co-pay in full and the insurance picked up the rest. There are big side effects with this drug. You can go into hyperglycemia, lose your hair, get skin rashes, anemia (I already have that) and your vitals have to be monitored. In the original studies, I believe at least one patient lost their life because their skin literally fell apart. The first month/cycle went well. My side effects were more neuropathy in my feet and occasional itching on my skin. As always, they monitored my vitals. My liver stats peaked real high but then came back down.

Cycle 2, March
The second month, Cycle 2, started March 10, my hair started to fall out big time. It would came out like a bucket load when I put a brush through my hair. Hair was falling when I was cooking and everywhere else. I finally had my friend Tara cut my hair short, just touching my shoulders. It kept falling out. What I have left today is very fine baby hair that is barely covering my scalp. It's sad for me because I've had long hair my entire life. Better to have no hair and still standing on two feet than anything else.

My lungs were getting better and I took on the task of trying to get that biopsy scheduled at the "in network" hospital. Getting the right lab tests they wanted and a copy of my last scan (11/29/22) to the hospital's radiology department was exasperating but I did accomplish it. The scan gets scheduled for 8 am March 15th. For pre-op, I have to be at the hospital at 6:30 am. I get an Uber reserved to pick me up at 5:45am to take me to the hospital. A friend will pick me up and take me home. It's all set. Tuesday, March 14, a woman from the radiology department called to tell me that my biopsy is cancelled. The radiologist assigned to the case looked and my films and was not willing to do the procedure. The woman told me his exact words were, "It's too risky."  I was totally defeated. The radiologists at USC felt they could do the biposy, they got approval for it. But this radiologist -where my insurance said I had to have it performed, "in network" said it was too risky for him. I didn't know what to do. I was at a loss.

March 29, I received a message from one of the doctors that works with my urologist surgeon. They were asking what happened with the biopsy. I called back and left a message for them. I told them the name of the radiologist at the in network hospital, the contact phone number and that the radiologist was unwilling to do the biopsy, and they said it was too risky. I did not hear back after that.

Other than the hair loss, occasional itching, anemia and neuropathy, my vitals were good through the second cycle. After two cycles of Padcev, I had a scan on March 30. The results were not available until my next oncology appointment, April 7.

Cycle 3, April
Sunday April 2nd, early morning around 6:30am, I noticed a tiny amount of blood on my self-catheter. As the day wore on, I started to see more blood in my urine.  It wasn't until after I had taken my evening Lovenox injection that I realized the bleeding was probably due to the blood thinner. I knew that nosebleeds could be a possible side effects of Lovenox but I didn't have all of them memorized. After reading through the side effects it did state that bleeding from the colon or bladder was possible. I did not feel any different. I did not feel weaker, or have any pain with the bleeding.

Monday morning I called the oncology office about the bleeding. They told me to stop the Lovenox immediately and try to get an appointment with the urologist-surgeon as soon as possible. Monday, the bleeding continued even more so than Sunday. Monday evening around 6pm would have been my next injection, but I did not take it. Early Tuesday morning, (2:30am) I could tell the bleeding was significantly reduced. it continued to improve throughout the day By 2:30pm there was no visible blood in my urine.

When I saw my oncologist on Friday, April 7 to start Cycle 3, she indicated my labs were pretty good. My creatinine (kidney function) was the lowest it had ever been since chemo at 1.11. I updated her on my struggles trying to call USC urology on Monday and Wednesday. The urologist-surgeon and most of his staff were out of Los Angeles all that week. They also said they couldn't even book an appointment until they obtained information from the team that the appointment had been approved by my insurance.  My oncologist suggested I reach out to my prior urologist (in network) to see if he could possibly fit me in to do a cystoscopy. Several phone calls and days later, my old urologist's office was able to squeeze me in for an update appointment on April 24. That's the earliest I could get in to see him. The cystoscopy would have to come later, after I had an update appointment with him to tell him what had been going on over the past 14 months since I had seen him.

The news from the scan was good. The three target (measurable) lymph nodes appeared to have shrunk a bit. One appeared to have increased slightly. My oncologist said  that "could be" attributed to how the CT scan sliced the image. Here are the new sizes and prior for the three lymph nodes.

Measurable Disease
1. Left supraclavicular adenopathy: 1.4 x 1.4 cm,  PRIOR: 1.5 x 1.3 cm
2. Left para-aortic retroperitoneal adenopathy: 1.5 x 1.0 cm, PRIOR: 2.0 x 1.6 cm
3. Right external iliac adenopathy: 3.1 x 2.1 cm, PRIOR: 2.7 x 2.1 cm

Non-measurable Disease
1. Extensive scattered retroperitoneal adenopathy, slightly smaller and improved in the interim.
2. Mild multifocal bilateral iliac chain adenopathy, also smaller and improved in the interim.

New Disease:
None

No new disease was fantastic news. I'm still holding the disease from spreading to other organs. Metastatic bladder cancer can, at any time, break out and spread to other organs very fast.

In the measurable disease, the #2 lymph node is the one very close to my descending aorta. This one has shrunk the most. #3 is the lymph node they went after with my first biopsy in January 2021.

My oncologist said the increase in lymph node #3 "could be" due to how the CT scan sliced the image. I won't know for certain on that until I get to meet with the urologist surgeon one last time. He knows how to read CT scans and could tell me if that was true or not. With this news, I may still be a candidate down the road for bladder removal surgery and neo-bladder reconstruction. That's my hope. For that to happen, the cancer in my lymph nodes has to shrink to disappear. Then I'm a candidate for surgery.

There was lots of inflammation in my lungs. They found inflammation throughout my lungs that the radiologist thought was the "beginning" of pneumonia. Actually, what he was seeing is the remnants of my bad case of pneumonia.

The blood clot in my inferior vena cava. The radiologist report said: "Large IVC thrombosis, stable." My oncologist said that as this clot material forms, from cancer being a coagulating disease, there is actually only so much that the body can breakdown and reabsorb with a clot. She said the reason the thrombosis is stable is because my cancer disease has improved/receded. The fact that it was stable is good news but it means that I still have to be on a maintenance dose of a blood thinner. So I'm back on the Eliquis 2.5 mg twice a day.

Friday April 14, I had my second dose in Cycle 3. I did not see my oncologist that day and went straight to the infusion room.  When I got home I opened up my mailbox to a notice from my insurance company. They had approved for me to get my biopsy at USC!  I was over the moon! My urologist surgeon at USC Keck Medicine had resubmitted the request to get the biopsy performed at USC.

On Monday, April 17, I called USC Radiology to schedule. They found the insurance approval in their records but said they did not have the direct order from the ordering doctor yet. They could not schedule it. The very next day, I got a call from a nurse from Raidology telling me my biopsy was scheduled for 8 am May 1st.  Radiology scheduling had not called me to tell me that. She was only calling to ask about the blood thinner and that I needed to stop it 48 hours before the procedure. I gave her my oncologist's office number so that they could get the approval from her that this would be okay for me.

The following day, Wednesday, I get an email notice from Keck Medicine that a Biopsy had been scheduled for APRIL 26, at 1pm and the one for May 1 was also in my chart. I called Radiology. They said that they scheduled the May appointment in error at Keck Hospital. Insurance approved the procedure at the Kenneth Norris Cancer Hospital, that had an earlier day/time. Norris is practically next door. They're both in the same USC complex. So now I have to arrange rides on a different day and time. 

Wednesday is my day to get my every 2 weeks blood draw for monitoring my Padcev treatment. I was on my way to the appointment when a doctor that works with my urologist-surgeon called, telling me I needed labs. I told him the Labcorp location I was going to in about ten minutes. Through the electronic portals, he sent two more tests I needed before I could get the biopsy. When I got to the lab, I told the staff to also send my regular CBC and chem panel my oncologist ordered to the USC doctor who added the two other tests. So that was quick and painless. Radiology would get a copy of all my tests directly from the Lab and I wouldn't have to send anyone a copy.

Friday April 21, I had my third Padcev dose in Cycle 3. Before the infusion, my oncologist asked how I was feeling and went over my labs with me. I told her I feel that my neuropathy in my feet is a bit worse, my hair continues to fall out and I feel tired all the time. But my labs look good. My creatinine came up a bit from 1.11 to 1.31. This is something my kidneys have done for a long time now. It bounces back and forth from 1.1 or 1.2 up to 1.3 or 1.4 then comes back down again. It hasn't been in the normal range (1.0 or less) ever since I had chemo. RBC's and WBC's look good and platelets are really good. My Hemoglobin came up to 11.2, which is real good and my liver enzymes are back in the normal range. I'm to stop the Eliquis on Monday morning and start it up again on Thursday morning, the day after the biopsy.

Here I am at my last infusion appointment on April 21.  So far, one day, one week at a time, I'm doing okay.

 

 

Sherri Rae Rassmussen 2/7/1957 - 2/24/1986

Note: I'm late getting this up. I had my cancer treatment today. I've received three doses of PADCEV so far.  2/24/23 9:00pm

This entry was first published on February 24, 2016. Republished on the anniversary of Sherri's death. Sherri was murdered 37 years ago today. Sprocket.

Sherri Rae Rasmussen, date unknown

Photo copyright: Jane Goldberg; all rights reserved.

GUEST ENTRY by AUTHOR MATTHEW McGOUGH!

Matthew McGough is writing a book about Sherri's life and murder.
(Sprocket Note: Matthew's book was published in 2019)

Sherri Rasmussen was an exceptional person.

Over the last several years I have interviewed many of Sherri’s family members, friends, and colleagues. Thirty years after Sherri’s tragic death, her absence continues to reverberate in their lives.

Sherri’s life was remarkable for how much she accomplished in her twenty-nine years, and for how humble she was. Sherri was a high achiever from the time she was a little girl. Sherri graduated from high school at age sixteen, college at twenty, and became a nurse the same year. At twenty-three, she earned her master’s degree in nursing from UCLA.

Despite being younger than many of her nursing colleagues, first at UCLA Medical Center and later at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Sherri’s personal nature commanded trust and respect. Those who worked with Sherri remember her as an extremely competent nurse, always calm under pressure, and a natural leader. Sherri cared deeply about her patients and about the profession of nursing, to which she dedicated her adult life.

Sherri loved her family and friends and was beloved by them. Many people have told me about the profound impact Sherri had on their lives, how she encouraged them to do their best, and how her example continues to inspire them, even all these years later.

Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.” By this measure, it makes perfect sense that Sherri is remembered so fondly by so many.

I'm Still Here on the Planet... Catching Up, 2/2/2023.

The previous post can be found HERE.

Catching Up
Two years ago today I got the news that I had metastatic urothelial cancer, found in the retroperitoneal lymph nodes of my pelvis and abdomen. I was told that my cancer was called "bladder cancer" and if caught early, it can be cured, but my cancer was not caught early.

I didn't know it at the time, but the oncologist I had was fucking lousy at communicating what the truth was. I asked her what stage my cancer was. She hedged, telling me, "...between stage three and four." She never outright explained or specifically said to me that metastatic urothelial carcinoma, bladder cancer,  that had spread to my lymph nodes, was terminal cancer. Even though I worked with hospice patients, I did not know that.

She also was lousy with getting my temporary state disability started. It took her over six weeks to get one of her nurse practitioners to fill out the paperwork, and even then they forked-up information on it and I had to correct it before submitting it myself.

At the time, my employer really, really liked me, and my department head gave me a gift. They would put me on a company "general leave of absence" for six months, even though I had not been with the company for a year. This was huge. That would keep me on the company books and also continue benefits that I had signed up for, I just had to pay for them fully.  To get that company leave, all the oncologist had to do was fill out the paperwork that I would be evaluated in six months to return to work. That's all she had to do for me, and she even fucked that up.  She didn't complete the paperwork by the company deadline so they initially denied it. I then had to appeal while she got her act together to finish the paperwork.

When I went into the office to pick up the paperwork to meet the new deadline, I received the pages back and started reading them. She wrote to my company that I was "Stage IV cancer. Patient is terminal." I was in shock. Tears started running down my face in that tiny waiting room. That's how I learned that my cancer was terminal. That was in May 2021.  

My friend went with me for my next appointment with her, and I pointed out to her the cover letter she ignored and the mistake she made. She was very embarrassed and apologized a lot. She said she would write whatever I needed. I did get my company benefits extended for six months, but it was like pulling teeth. I started telling my friends and family that Quasimodo would be a better oncologist than this woman. There were several other embarrassing mistakes she made, but what I mentioned here were the most egregious. I knew I had to try to find another oncologist, someone more on the cutting edge. Adding to my discomfort was the tiny cramped treatment room with patients so close together. I was also really put off by the unprofessional behavior of the treatment room nurse who hooked up my IV treatments. I was more professional treating hospice patients that this IV nurse.

Searching For A New Oncologist
I told the oncologist and my family physician that I wanted a second opinion from a specialist at a hospital like UCLA. My insurance finally approved that. I had to get my entire medical file copied and transferred to the doctor I saw because I knew it would takes months for this oncology office to get that together. I have to say, that I felt more warmth and a caring attitude from that urologist-oncologist specialist at UCLA than any doctor I had ever met in my life. The last thing he said to me was, "We're going to take care of you." I thought I had finally found a doctor with their eye on the ball in treating me.

But it was not to be. My Medicare Advantage plan approved the consultation but since his treatment plan was the same as what I was receiving now, the insurance would not approve transferring my case to an out-of-network doctor, for treatment that could be provided at a lower cost, in network. There was no getting around that.

I went back to my family doctor to get me a referral to another oncologist within my network, someone younger, who knew how to use a laptop to take notes. A doctor who knew which patient room she was walking into. My family doctor told me about a woman oncologist she met and she really thought I would be a good fit with this new doctor. She was right. The professionalism of this new oncology office and the old one was like night and day. I was so grateful to be with a more professionally run oncology network.

As a side note, where I left off 19 months ago, I did crack my patella with that fall in the Target parking garage. I had to wear a removable leg brace for about five weeks but it healed in about 6-7 weeks.

10 Rounds of Chemo
In 2021, I went through a total of 10 rounds of chemo. My new oncology office also was a big believer in supporting the patient, first, find out how to pay for it later. They got me DNA testing that the prior oncologist told me, "...insurance won't pay for that."  And they had better tools for supporting the patient. When my hemoglobin dropped low, they got me approved for injections of Procrit. Procrit helps bring up your red blood cells and hemoglobin.

At the old oncologist office, I had four rounds of Cisplatin and Gemcitabine. Cisplatin is a very toxic chemo drug and my kidneys took a bit hit. My one good kidney and my atrophied left kidney were not filtering out the toxins in my blood and tissues very well. This is one of the known side effects of Cisplatin. (Even today, my kidney function is still outside the normal range.) For my fifth round, I just had Gemcitabine. By the time I was with my new oncologist I was switched to a less toxic, and less ideal chemo drug called Carboplatin with Gemcitabine. However, Carboplatin is not the ideal drug for my cancer.

My 10th and last round of chemo was on December 21, 2021. A week after that, my hemoglobin crashed and I had to have a blood transfusion in the ER. The chemo was keeping my cancer at bay. It did shrink some of the lymph nodes, but it did not get rid of it all together.

First time Finding Cancer Cells in my Bladder
In June of 2021, for the first time ever, my urologist found cancer cells in my bladder through a special bladder wash called a "FISH wash." A follow-up cystoscopy in early December, he found a small spot, maybe an inch at most across that he thought might be cancer. He said it needed to be biopsied and cauterized. At the time, he also said to me, "Why don't you get the surgery to remove your bladder, they build a new bladder our of your small intestines also take out the lymph nodes." This was the first time he suggested this to me and I didn't know that was even possible. I told him, get me the referral. I had the biopsy on the bladder spot and the cauterization in late January, 2022. The biopsy came back positive for cancer.

A New Companion
I had been wanting to get a new kitty for a long time. My last kitties died in late 2016 and with my ex going through a heart bypass, there was just too much going on. Then my ex started to go downhill mentally, the house became an episode of extreme hoarding and I couldn't see bringing an animal into that situation. Then the decision to divorce, try to find a new place to live and heal. I had to go to to school, get a job and try to get settled into a life. Then my cancer diagnosis happens. After I went on disability, I thought about it often but the US was in the middle of a pandemic. Rescue organizations were requiring ridiculous questionnaires to be filled out, requiring video of your home space before they would even consider you. I finally signed up for this notification service, that let me know when new kitties became available at rescues, as well as LA City and County shelters. Jun 28, a new kitty popped up as being available.

From his one photo, I thought he might turn out to be a real handsome guy. I called about him. He would be available July 1st. I made an appointment to see him July 1 where he was located, an LA City shelter down past Torrance, CA. That was a long drive for me, well over an hour. I brought my carrier, kitten food, toys and water. I got there and I learn they don't let you into the facility. Someone brings the cat out in a carrier, and you don't get to see him close up, but from the other side of a steel fencing. I barely had a look at him. I didn't get to hold him, just see him in a carrier through this steel grating. I took a chance and said yes. They thought he was 3 or 4 months old. He had been dropped off at the shelter on June 29. They had no history on him. He had his surgery to be fixed June 30th and now I was adopting this handsome, medium hair tri-colored kitty on a hunch.

He cried most of the way home, but it was clear he had been around other kitties and human socialized. He was not feral or wild. I eventually named him Butter Biscuit. First photo of the Butter Biscuit is when I brought him home and second photo, he is almost 2 years old. He's been a wonderful companion on this journey. 

Treatment in 2022
My body had maxed out on chemo. My new oncologist felt it was time to try a different drug, immunotherapy, one of the new check-point inhibitor drugs. These drugs are quite expensive -twelve to fourteen thousand an infusion- and I could never afford the co-pay. Luckily, Keytruda had a patient assistance program that accepted as payment what my Medicare Advantage Plan would pay. I started on Keytruda in late January. (From the chemo, I have permanent chemo induced anemia. I have plenty of iron in my body, yet my bone marrow can't access it to produce more red blood cells. I have permanent, decreased kidney function, that my oncologist says is my new normal. I have permanent neuropathy in my feet.)

In March 2022 I had my first consult with the urologist surgeon. This was now my urologist. They thought my case was unique and that I might be a candidate for surgery.  They wanted to see me in another three months. At first, it appeared the Keytruda was working. I had a check-up scan in June that showed some of the lymph nodes as stable and others shrinking. 

September Scan - Not Great News
My next scan was September 9. The scan showed that the smaller lymph nodes were stable, but two of the larger, "target" lymph nodes appeared to have grown a couple millimeters. The urologist-surgeon suggested getting a new biopsy. I didn't see how they were going to get a biopsy of the lymph nodes that were right beside my descending aorta in my abdomen. He said he would submit it to the tumor board for an opinion. The other news was, the scan discovered a small blood clot in my inferior vena cava. That is the large vein that descends the heart and goes down through your abdomen to your legs and beyond, bringing the blood back to the heart. My oncologist said I now had to go on a blood thinner. For this type of blood clot, it's location so close to the heart, they treat this with drugs. People who get blood clots in their legs, they can use a sort of rotor-rooter technique to unblock the veins in the legs. You cannot do that with a blood clot in the thick vein so close to the heart. I was on a blood thinner I had to take twice a day. And my oncologist said I needed to be monitored more often so I was to get my next scan in two months.

My next scan happened November 29, 2022, a little later than I'd hoped. I got the report a week later, even before I saw my oncologist. The blood clot in my inferior vena cava had grown. The blood thinner had not helped. The bigger bad news was, several of the lymph nodes had grown significantly, one lymph node had grown almost two centimeters, others over a centimeter. When I saw my oncologist December 7th she said that cancer, by its very nature is a coagulating disease, so my disease was progressing. I would have to go on a stronger blood thinner. My choices were either Lovenox or Coumadin. The dosage on Coumadin is hard to get right in some people, so it requires a blood draw weekly. Lovenox is an injection that I would be taught to give myself once a day. I chose the Lovenox, to avoid a weekly blood draw.

My oncologist also mentioned to me, that it would be good to have another biopsy of one of the growing lymph nodes that the urologist-surgeon submitted. My insurance approved the procedure, but it could not be done at USC. It had to be done at a hospital in network.

My oncologist said the Keytruda was no longer keeping the lymph nodes from growing. I needed to go on a new drug. My options were Padcev or to go back on chemo. I did not make a decision that day. Padcev is very toxic. My hair could finally fall out, more neuropathy in my body and I could become hyperglycemic, high blood sugar. My oncologist said the chemo did keep the lymph nodes from growing. The reason we stopped was your body couldn't take any more of it at that time. My oncologist said the Keytruda appears to be keeping your cancer from spreading to other organs. This type of cancer can quickly change, and break out to other organs very fast. So I got another dose of Keytruda that day. 

Another Health Issue Surfaces
The next day, December 8, I started to get what felt like a sinus infection. I took a naturopathic remedy that helped a lot. I saw the urologist surgeon on Tuesday, December 13. I updated the surgeon with the difficulties getting the biopsy scheduled. Looking at my scans, and the enlarged lymph nodes, the surgeon said this took the possibility of surgery off the table, for now. The surgeon also told me that he recommends that I go on the Padcev first, before going back to chemo. He still wanted to see me in about three months, just to see how I was doing, before releasing me back to a regular urologist.

The next day, Wednesday, I woke up in terrible pain in my chest and back. I thought I had slept wrong. And I was coughing. Even taking one and a half tablets of Tramadol didn't touch the pain. The following day, I was still in the same amount of pain. I was able to get a teleconference with my family doctor's office on Thursday. They arranged a COVID test and wanted me to get a chest x-ray. The COVID test came back negative. The chest x-ray I was able to get on Friday, but not in time for my family doctor to review the report. I had to wait until Monday, December 19.

The x-ray report said I had congestion in the middle lobe of my right lung. I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Little did I know then how much the pneumonia would delay everything.

I got started on two different antibiotics that day. One I would take for five days, the other for seven days. The pain in my chest though, didn't immediately disappear. It moved around to different parts of my chest. I couldn't lie flat in bed or on my side. My sofa became my bed for a long time. And my coughing was non-stop. And that amount of coughing is physically demanding, it's like heavy exercise.  I saw my family doctor December 23. She listened to my chest, my heart, did a bunch of other tests and said my lungs sounded fine. My heart was fine. And my pain in inhalation was still there, but not as bad. It would just take time to clear my lungs.  I was supposed to see my oncologist December 30, but I woke up that day in extreme pain again. My right side ribs hurt every time I moved and my low back was on fire right below my floating rib on the right side. I cancelled my oncology appointment. No way I could go. 

I got another teleconference with my family doctor's office. Another x-ray was ordered to rule out new infection. However, the x-ray report came back with mixed messages. This time it said I had infection in the lower right lobe, but the overall report said there was no change between the two x-rays. They wanted to put me on more antibiotics immediately. I had to press the tele-doctor to speak to the radiologist to clarify what he meant.  Fortunately, the tele-doctor did speak to the radiologist that evening and got back to me. The x-rays were the same, however, both x-rays showed I had pneumonia in the lower lobes of both lungs. So much for the consistency in report documentation.

After a few days, I was able to figure out what was causing the pain in my back and right side. I was coughing so much and so hard that I sprained the intercostal muscles that span from rib to rib as well as the quadratus lumborum muscle in my low back. My body pain was musculature from strained muscles. It was not because of infection. I saw my family doctor again January 4th, She listened to my lungs again, listened to my heart, checked me for swelling in my legs. All was good. She again told me that it might take a "long time" for my lungs to clear.

 Two Years Later, Where I am Today: Hopeful
Today, my energy level is not what it used to be. I'm still coughing a lot, but at least my body has adjusted. I don't have pain coughing, it's just physically exhausting. The pneumonia set me back worse than chemotherapy ever did. I'm still waiting for approval for the new drug, Padcev. I'm still trying to get that new biopsy scheduled. 

The good news is, I can still manage to take care of myself. I don't need help showering or getting dressed. I can go shopping, just not for long periods. I can do a small amount of gardening and fix my meals. So that's the positive two years later. And I'm hopeful about this new drug. There have been some people with my type of cancer, Stage IV bladder cancer, who went into remission on Padcev and are still in remission almost 2 years later. So I'm hopeful for that.  And, once my lungs clear, (I'm hopeful that will be soon) there is a second degree murder case that will be tried at a courthouse relatively close to my home, not downtown Los Angeles. It would be very easy for me to get to this courthouse and possibly cover the case. Oh how I would love to be in court and cover a trial again! But my lungs have to heal. I cannot be in a court room coughing during a hearing or trial. The the judge would throw me out.

The case is not a national level case, but it has been covered locally. A very tragic case for all involved.  The accused is a socialite, Rebecca Grossman. You can read about it HERE. But most of all, I'm so happy to finally have a companion again.

 

The next post can be found HERE.