November 16- Chemo Day 4

Finally coming out of the "chemo fog" that I've been in for the last 2 days.  In the whole scheme of things, I would say chemo has been easier than I thought it might be.  This is just really due to the fact that my anti-nausea medications did their job and I didn't have to get up close & personal with the toilet!  However, it wasn't any walk in the park due to the fact that starting Wednesday evening I grew very tired and felt like there were lots of weights hanging off of me.  This lasted throughout the day yesterday and I barely knew what was going on around me.  My vision was blurry & I felt like all I could do was lay there with my eyes closed or sleep.  I really appreciated my friends Kristi & Carrie bringing dinner last night!
Today was better, not perfect, but better.  I cleaned the bathrooms this morning and then was able to walk to the mailbox this afternoon.  So it gives me great hope that tomorrow will be even easier and that I will be gradually returning to my normal self more and more each day.
I supposedly have 7-21 days till hair loss.  Not looking forward to that but like all of this, it is temporary!  Just want to walk through it all with a thankful & contented spirit.

November 13th-Chemo Day 1

Picked up my Mom at 8:30am.  Drove myself to Battle Creek for chemo and ended up driving back too...that was important to me somehow.  I felt slightly nervous at first but my nurse Bill was very nice and informative, he put me right at ease.  My Mom was also there with me of course & we had fun chatting about anything and everything.  Was also able to use the iPad and read.  I started by having a numbing agent put on my port area so it wouldn't hurt when the needle was inserted.  They gave me fluids and then some type of medicine to combat nausea.  Once that was finished I began the chemo drugs.  I am getting two things.  Taxotere was the first one and it took an hour for that one to go through.  Cytoxan was the second drug and this also took one hour.  They brought around sandwiches, applesauce & chips for lunch and I was able to eat some as I was not feeling anything out of the norm at this point.  I saw many other people that came in and out.  One lady wasn't able to eat her lunch as she was too sick.  Another lady had just gotten bad news, her cancer has spread to her liver.  These ladies and the visit I had with my Aunt Barb afterwards serve as a great lesson in perspective.  My Aunt Barb is an amazing woman who has been battling cancer & receiving chemo now for 2 years.  I think I should handle my 4 treatments without complaining!
Started to feel queasy on the way home, tired as well.  I waited to take my Compazine (anti-nausea drug) until after I dropped Lexi off at dance as it can make you really sleepy.  So far I haven't noticed that but I have noticed that I'm not nearly as nauseous as I was-yeahhh!  Dry throat and achy legs are the only other symptoms I notice so far.  This would be a good time to thank everyone for all of the prayers today.  I know I say this a lot but it's true, I can feel them!
Also a big thanks to Selena Reid for preparing dinner and her husband Mike for delivering it!  Very yummy potato soup and breadsticks!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

The title of my blog today is a line from a song that was popular in the 80's or 90's.  Between unpacking & laundry, I didn't have time to look up the artist or anything so if anyone wants to do that and e-mail me, that would be fun!  So anyways, this line came to my mind today as we traveled home from sunny, 80 degree Florida and arrived in cloudy, 37 degree Michigan (note: we even saw snowflakes in the air this evening).  Not only does this line refer to the weather changes that occurred for us today but also to the fact that at 4pm Kyle & I went to the cancer center for a chemotherapy training session.  AND at 9am tomorrow I will have my first chemo treatment.

I was so truly blessed this past week.  Some highlights were a bike ride (I rode a tandem bike with the kids-how fun is that?), walks on the beach, lounging and reading, laughter & conversation with family & friends, tons of food (got to try lobster rolls and a crab cake sandwich among other yummy things) and of course, the reason we were there, to take part in the beautiful wedding of Erin & Mike!

I ask that you would pray for me tomorrow.  That any fears would be calmed & replaced with God's peace.  Also that my side effects would be mild.  There was a sign hanging in the house where we stayed this week, it said:  Lord help me to remember that nothing is going to happen today that you and I together can't handle.

Lastly, I want to give a Happy Birthday shout out to Debbie, my sister's co-worker, who blessed me with a gift last week that still brings tears of gratitude to my eyes each time I think about her.  There are good people doing good things in this world & I feel so lucky to be able to witness some of those things as I go through this process.