I almost feel like I need to pinch myself! As I sit here on day 5 of my last chemo, it's so exciting to think that I will never have to experience day 3 and 4 again! I'm still tired, sluggish, achy & my stomach is not right but each day is another step closer to being done with having this poison in my body. I am so ready to move on!
As usual,we have many people to thank for their kindness this week. The first is my sister-in-law, Erin, who was the one who had the hat sent from the Good Wishes company. This is the hat I am wearing in the most recently posted pictures on my blog. I love it & appreciate her thinking of me!
On Wednesday night Tracy Nelson provided a yummy dinner for us! It was scalloped potatoes & ham, a dish I never make but will have to start because the kids loved it!
On Thursday night Jessica Rowley brought a yummy Chicken & Rice bake. It was very good & another meal that I will be making in the near future.
On Friday night Stacee English was planning to bring us a meal but we ended up holding her off due to the fact that we had so many leftovers & more food coming from Kyle's co-workers. So I would like to thank her for her willingness to help!
Then Kyle came home from work last night with bags, boxes & coolers filled with food. This was all from his co-workers at Eaton Rapids Eye Care. There were groceries for the pantry, food to warm up when needed, fruits & veggies, desserts and snacks. I should have taken a picture of everything out on the counter before we put it away! Our family at ERO have been so supportive, what a blessing!
I also want to thank my parents who picked the kids up from school yesterday & took them to their floor hockey game. I am so thankful to have such great parents who are always there to do whatever needs to be done. They have helped me in so many ways during the last few months and I can't thank them enough!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Jan. 16-CONTINUED
***Really not good to write blogs on the IPad because it can sometimes mess up like today, but it's so convenient! So here is my continued post...
My Dad opened the trunk at Wendy's and there were two huge bouquets of flowers for me! One was from my parents & my sis & her family, beautiful white & pink roses. The other was from my Aunt Bev, Uncle Tom, Andy & family, Josh & family and Allison & family. This bouquet was a huge assortment of roses, daisies and other beautiful flowers that I don't exactly know the names of. What a nice surprise, I am so blessed! We took lots of pictures of my special day so I hope to get some of them posted here at some point today.
Last night I decided to try going to my monthly library meeting. I missed last month & wanted to be there. I was able to stay the whole time! Got pretty tired towards the end but it was all good. A big thank you to Stacy Maier, one of Kyle's co-workers, who sent a big bowl of Chili home with him last night!! Last nights sleep was pretty usual for the night of chemo, up every two hours for bathroom (they put so many fluids in you during chemo plus I have to drink a large amount of water) and of course throw in a few hot flashes. It wasn't a terrible night but I may want to try & nap this afternoon before heading back to B.C. for my LAST Neulasta shot.
In closing I want to share something that my sister wrote in the card she gave me yesterday. You've probably seen this quote before but it means something more to me now.
"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"
-Henry David Thoreau
My Dad opened the trunk at Wendy's and there were two huge bouquets of flowers for me! One was from my parents & my sis & her family, beautiful white & pink roses. The other was from my Aunt Bev, Uncle Tom, Andy & family, Josh & family and Allison & family. This bouquet was a huge assortment of roses, daisies and other beautiful flowers that I don't exactly know the names of. What a nice surprise, I am so blessed! We took lots of pictures of my special day so I hope to get some of them posted here at some point today.
Last night I decided to try going to my monthly library meeting. I missed last month & wanted to be there. I was able to stay the whole time! Got pretty tired towards the end but it was all good. A big thank you to Stacy Maier, one of Kyle's co-workers, who sent a big bowl of Chili home with him last night!! Last nights sleep was pretty usual for the night of chemo, up every two hours for bathroom (they put so many fluids in you during chemo plus I have to drink a large amount of water) and of course throw in a few hot flashes. It wasn't a terrible night but I may want to try & nap this afternoon before heading back to B.C. for my LAST Neulasta shot.
In closing I want to share something that my sister wrote in the card she gave me yesterday. You've probably seen this quote before but it means something more to me now.
"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"
-Henry David Thoreau
Jan. 16-Last Chemo-Day 2
Yes, yesterday was my last chemo treatment! Very exciting, and even though I'm not looking forward to the next week or so of side effects...it's nice knowing that it will all be the last of it! I'll get back to chemo, first I need to update on my appointment with the doctor on Monday.
I had lab work done and then saw the oncologist like usual right before chemo. I was able to find out some good news in that right after I see him next I can return to work!!! So the plan is that if all of my lab work continues to come back normal I will be back at Peas in a Pod on February 5th!!! The bad news is that he said my port that I receive my chemo through has to stay in for a year. This means having to deal with it during the bathing suit/tank top season. I've already decided that I'm not going to buy a bunch of new suits and stuff to hide it...it's going to be a part of me a little longer so I need to just deal with it and the looks/questions that may come with it. As far as radiation goes, that will all get set up when I see the doctor again on Feb. 4th. I didn't get any other questions answered by him regarding this (at this point he had the door open & was half way out of the office so I got just the info. I really needed:). One of the nurses said that 99% of the time a woman in my case would have 33 sessions of radiation. I also know that this is given 5 days a week at the cancer center...I am going to get VERY good at that drive to Battle Creek! Something that you can pray about for me would be that I get an afternoon appointment (I would have the same appointment time everyday) so that it would not interfere with work but also that my time is early enough that I will be home in time to get the kids off of the bus. Looking for a 1 or 2pm appointment ideally.
After I left my appointment, I went and did some shopping. At Kohl's I had a gift card to spend from Christmas so as usual I hit the clearance racks! I have this thing where I just take anything that I remotely like or think I could like that is in a good price range ($3-$12.00) to the dressing room. I think I counted 17 things or so that I took in. Well I had my wig on & knew it was not going to hold up to all of that trying on so I just took it off! Normally if I had my real hair and tried on all of that I would walk out looking like I'd been rubbing my hair against a balloon for 10 minutes & it would be flat. So another positive that I found in the wig as I popped it back on & headed out of the dressing room looking just as good as when I went in!
One of the ways that some don't realize that chemo affects your body is that it throws it into a type of menopause. My research on this isn't extensive by any means although I do need to do some online reasearch while I am down this week. But basically, you could either be sent into a permanent menopause or there is a chance that when the chemo is all finished that everything will return to normal. This may be TMI for some readers but for me I have had my cycle do all different things since starting chemo to the point now that it seems to be absent. And the best side effect of all...hot flashes! (Anyone who has gone through them can totally understand that the previous statement was complete sarcasm). I mostly have them at night and there is just really no way to sleep through them. You take off some or all of the covers and finally cool off & fall back to sleep only to wake again ice cold because you have no covers on so you cover yourself back up to get warm & then an hour later...another hot flash! Like I said, haven't done much research so I'm not sure if I'm hoping for this to be permanent menopause or temporary. Wouldn't it be interesting if I am getting to "try out" menopause before I have the real thing in say 10 or so years from now?!
Sorry for such a long post but I also want to share about chemo yesterday. My Dad, Mom & Sister went with me and it worked out great as the chemo area was not busy at all & so we were able to get a chair off in a corner to accommodate everyone to sit around me. I got started much quicker than usual too because of their not being many other patients. The best surprise of the day (and there were many) was when my Aunt Barb & Aunt Loretta came in to sit with me for a while! As many of you know, my Aunt Barb has been battling cancer very courageously for 2 years (at least) now. She is still undergoing chemo is has no scheduled last chemo like I was having yesterday so it was very bittersweet to think about our two situations. She has an amazing attitude about the whole thing and her faith in God is so inspiring. She brought me 4 pink roses, one for each of my chemo treatments:). Well with all of the visiting & the fact that everything went so quickly, it was a quick session & I was leaving at about 1:50! We stopped at Wendy's for a celebratory Frosty. I love their new value size Frosty's. They are so tiny but perfect for a girl who just had chemo:). When we got out of the car at Wendy's my Dad opened the trunk
I had lab work done and then saw the oncologist like usual right before chemo. I was able to find out some good news in that right after I see him next I can return to work!!! So the plan is that if all of my lab work continues to come back normal I will be back at Peas in a Pod on February 5th!!! The bad news is that he said my port that I receive my chemo through has to stay in for a year. This means having to deal with it during the bathing suit/tank top season. I've already decided that I'm not going to buy a bunch of new suits and stuff to hide it...it's going to be a part of me a little longer so I need to just deal with it and the looks/questions that may come with it. As far as radiation goes, that will all get set up when I see the doctor again on Feb. 4th. I didn't get any other questions answered by him regarding this (at this point he had the door open & was half way out of the office so I got just the info. I really needed:). One of the nurses said that 99% of the time a woman in my case would have 33 sessions of radiation. I also know that this is given 5 days a week at the cancer center...I am going to get VERY good at that drive to Battle Creek! Something that you can pray about for me would be that I get an afternoon appointment (I would have the same appointment time everyday) so that it would not interfere with work but also that my time is early enough that I will be home in time to get the kids off of the bus. Looking for a 1 or 2pm appointment ideally.
After I left my appointment, I went and did some shopping. At Kohl's I had a gift card to spend from Christmas so as usual I hit the clearance racks! I have this thing where I just take anything that I remotely like or think I could like that is in a good price range ($3-$12.00) to the dressing room. I think I counted 17 things or so that I took in. Well I had my wig on & knew it was not going to hold up to all of that trying on so I just took it off! Normally if I had my real hair and tried on all of that I would walk out looking like I'd been rubbing my hair against a balloon for 10 minutes & it would be flat. So another positive that I found in the wig as I popped it back on & headed out of the dressing room looking just as good as when I went in!
One of the ways that some don't realize that chemo affects your body is that it throws it into a type of menopause. My research on this isn't extensive by any means although I do need to do some online reasearch while I am down this week. But basically, you could either be sent into a permanent menopause or there is a chance that when the chemo is all finished that everything will return to normal. This may be TMI for some readers but for me I have had my cycle do all different things since starting chemo to the point now that it seems to be absent. And the best side effect of all...hot flashes! (Anyone who has gone through them can totally understand that the previous statement was complete sarcasm). I mostly have them at night and there is just really no way to sleep through them. You take off some or all of the covers and finally cool off & fall back to sleep only to wake again ice cold because you have no covers on so you cover yourself back up to get warm & then an hour later...another hot flash! Like I said, haven't done much research so I'm not sure if I'm hoping for this to be permanent menopause or temporary. Wouldn't it be interesting if I am getting to "try out" menopause before I have the real thing in say 10 or so years from now?!
Sorry for such a long post but I also want to share about chemo yesterday. My Dad, Mom & Sister went with me and it worked out great as the chemo area was not busy at all & so we were able to get a chair off in a corner to accommodate everyone to sit around me. I got started much quicker than usual too because of their not being many other patients. The best surprise of the day (and there were many) was when my Aunt Barb & Aunt Loretta came in to sit with me for a while! As many of you know, my Aunt Barb has been battling cancer very courageously for 2 years (at least) now. She is still undergoing chemo is has no scheduled last chemo like I was having yesterday so it was very bittersweet to think about our two situations. She has an amazing attitude about the whole thing and her faith in God is so inspiring. She brought me 4 pink roses, one for each of my chemo treatments:). Well with all of the visiting & the fact that everything went so quickly, it was a quick session & I was leaving at about 1:50! We stopped at Wendy's for a celebratory Frosty. I love their new value size Frosty's. They are so tiny but perfect for a girl who just had chemo:). When we got out of the car at Wendy's my Dad opened the trunk
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Jan. 13-Chemo 3-Day 18
As I type this, Alexis is giving me a foot rub! She is really into playing "spa" and so we have all been getting massages the last few days. Really loving it and hope that this phase of hers lasts for a long time:)
In the mail yesterday I received a package. It was from an organization called Good Wishes. Their mission is to provide a free scarf or head wrap to anyone experiencing hair loss as a result of illness, injury or treatment. Their goal is to provide a bit of comfort and share the power of positive thinking with their Good Wishes. So someone contacted them and had a head wrap sent to me. If that person is reading this, thank you so much! There have been so many nice surprises along this journey and I'm very thankful for each person who has taken the time to do something nice for me. One thing that this experience has taught me is to take some time each week to send out cards or send an uplifting e-mail or Facebook message to someone struggling in some way. Through everything that has been done for me, I have learned that small acts of kindness can make a big difference!
Starting to feel a less tired & sluggish. I vacuumed the house today & didn't feel like I had just run a marathon afterwards. This is good as I have #4 and FINAL chemo on Tuesday. Tomorrow I have lab work & see the oncologist. I feel like I have a lot of questions this time. Questions like, "when and how does my port get taken out?" and "when can I go back to work?" and "when do I start radiation & how many sessions will I have of that?"
As usual I am not looking forward to another treatment & all the things that come with it. But the light at the end of the tunnel is very bright! God is amazing! He has given me so much during this time and I trust him to see me through the rest of it!
In the mail yesterday I received a package. It was from an organization called Good Wishes. Their mission is to provide a free scarf or head wrap to anyone experiencing hair loss as a result of illness, injury or treatment. Their goal is to provide a bit of comfort and share the power of positive thinking with their Good Wishes. So someone contacted them and had a head wrap sent to me. If that person is reading this, thank you so much! There have been so many nice surprises along this journey and I'm very thankful for each person who has taken the time to do something nice for me. One thing that this experience has taught me is to take some time each week to send out cards or send an uplifting e-mail or Facebook message to someone struggling in some way. Through everything that has been done for me, I have learned that small acts of kindness can make a big difference!
Starting to feel a less tired & sluggish. I vacuumed the house today & didn't feel like I had just run a marathon afterwards. This is good as I have #4 and FINAL chemo on Tuesday. Tomorrow I have lab work & see the oncologist. I feel like I have a lot of questions this time. Questions like, "when and how does my port get taken out?" and "when can I go back to work?" and "when do I start radiation & how many sessions will I have of that?"
As usual I am not looking forward to another treatment & all the things that come with it. But the light at the end of the tunnel is very bright! God is amazing! He has given me so much during this time and I trust him to see me through the rest of it!
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