Quick Update

Just wanted to give a quick update that I am feeling better!  Praise God!  Your/Our prayers are being answered.  Thank you.

I don't think the red blood cells are back, because my arms and legs are still weak and I don't have a ton of energy (there are plenty of dishes that didn't get washed tonight as evidence), but my head feels better and the nausea stage has finally passed.  YAY!

Yesterday, I made a serious point of sitting and resting.  Yes, it was hard for me, why do you ask?  That was also the day that I finally addressed the prayer card quilt that was falling down a few pieces at a time each day.

I took each card and removed the sticky stuff from the back of each card and took the time to pray for each of you that sent me a card.  I'll be saving the cards so Janet can look at them again in 50 years when she has to move me to a nursing home (it's a long standing joke between us).

Next update will be after Thursday's appointment when they will check my blood again.   Keep praying for those corpuscles.

End of Week Update

This week has not been all that great.

Yes, it was great to get chemo #3 out of the way, but I've felt terrible every day since.

Green around the gills.

No unicorns or rainbows.

I went back in for fluids on Tuesday when I got my shot.  That sorta helped, but only temporarily.

Blah.  Ehhhh.

Then today I went back in to see how things were going because I was just still not feeling great.

Turns out my red blood cells have gone on a late summer vacation; dropping from 14 to 12.  PA Patty was super sweet and said, "Yep, that's why you feel so bad. Your numbers have dropped two points in just a few days."

Well at least there is an explanation and it's not all in my head or in my gelatinous feeling muscles.

So I got some more IV fluids this afternoon and will have to hope that my corpuscles come together and get going in the blood stream.

Prayer Requests:

• Come on back red blood cells
• Feeling better

"The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it."  1 Thess 5:24

75% Complete

I'm happy to report that I am now 75% complete with chemo.  I know this sounds silly to be excited that I'm 75% of the way done, but the half way point was really difficult.

Halfway points are difficult in general.  The most difficult point of a race are the middle miles.  The middle part of a project where the fun of the 'new' has worn off, but the completion is still a ways away.  That is exactly how I was feeling about the chemo being half finished.

I knew the 'day of' would be ok, and it was (a bit longer than the last time).  But the next few days are what I am not looking forward to just because of past experience.  Knowing what to expect in this case isn't a positive.

Dr. N and I met today before we started the infusion and based on the poor reaction I had last time on day 2 he mixed things up a bit and used a different anti-nausea medicine today.  Plus he made a change for day 2 and beyond anti-nausea meds as well.  Hopefully that makes the difference for a better experience this round.

I'll be going in tomorrow for my shot of Neutrogena, (really Neulasta) to help grow the WBCs.

I feel very blessed.

Work has been incredibly supportive, this week sending two cancer focused cookbooks, one that I whipped up some good soup (my favorite post-chemo meal choice) over the weekend.

I've had so many texts, emails, in real life conversations and phone calls with lots of encouragement.  I also know so many of you are still praying.  I just want to say THANK YOU!

Larry is doing better each day, but still has moments of 'fuzziness', which is to be expected.  Between the two of us we are quite a pair.  I can't remember anything because of the concussion, and Larry can't remember anything because of the chemo :)  (Yeah, I did that on purpose).

Prayer Requests:

• The new meds for nausea are more effective
• Larry continues towards clear head-ed-ness (that might not be a word)
• That I can work a full day on Wednesday; the first day of school for J

I forgot to include the picture of all the currently bald family members a few weeks ago. 

e decided it was easier to not grow hair.  

She knows her mom's solidarity of no sweets is a tough one.  

Steph asked if I was ready for some cancer jokes and Oh Yes, I was!  So I'm sharing my favorites.

Larry wants to know what was the point.

Knock knock.
Who's there?
I know it's not any WBC's.

Week of Blessings

This week I continued to feel better as treatment #2 was a more distant memory, though I was very tired as my red blood cells decided to be a little lower than normal.  This time the WBCs were just where they needed to be, but the red ones were low.  I used that as justification to eat beef several days in a row this week.

You know what the beef industry's motto is?  Seven days without beef makes one weak.  Well I didn't want to be weak this week.  :)

Larry was also feeling better and back to work.  Thanks to the concussion, he did still have periods where he got dizzy and was still fuzzy a good portion of the time, so we took it easy every evening.
The week was full of blessings though.  I received a lovely pair of earrings from a friend who said that I needed them to go with my new haircut.  ha!

Aren't the earrings cute???

I received another gift package from my co-workers.  They have been amazing with the fun stuff they have been sending. This week was movie night!

Then I also received a a tin full of popcorn.  If you sent that and you are reading this, thank you.  There was no card included, so I am not able to thank you properly.

Life can't be all good.  Of course my hair has fallen out, well there's that weird fuzzy layer left, but like my hair, my prayer card quilt has also given up on sticking around.  I've been picking up cards every day and trying to reattach them, but they just don't want to stick any more.

My hair definitely went through a patchy stage like this.  But if this is the worst of my troubles... I don't have any troubles.

I'm expecting to feel pretty normal all week this week.  I am hopeful that all of my taste buds come back to life.  I have figured out that soups and other foods that really fill my whole mouth have more flavor than drier foods.

Jake is on the tail end of summer vacation, and asked that we do something fun this week.  So he and Larry started off this afternoon with going to the movies.

Prayer Requests:

• Continued healing and clearing of Larry's head.
• Continued strength for me.