Those last two rounds of chemo, in the hospital, seriously fried my brain. Dr. K said that I only get those rounds once and I can see why. My little neurons are trying either to come back to life or jolt themselves out of suspension. I rarely know the day most of the time let alone the date.
This time last year, I was hiking with my family (Mom, Dad, Daniel, Jonathan and Evalyn) at Cloudland Canyon. I had terrible bone pain in my shoulder that seemed like it was moving to my jaw. I took it as side effects to the oral chemo I was on. We made it 5 miles with a baby in tow and Daniel racing towards lunch. As the week progressed, my pain increased. I remember calling my boss and telling her I couldn’t work the rest of the week, calling my mom and telling her to get here now, and telling Jonathan that I felt like I was dying. We went to the doctor and the oral medication weren't just quite working so he put me on something else. On Halloween weekend, Corynne came with me to carve pumpkins at our neighborhood's fall party. Later that night, Jonathan was Joseph, I was Mary, and Evalyn was baby Jesus. We won the costume contest. Heck, how can you say no to baby Jesus?
The next day I was at the doctor in Athens and they sent me via Ambulance to Emory. My Pop wanted to take me but they said my platelets were so low I could bleed to death if we got in a wreck. Well, the rest of the story is in the blogs…..
Leaving the hospital on Wednesday was great. I had a good day on Thursday due to my mom helping out and getting to go cancer yoga… man that was some hard yoga. I had to wear a mask but it felt so good to do something. Then I had to go to Athens Regional to get Platelets. YEAAA. I did get to meet a lot of people and tell them about the Lord and about be the match. Hey, this is cool, they were having GA Football day at the hospital and I got to shake Mark Richt's (the coach) hand. He told me that he hopes I get to feeling better, I said me too. I was hoping to get signatures of some of the guys on the team but they were done before I was done with the infusion.
I have been sick on my stomach since Friday and, no lie, have lied in bed for most of 3 days. I go back to Georgia Cancer in Athens tomorrow and to Emory on Wednesday. If they have the new oral chemo there I will start taking it. These side effects are killing me. I have to ask myself quite a bit if it is worth it, I know that it is to the people that care about me .
Mom took Evalyn for a few days and it’s a good thing with me being sick and all. Please pray that the stomach sickness and the fatigue go away.
Heather, I sure hope some of this fatigue and pain subside quickly for you. I saw this passage in one of my books and thought it appropriate:
ReplyDeleteUse every trial that comes to you as an opportunity to improve yourself. When you are passing through the difficulties and tests of life, you usually become rebellious: Why should this happen to me?" Instead, you should think of every trial as a pickax with which to dig into the soil of your consciousness and release the fountain of spiritual strength that lies within. Each test should bring out the hidden power that is within you as a child of God, made in His image.
XOXO
So happy you are home and blogging. I am so proud of you Heather and pray the new oral chemo is ready and does the deal and stops the chromosomal mutation immediately.
ReplyDeleteThanks, sorry I was pm on the download for a little bit I was depressed and angry.
ReplyDeleteTotally understandable. It is good to acknowledge and work through those emotions. I think the mental battles are often tougher than the physical ones, not that either are by any means easy. You are still my hero.
ReplyDeleteHeather - it was nice to bump into you at Emory today. You look great! Keep up the fight, because you are a huge inspiration. I am hoping to get a good report from Dr. K today. We are lucky to have him...
ReplyDelete