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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Chemo Ain't For the Lily-Livered, Either!

Ha Ha Ha! Aren't I funny at 6:00 a.m.?!

The Heather Report indicates that all is going quite well. A few minor side-effects came and passed already but no biggie. For the first time I actually felt like I might throw up so I kept a bucket handy during the evening and through the night but nothing came of it, I'm happy to report, and the feeling passed a couple of hours after I took my bedtime anti-nausea drugs. At about 9:00 pm, that tingling, numbness, weakness thing started in my arms and slightly in my legs but it passed, too, around 2:00 am. All in all ... that was about it.

Well ... except for the sleeplessness. And that's a drag. I went to bed at 10:00 last night because I was so tired I was going to fall asleep again on the sofa and I might as well fall asleep in bed at that point. I could hardly haul my body up the stairs to go to bed, I was so tired. But ... no sleep. Judging by the times I looked at the clock, I had a few half hour or so naps but that was about it. Good thing I slept a lot during the day yesterday. So here I am talking to you at this uncivilized hour.

My Mom arrived last night with fresh raspberries from her garden at hand. She's going to stay here for a while to see me through these next few days at least. Kevin's Mom, Syl, sent over a very nice dinner last night including a peach crisp that I was able to eat because it's fruit and not too sweet. It all went down well, Syl, and tasted great. Thanks so much. She also sent the prettiest bouquet gathered from her garden, anchored by lots of roses, of course, but with all kinds of other pretty blooms tucked in here and there. I'll take a picture for later. It's stunning!

I must say a special thanks to my husband who sat with me through chemo yesterday and stayed with me during the day. Every time during the chemo treatment, the pharmacist comes by toward the end of treatment to give me lots of detailed instructions about my medications and the medication schedule. It's a lot to take in and by then I'm so drowsy and groggy, there's no point talking to me. This time he woke me up and started firing information at me right away and I basically had to say "talk to the hand"! And then I directed him to Kevin and I just listened picking up bits and pieces here and there. Kevin knows all the right questions to ask and even asked some questions about the next treatments which provided us with some valuable information to prepare with. More about that another day. Anyway, Kevin takes very good care of me and I'm lucky that he takes the time to be with me during these treatments. He's very reassuring and attentive. At one time, Kevin had planned on being a medical doctor and so he takes to medical stuff quite naturally, unlike his totally medically-wussy wife.

Also, thanks to Karen for stopping by to visit two nights ago and for the funky hat she brought for me! It was just the perfect and warm thing (not to mention, tres chic) to wear to my chemo treatment yesterday. It was so nice to see you, Karen! And a shout out to Carol who has a sick Milo (their beloved dog) to attend to. I hope Milo is on the mend by now.

And now I'll down a bunch of water, try a little breakfast, and see how my day unfolds. So far so good, I can honestly say, though I don't know that I can say much has "unfolded" at 6:00 am.!!

4 comments:

  1. Morning, Heather! Sorry..forgot to sign off yesterday-I was anon. Thks for your explanation re: the cold you experience. Glad to hear nausea isn't a constant companion. Still waiting for more hat pics! Take Care!
    Devy

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  2. Hi Heather,I "nudged"Mikael about the t-shirt selection right after I "nudged"him to vac the carpets.We Moms of teenage boys are pretty good at it ,mind you they probably have a different word for it!I hope it was fine to stop over today.I just wanted to see you and Kev .You are such a trooper to do this gross treatment and keep that lovely smile ever-present for all of us.Take special care and hopefully slumber better tonight.Chuck

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  3. Hi Devy! Hat pics coming. I'm just waiting for my "fringe" so I don't look so chemo-ie in the photos! Soon ... soon ... well, except for that one very funny hat that for sake of the laugh has to happen with a chemo-head. I'll have to buck up for that one. But it's too funny not to go there. Booze would do the trick but I'm off that, too. I'll just have to wait until I'm feeling especially wild and crazy all on my own. And we all know THAT happens!

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  4. Hi Cheryl! Yes, it was absolutely great to see you when you stopped in the other day! Glad to hear you're whipping your teenage boy into shape. I was not so good at that "whipping" part. Luke always had so much on the go outside of the house, it was hard to nail him down to doing anything around the house. I have soooo betrayed his future wife!

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