Well, I actually sat somewhere besides on the couch this morning. That couch and I have been good friends for many days now, but I think it's time we have some time away from each other. I actually sat down at the desk and saw this notebook in front of me and was surprised at how long ago it seemed that I had written these lists.
It was really only last week. Doesn't seem like it to me. I had big plans for getting lots of things done before chemo last week, huh? I will say I did finish the Thursday list (the box on the left) and made the royal icing (see the post below for that mess) and everyone had clothes to wear (until today when both Brian and Ethan apparently wanted to wear pants to go out of the house - hmmm).
So what about the last week? I won't bore you with all the specific symptoms and ailments, although I could because I wrote everything down these past two cycles. I know that in a few weeks I'll be saying that chemo wasn't all that bad. The mind forgets things like that. Or at least mine does. But I wanted to look back at this and remember what life was really like for us that week after chemo. Definitely don't want to relive it, but want to see how far we've come and be thankful.
Anyway, just the shorter version for you all. The nasty taste in my mouth and the fatigue started earlier than usual last Thursday. Just ask Rachel, whose couch I fell asleep on during Elliott's piano lesson on Thursday! This was Brian's weekend to work. I thought I could do this one on my own and not need anyone here to help out. Thankfully, I changed my mind almost last minute, and Amber came down for the weekend. No way that I could have done it on my own!
Saturday brought on an extremely sore throat. Thought some vanilla chai tea might help.
It did for a while. Thankful for that. The neuropathy in my fingertips and tongue started getting worse. And a bit of muscle aches in my neck from the Neulasta - nothing like the first round. It was all bearable.
By Sunday I was getting a bit tired of this view.
That's when the nausea started. Again, earlier than before. Kept praying that if the symptoms were coming on earlier, then they would disappear sooner. Not sure that's what God had in mind. I have 3 different types of anti-nausea medicines. This was the first time that I had taken all 3 in one day. I honestly can't remember now if they really helped. I know the last one made me kind of loopy, so maybe it at least took my mind off of it :) I also lost my appetite on Sunday. Had a few bites of oatmeal on Sunday morning and I think that was about the last real food my mouth saw for the next 4 days.
Monday and Tuesday were definitely spent on the couch. They can be summed up like this: nausea and fatigue. I couldn't eat or drink anything. I would try and whatever it was usually came back up. You stop trying after a while.
But our friends made sure that the rest of my family was well-fed.
I watched them eat dinner from the couch. It was comforting to know that they were being taken care of. It was fun to listen to their conversations. It was a bright spot for me in the week.
Well, apparently my body likes to be fed and hydrated.
Apparently it doesn't react well to not having either food or drink for periods of time.
Yesterday was my day to get the Herceptin, and honestly it was a physical struggle just to get to the doctor's office. Brian and I joked as I was leaning against the wall in the elevator that I might need a wheelchair, but it really wasn't all that far from the truth. I had no energy and it took all I had to walk just a few feet. We made it though. But I don't think the look (or color) on my face convinced anyone that I was feeling like myself. After taking my blood pressure (96/60) and my weight (lower than they liked also), the girls in the office treated me to 4 extra bags of fluid. Two of which were sugar water. Brian told them thank you for giving me the sugar water. I didn't think that was very nice of him. But I did think it was very nice of them. I'm guessing that they probably kept me from having a suite down the hall for a night. Not sure, just a guess. But I know that I felt way better than I did when I came in that morning. The nausea still came back in the afternoon and I still spent most of my time on the couch, but I didn't feel nearly as energy-drained as just a few hours before.
So last night I tried half of a scoop of ice cream. It was incredibly sweet. Never thought I'd say that about ice cream, but there's something about all of this that has made me overly sensitive to sugar. It stayed down - yay! This morning I was really adventurous and tried a few little pieces of a really soft biscuit smothered in gravy. Could tolerate that too! Praise God!
I really feel like we're on the easier side now. I know we still have a few bumpy days ahead, but the worst is behind us. I still get tired doing little things and can't do as much as I normally would in a day, but that fatigue has been getting accumulatively worse in the past few cycles and I'm sure it will take a while to get back to "normal". Just grateful for the little everyday baby steps, and everyone who makes them happen!
No comments:
Post a Comment