May 30, 2008 - Update, and Being Thankful

Hi friends and family. I am having a pretty good day today. (Maybe it's because I took a vacation day today!!!) I saw Dr. Vandermolen on Tuesday, and he FINALLY gave me something for this cold that has been hanging on since mid-April (pre-chemo). Perhaps it's because I nearly coughed up a lung while in his office, or perhaps it was the whining. Either way, I've had 4 days of anitbiotics now, and I hope to be symptom-free within the next couple of days. Yay!

I've had a lot of bumps show up all over my skin, but mostly on my neck. Some are red; some are dry patches; some are just raised skin. Doc says that's expected and that it will go away after my chemotherapy treatments are finished. I also have a lot of tenderness on the bottom of my feet - like I'm healing from a burn. He says that will go away also. None of these are too bad, just annoying.

I really appreciate all that my friends and family are doing to help me through my treatments. I'm thankful to God for all of you, and while I'm going through my treatments, I'm especially thankful for the:

• emails, cards, and gifts
• meals
• phone calls and visits
• hugs
• offers of help
• ability to work from home
• relief from cooking
• as-needed relief from commuting to Parker's school
• minimal side effects of chemo

I'll have my fourth and final dose of Adriamycin and Cytoxin on Monday. Thankfully the Adriamycin will be over. I hear it's the worst. I'll do 4 cycles of Taxotere after that, and I should be finished with chemo by July28. I'm not sure what my radiation treatment schedule will be, but I'm going to guess it will be about 7 weeks of treatment (5 days per week). Hopefully I'll have it all behind me by the end of September.

My daughter Jennifer graduated from nursing school yesterday. We are SO PROUD of her. She got a job in the ICU at a great hospital in Valencia. She'll be the BEST nurse ever. We're off to celebrate with her for the weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Sandy

May 20, 2008 - Day After 3rd Chemo Treatment

Yesterday's chemo treatment went well. I asked for my favorite nurse when I registered, and Jill was able to get my IV started within 15 minutes of my arrival, instead of the 30 to 45 minutes it had been taking. Oh, and she got it on the first try. Yay. It's no fun being poked numerous times. I went in at 1:30 and left at about 4:00. I felt fine last night. No issues at all.

Today was a pretty normal day. I went to lunch with a friend from work and we ran into 5 more friends from work....some of which I hadn't seen in a long, long time. It was like old home week. I gave them the run down on my diagnosis and treatment. Shelly's mom made a prayer scarf for me. She wrote me a note and told me what all of the colors meant and how she and her family and her church family were praying for me. How thoughtful was that??? That has to be why I'm feeling so good after yesterday's treatment.

I had my Neulasta shot this afternoon, did some errands, and got home just before six. I'm getting ready for a nap (while Clayton is making dinner. See why he's so great???)

Take care of yourselves, and do those self checks!!!

May 17, 2008 - Feelin Groovy

With the exception of this cold I've had since before chemo, I've been feeling pretty normal since Thursday. I guess I get four normal days during this 2 week cycle. Not bad.

I'm pretty close to bald now. My head looks like Parker's did when he was first born.... a few whispy strands, with baldness underneath. At first, I was covering my head whenever anyone was around - even my family. Now I'm goin' for comfort. They don't look at me funny, so I now only cover up when I go out (or when someone comes in!).

I'll be picking up a wig this morning. Then I'm having lunch with an old friend and going to Parker's baseball game. Y'all have a great day.

May 13, 2008 - Where Did She Go?

Hi there! So - just when I'm getting used to seeing myself in baseball caps with almost no hair - I'm thinking my husband is getting used to it also. Little did I know how wrong I was.

We went to lunch at Wendy's today. He ordered the food, and I sat down at a table. After he ordered, I saw him scanning the tables, looking past me a few times. I could see the panic on his face.... where did she go? Suddenly I realized he didn't recognize me without long hair. When I waved my arms in the air to get his attention, he looked relieved and then laughed and pointed to his neck, as if to say "I was looking for your long hair." It was kind of funny.

My stomach has been in knots the last few days. I'm not getting much relief from the pain, but I'm still able to do everything I could do before (work, laundry, Parker's baseball games, etc.). Thank God for my work family - letting me work from home. It's been the biggest help.

I wore a long wig to Parker's game today. I am not comfortable in a wig. Hats are pretty uncomfortable also (with no hair to set them on). I'll figure this out soon enough. I'm still working out the bumps on this temporary path.

Later gators.

May 8, 2008 - Hair Loss and Sleepiness

All is going well, except the annoying hair loss. No matter how many times I comb it, it continues to come out. My hair is way too thick, and it's taking way too long to come out. When Clayton's mom lost her hair, it was gone in two days. Mine has been falling out for at least 5 days, and it's still thick. It's not at all devastating to me that it's coming out; it's just the annoyance of hair all over the place. I'm trading in my hair dryer for a hair vacuum.

Went wig shopping the other day. I may have a wig made of my own hair in the next couple of months. I have bought a couple of cute hats, but they won't hide the baldness that's inevitable. I might just be ok with that for awhile.

I am doing everything like I was before, it's just that sometimes I have to sleep, so I do! Even 30 minutes helps.

All is better than ever expected with chemo treatments.

May 5, 2008 - 2nd Chemo Today

My day started grrrreat. I went to work, and we had Astronaut Greg Johnson (http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/johnson-gh.html) visiting our site. He was the pilot on the last space shuttle mission (STS-123). It was awesome getting a play-by-play (so to speak) of a Shuttle/Mir mission directly from the pilot. He was very funny! Greg awarded three of my co-workers Silver Snoopy awards. It's always fun to watch someone get rewarded for a job well done.

I left work at noon and had lunch and went to my 1:30 chemo appt where, once again, my veins were not cooperating. Helen poked and prodded and I finally told her that we had the same issue last week and that Jill was able to take care of it. So..... Jill came over, and guess what? Her first attempt was futile, so I got to have an IV on the back side of my arm this time. It worked great, and I was done by 4:50. Jill and I agreed I should have one person assigned to me who's familiar with my particular situation, so I'll now ask for Jill every time. I also noticed on the oncology website that there was a familiar name on there, and sure enough it was the wife of an old friend. I got to meet Ellen today. She's a doll.

I feel just fine right now. My hair is really starting to come out now.... It's pretty annoying. I'm sooooooo glad I cut it off.

Later gators. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the sweet comments you're putting on my blog.

May 3, 2008 - Update

Hello there. Just when I was starting to really enjoy my short hair .... I noticed quite a bit of hair on my hands this morning when I used my spikey gel. I guess it'll be a matter of days now. I bought a long-haired wig last week, and now I need to get a short one. :-)

Parker's baseball team had a playoff game last night against the hard-hitting Yankees, and unfortunately they lost to them 7-2, but it was a great game. The boys played hard and played well. They are starting the 2nd half of the season, and they still have a chance to go to the Tournament of Champions.

Since I style my short hair a bit different than the original photo, I had Clayton take another picture of me this morning. There won't be any bald photos ... don't worry. :-)

Have a great day. I plan to!