Next week at infusion, I'll be more prepared to celebrate. It will be Michelle's last infusion and it will be my last weekly infusion. I go on the every 3 week schedule for Herceptin. Even though today was sort of anticlimactic, given next weeks treatments, the nurses still celebrated my accomplishment by showering me in confetti and presenting me with a special achievement certificate. That was super nice. That will be the good thing about going back for Herceptin, I'll get to see all the friends (nurses and other patients) that I've made for 9 more months. I will missing having Michelle there after this week, but I am so happy for her that she's done with that process!
Just today, I made a new friend, Sherry. It was her first infusion. She is a HS teacher and and girl's volleyball and basketball coach. She has the same drug treatment plan I have so I was telling her a little bit about my experience and she was asking me questions. Michelle was also able to talk about her experiences with her too. She has a positive attitude and she was telling her friends who called on the phone that she was having a great time, relaxing in her chair and chatting with people going through the same things. We also convinced her to start a team for the Komen race. She was tell friends seeing Michelle and I healthy, happy, and giggling at the end of our chemo treatment was very encouraging. That made me feel really good. The nurse even told me that Michelle and I do a good job cheering up the patients who sit around us. “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
Another thought on chemo I had been meaning to share: I had bought this collection of pins, because I saw one I wanted Michelle to have. It said "Nurse's Favorite", because there is one nurse there who really loves her. I also gave her the one that said "One Tough Chick", because she is! The set also included a pin that read "Chemo Sucks". I can't really say I agree with this. Chemo increased my cure rate considerably, how can I have negative feelings about something that did that for me. If it had read "Chemo side-effects suck", I totally would have worn that button. I also would wear a button that says, "Thank you Chemo". Besides killing any cancer cells that may have been floating around my body, chemo also challenged me. I stood up to the challenge and I got through better than I expected, which makes me feel proud . “I do believe that when we face challenges in life that are far beyond our own power, it's an opportunity to build on our faith, inner strength, and courage. I've learned that how we face challenges plays a big role in the outcome of them.” Sasha Azevedo
The biggest factor in my success during treatment was the support of family and friends, which I have written about throughout my blogs. But in these last weeks I want to mention some star supporters. Scot has stepped up big time. Besides his full time job at Dell, he takes the kids to soccer practice twice a week, continues to wash dishes, has taken a bigger role in discipline, and sets up the Sportbrella (no easy task on windy days) at soccer games to keep me shaded. I should see if I can extend the dishes clause through radiation treatment too. He's also been taking his lunch hour every Thursday to bring me lunch at the cancer center for the last 11 weeks, since I'm usually there 9-2. Today was an exception. He had taken the day off to be with me for my echo-cardio-gram, and my last chemo treatment. That all changed when he got sick to his stomach last night. It is just not possible for him to go to a cancer treatment center with all the immune challenged patients, with a stomach bug. So my Go-To-Gals and walking buddies, Jill and Nikki came to the rescue, bringing me my Mighty Fine Burger and Half Sweet, Easy Ice "high maintenance" tea for lunch. They also stayed and chatted, which made my time there just fly by. Nikki walked Meg home from school too, since I was later leaving today. I am so blessed to have a family of friends here to help Scot look after me.
I always do crazy things that I think about sharing to make people laugh. When I do a ridiculous thing my first thought is, I should blog about that, but then I forget. Let's see what funny things I can remember. Today I tried to go to the restroom with my IV stand and I couldn't figure out why it was stuck. Well, I hadn't unplugged it! I was tugging so hard if it had come unplugged I would have probably gone flying backwards. That would have created some excitement. I was in a public restroom and I was running my hand under the automatic sensor of the paper towel dispenser. I was surprised when the paper towel came out because I was trying to get soap. Oh, well, I saved some time at the end of the process, because there was the towel waiting for me. Another funny thing completely unrelated to chemo, though I might as well blame chemo, because I can . . . was when Meg came home with a friend late last Friday night. I opened the door to let her in and wave to the friend, and a bird swooped in the door, right past my head, and flew down the hall. I screamed like a girl and flailed around like a toddler. I even tinkled a little. In my defense, at first I thought it might be a bat and we've had a lot of rabid bats in the area. Then I saw it was an adorable little Bewicks Wren, which then proceeded to buzz my head 3-4 more times before managing to fly back outside. Sadly, even after I saw what it was I still freaked out like a whack-a-doodle, much to the amusement of my kids and to the chagrin of my husband. Well, so much for the brave fearless cancer fighter reputation I was trying to maintain.
I had no idea you've been going through this. I admire your strength and your positive attitude. I pray that things continue to get better.
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