Half Way There!

Hello all!!

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your May so far!  Summer will be here before we know it – yeah!!  I am looking forward to our girls being out of school, being done with chemo and having some summer fun!  With that said – I am half way there!  My next chemo appt is today and I only have four more to go so I will be done by the end of June!  As scheduled my last chemo will be June 28^th.



My breast cancer sticker on my car

 

My last chemo treatment I had on May 3^rd really kicked my butt (which was to be expected).  Initially I felt pretty good.  After my chemo appt my lovely and thoughtful hubby took me to lunch as he always does and when we got home I was really tired so I went to bed for the rest of the day.  When I woke up on Wednesday I felt great.  I went to my hydration flush appt, got my fill of water while enjoying spending time with one of my girlfriends.  That afternoon I took the girls swimming with my friend and her son.  We had a great time!  I even had energy to go in the water with the girls – it was awesome!  Thursday and Friday I felt great but by Saturday morning it finally hit me.  I was tired to the bone and my body hurt.  I wasn’t nauseas (yeah!) just extremely exhausted with utterly no energy.  Let’s just say I spent most of the weekend in bed.  I had a nice Mother’s Day though.  The girls couldn’t wait and gave me their handmade cards and artwork on Friday.  On Mother’s Day Shawn brought me Starbucks and breakfast (Yum!).  After a long nap we took the girls out in the late afternoon to PlayWerx.  Shawn called ahead to make sure it wasn’t crowded and I sat as far away from the play structure as possible to avoid all those kidlet germs. J   I couldn’t forget my amazing Mom – I took her to breakfast on Wednesday when I felt better and we had a wonderful time.

Going back to Monday and Tuesday of last week – those were tough days especially Tuesday.  Thank God my friend picked up my girls from school and watched them for me because I was pretty much in bed all day (I wasn’t nauseas though just again exhausted, no energy and my body hurt).  I did have to go in early that morning for some lab work (my white blood count is checked weekly to make sure I am doing well and can continue chemo) and when Annie the nurse manager at the cancer center sweetly asked how I was doing the tears began to flow freely.  When Toni the nurse who was doing my labs came back in with my results (which were great!) she told me about the support group that she leads the second Tuesday of every month in San Marcos.  There was a meeting that night so she gave me the flyer and said she would love to see me there if I was feeling well enough to go.  When I looked at the flyer as I was walking to my car I saw a verse on there and wondered if the group was a Christ centered one.  I really wanted to go and began praying asking God to help me sleep enough to feel better so I could go.  I went home and slept the rest of the day except to eat lunch, chat with my mom a bit who came by to check on me and receive dinner from a friend when she came to drop it off.  When I woke up later around dinner time I felt pretty good and decided to go check out the support group. 

I arrived at the support group and instantly felt God’s presence.  All the ladies there were just so kind and delightful, and I could tell by how they shared that they were believers.  We spent our time going around and sharing our stories.  Some women were actively going through treatment, while others were survivors who still came to the group for fellowship and to encourage others.  Toni shared some verses at the end and we closed our time in prayer.  They even changed the meeting night to the third Tuesday of each month since my Bunco group meets the second Tuesday of each month.  How awesome is that!?  All I can say is that my Jesus orchestrated that day and He blessed me tremendously by leading me to that incredible support group.

I saw my oncologist on Friday and again she joked asking me if I was really going through chemo.  Overall I am doing very well for a chemo patient (prayer rocks – thanks y’all!).  I even still have my eyebrows and eyelashes – hopefully they will stick around and never leave me.  For my last four treatments I will only be given one chemo drug Taxol.  The day before each of my Taxol treatments I take a medication called Decadron once at breakfast and once at lunch.  It is an anti-inflammatory medication, helps decrease swelling, and helps fight vomiting and nausea.  One side effect is that is can cause insomnia thus the reason I am up typing at this hour. :)  Oh well, they will be giving me Benadryl tomorrow during chemo so I can sleep then.  My oncologist said I shouldn’t have much nausea but I will experience flu-like symptoms, low energy/tiredness and bone pain.  I may even deal with some swelling in my ankles and feet as well as experience numbness and tingling in my hands and feet.  I may experience some of these side effects, all of them or none at all.  We shall see – everyday is an adventure in chemoland.

Shawn and the girls at Shakey's our favorite pizza place

My Jesus continues to surround me with His love, power and strength so I can ride out this journey I am on.  I feel His tender and caring arms every day.  He continues to teach me patience, trust and to have absolute dependence on Him.  I am so thankful for what He has taught me so far and I look forward to continuing this education I am receiving. J   Your prayers, thoughts, encouragement, and support uplift me daily – thank you!!!!  I hope the following verse encourages you as much as it did me:

Romans 5: 3-5   “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by         the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

Love & Blessings,

Kelly