Chemo

• When we woke up on Thursday mornings, we didn't talk much. Lee drank his coffee, we watched a minute of the news and we got our bags ready for the chemo day. I never talked on the way to chemo, but Lee was always upbeat and had things to talk about.
• We  usually arrived at chemo at 8:00 a.m. and I was always in chemo brain so I was foggy. The lab girls would call me back for my blood work. That little lab room was always decorated for the season and the girls always complimented me on my blonde wig - they liked that one the best:)
• Dr. Rivera and her nurse, Cristine, would see me soon after the blood work was done, and I was always on pins and needles waiting to hear if my platelets were at a good level and if I could handle the next chemo dose. Dr. Rivera seemed to enjoy talking with us about every day topics like politics, cost of medicine, and make up! She was great. Dr. Rivera treated me like I was one of her girlfriends - she gave me advice on how to grow my eyelashes back, about menopause, and encouraged me to not listen to all the negative Nancy's out there! Thank you, Dr. Rivera.
• If I was able to take chemo that day, I would go to see the chemo appointment nurse whose office was covered with Dallas Cowboy decorations. Lee always had a good Cowboy joke for her and we could tell she always looked forward to seeing us!
• Celeste, my chemo nurse, was always happy to see us. She let us pick out our chair and then Lee would prepare my chair with cozy blanket, drink, snack, and made sure I had my Ipod. He would sit in the chair next to me, turn on the TV, get out his solitaire game or book, and we settled in for the next 4 hours.
• Celeste would prepare my portocath with a sequence of activities - flushing the portocath, cleaning the area, and inserting the first meds.  First the saline, then the benadryl/steroid, then I'd get sleepy and she would insert the chemo (the red stuff).  I'd put in my Ipod with my praise and worship music and cover up with a blanket. I would practically pass out for the next two hours. Lee never left me and stayed there with me the whole time, every chemo session.
• Text messaging with Linda and Margot always made me happy during this time before I fell asleep:) 
• When Celeste or Lee woke me up, I felt a little groggy but good to go home. The steroid made me feel great the first day. I would even feel like cleaning or cooking that day, but it all hit the second and third day.
• By this time of day, we realized that humor and a good attitude was going to be the key to getting better, so this day was the catapult that would get us through the next week - we laughed a lot!
• On Friday morning I felt like I was hit with the flu. My whole body hurt, I was nauseous. We had to go back to chemo to get the Neulesta shot around noon. This medicine would boost my white blood cells for the next few days so that I wouldn't catch every bad cold or germ. It made me feel better around Sunday night. From Friday through Sunday night I really don't remember much, just laying on the couch, using the bathroom, and not wanting to eat.
• Monday or Tuesday I might go to work for half day. I would keep up with my work from home because I could log on to my school computer remotely. The kids and teachers at school kept me smiling and laughing, and I knew that I had to be there to get better! Laughter, joy, and great attitudes - thank you!!
• I would be able to work full days on Wednesday through Friday. I would completely rest and do nothing the following weekend and trudge through the next work week until chemo started all over again.

The chemo nurses at Texas Oncology were wonderful beyond words. I will never forget their faces, their touches, and their encouragement. They laughed with us as we told them funny stories of my forgetfulness and dealing with my hair loss. Laughter is the best medicine!

Thanksgiving 2010 - Mitch and my mom came to visit! It was wonderful.  I actually ate some Thanksgiving dinner and I know that it was God that gave me this wonderful holiday to celebrate with my family. I missed Margot so much, but she had to work. Lee's dad was here, too, and they made the holiday really fun. It felt strange for Mitch to see me without hair, and so sick, but he gave me strength with every hug and kiss. My mom had the hardest time seeing me sick.  Lee took care of everything as usual.

Last Adriamycin - December 23, 2010 

Taxol - December 30

The Taxol was a different story- the other side effects slowly subsided around the tenth week in to the Taxol treatments, and the new side effects were bearable: bone/muscle pain, neuropathy of the fingers and toes, and a strange side effect the doctor hadn't heard of at this point - my teeth hurt! Cold and heat were unbearable to touch my teeth, and the constant gum pain was just so odd.

Last chemo treatment - February 17, one day after Lee's birthday

I prayed that God would make the months of chemo go by in a flash or that I would be put in a coma so I wouldn't have to keep going through it. Here's the blessing - on my very last day of chemo (February 17) I was amazed at how the past was history and seemed like only a day.