My parents came to Montevideo on Tuesday afternoon to watch the kids for us, as I had an early appointment for a brain MRI on Wednesday. The reason for the MRI was that I had a couple of episodes of large, lasting headaches and peripheral vision loss this past summer (which I chalked up to being overtired from being up with a newborn) but it made my oncologist nervous and he wanted to check to make sure there was no cancer spreading to my brain--which is unlikely, but I'm glad he's thorough. My MRI was followed by my regular labs, oncology appointment, and chemo treatment on Wednesday. It's so nice to be able to have the kids stay at home, providing Brad and I with that little bit of alone time to prepare ourselves for the coming days. When we arrived in the cities we headed to Merle Norman in the HarMar Mall to check out some wigs. I tried a couple on and we browsed a little bit, but left without getting anything (mall prices...yikes!) and I'm not sure I'm ready for one anyway...everything seemed so "not me." All in due time.
We celebrated my birthday early with Pizza Hut breadsticks (memories of being pregnant with Brendan) and tacos from Taco Bell (memories of midnight Taco Bell picnics from college)...both of which aren't the healthiest, but, hey, it's for my birthday, right? We finished the evening off with a piece of chocolate chip zucchini cake at my grandparents house, slept well, and headed to my early appointments.
The MRI went smoothly (no claustrophobic episodes for me...although I did spend the whole time with my eyes closed, daydreaming of Rose Lake!) and we headed over to Minnesota Oncology for my labs. We need to do a blood draw before every chemo treatment to check my blood cell counts (especially my white blood cell counts), because if they're too low (1.0 or under) I can't receive chemo, due to my immune system being too affected. Luckily, my count came back at 5.4, which is wonderful, and means my body is responding well to the Neulasta shot, which builds back up my white blood cell count. Hooray!
After labs, I had a Survivorship meeting with my oncologist's Nurse Practitioner. It's a program that they have that looks at patients more comprehensively: physically, emotionally, financially, medically, nutritionally, etc. It's a wonderful tool, and I'm so glad to be receiving care at a group that cares so much about it's patients.
After Survivorship, it was time for chemo. Brad and I enjoyed a lunch of Jimmy Johns (freaky fast!) while I was getting pumped full of nausea meds and steroids (which burned a bit this time, unfortunately) and then our nurse, Emily, did the honors and gave me the chemo drugs. During this time, my oncologist's nurse, Jane, came jubilantly running in with the results of the brain scan. My brain is clear! Hooray #2!
My chemo treatments are pretty low-key. We try to eat something (knowing I most likely won't be eating much in the next few days), we talk, watch tv, visit with the nurses and other patients, and I rest a little while Brad works on the laptop. This treatment, the fatigue hit me earlier and I took a hard 45-minute nap in the chair while Brad worked. Then we're done, we stop and pick up my Neulasta shot at the pharmacy, and we head home to hugs from happy kids and our own beds.
How I'm Doing:
I won't get into too much detail about my chemo symptoms...they're kinda yucky. But, I'm doing okay. I'm more tired than last time, the nausea and digestive issues are a little more severe, and I've started to s-l-o-w-l-y lose my hair (the whole waking up to find bits on your pillow? Totally true.) but I'm still doing well. I/we continue to be overwhelmed with everyone's thoughts, prayers, well-wishes, cards, gifts, and meals. Please know that each of you makes a huge impact, and we feel surrounded by love and healing.
Brad and I at the end of the second chemo treatment.
The Future:
Looks Beautiful.
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