Well hey there! In my little absence from postings I have gotten down to my last week of the first leg of my treatment, we had my parents and kiddos visit us, and I had to skip one chemo. Tuesday, March 30th will be my final round of chemotherapy and external beam radiation! It is almost surreal to think that we are rounding out an entire month of this routine and it has been six weeks today since we have been inside our home. We will be heading back to South Dakota after my radiation tomorrow for a quick weekend to grab some snuggles with the boys and celebrate my nephews birthday. It is not our house, but certainly one of our homes and will be decorated with some of my favorite people.
I have been playing around with my meals and the timing of them to see if I can relieve some bowel stress from radiation, and I'm not so sure it has been very successful. My aim was to reduce diarrhea by eating after my radiation appointment instead of before. I may be setting myself up for heartbreak by doing so, though. In order to get through the morning without food, I just sleep until the last possible minute before I've got to get my booty moving. Mom Jodi is going to be so pissed when we get back to normal life and that isn't an option. While experimenting with my eating I created a more solid stool, and constipation so I think I've had enough fun and I will just endure whatever shitty situation I end up in. When going through symptoms, my doctor figured that my rectum would run into some trouble because of the positioning of my tumor and the lack of fatty tissue between the two. What a time to have just lost like 35 pounds in the last year. Please know that though I refrain from using "lol" and "haha's" I am joking at least 86% of the time. This is one of them.
My bladder was also an area of concern and I knew before treatment that around day 17-20 I would be experiencing UTI-like symptoms. So I've got that going on, and I am happy to take the trouble I have been having in the bathroom over what I could be going through. My nausea is still mostly at bay and is taken out quickly if it does come down on me. I get worn out much easier lately, but I went from being incredibly active to two hour near daily naps, what could you expect. I also get microwaved daily too, so... Like I said, I am happy to deal with the minimal symptoms I have now instead of what all could be going wrong. My emotions are pretty well settled for the most part. I still have momentary lapses in positivity where I just don't want to move, talk, think, or exist, but Nate snaps me back into reality by being the greatest human on Earth and unknowingly reminds me how incredibly blessed I am. This man, ya'll. You couldn't fathom how great he is to and for me. I can't even fathom it most days, and he deserves the world! Just no more guns right now.
I was set to have my fifth dose of chemo this past Tuesday, but was unable to receive it due to low blood counts. Platelets to be precise. Our nurse assured us that this is a common occurrence with Cisplatin and we shouldn't worry about it. I took the week off to allow them to build back up. The cutoff to be able to get chemo was 100, and mine were at 91 so it's not like I am completely depleted. I have been kind of hovering around 110-120 the past few treatments, so it was also not something that was a quick drastic change. All is well, and we should not have to make this treatment up. Onto next week for the final infusion! They have a gong set up in the office, so I have been fantasizing my approach to ringing that bad boy in celebration. I think Nate is equally excited to get to hear its glory.
I shared on my Facebook that we were able to take over $1000 out of our GoFundMe to give directly to other patients at the Village Pointe Cancer Care Clinic. While getting chemo I am there for about five hours, and a friend of mine down here is usually there for around seven. During that time, snacks are offered to each patient. When we asked our nurse who we could donate money to she said that all the snacks offered are 100% donated and we could go that route. Great information that we had no idea about! We had planned on giving to whatever organization put together the new start goodie bags that I had gotten my first day of treatment. It put such a smile on my face to see someone gave a big enough damn to think about giving something happy, and not think about cancer or treatment for five minutes. In my bag I had gotten a notebook, binder, socks, lotion, coloring book, sanitizer, masks, a blanket, mints, and some other things that all played a part in making the next few weeks a little easier. Since we were overwhelmed with monetary support, we only felt it was right to pass along more happiness. Nate did practically all the shopping and work to stuff 15 bags to the brim with goodies. We filled the backseat of my pickup with snacks upon snacks for the infusion center, resulting in an overflow for their storage. We are eternally grateful for everyone who donated. You couldn't imagine how nice it was to know that we wouldn't have to scrounge for fuel to see those babies of ours, to be able to set them up with diapers and snacks for their Nana, and make more trips than we originally thought we could. There is so much more good that we will be able to do by paying it forward, so thank you another million times, you are all our heros!
Going into the next treatment agenda on April 5th ready and set to blow this tumor out of the water! I will have 5 total sessions of brachytherapy, one every three days until the 21st. As of now that is my last obligation in Omaha and we can head north! I have one appointment on the 2nd, so we are throwing around the idea of going back to hang out with the homies after my last stint at Village Pointe. Which means travel days tomorrow and Monday, two days of treatments, then back on the road Tuesday evening for snugs until Thursday. Many the miles, but worth it for 48 hours of a normal life. Since my internal zaps are high frequency and so close together, we haven't made a plan to see the little guys in April. Which makes it hard to not make the drive to take advantage of every second we can. I thank technology and their Nana every day for the opportunity to see them. Even if it is just to watch them ignore the phone and play, I still get to wade in their cuteness!
I am very happy to report that my life has been relatively boring down here! I have covered our entire desk with well wishes and trinkets that bring me so much strength and happiness every time I look at them. I will never be able to repay the amount of support I have received this past six weeks, but plan to try my damnedest every chance I get. Which reminds me! Alicia Albers, whom I have mentioned before, has an account set up at BHFCU in Rapid City to help her family navigate their new life with cancer. It is under the name Alicia Albers Benefit Account. You can go into any Black Hills Federal Credit Union with cash or a check made out to that name for them to deposit. You can also mail it to BHFCU, PO Box 1420, Rapid City SD 57702.
Until next time!
XOJO
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