I realized I had not updated my blog since the Gamma Knife treatment. That first week was interesting. I was swollen across my face and looked like I had been in a brawl. My eyelids were screaming at me. I hibernated to avoid terrifying the neighbors. The swelling went away about a week later. I’m still sleeping on two pillows because I feel a little pressure around the pin sites when my head is not elevated. I’m also waiting to go back downtown for the follow-up MRI to see if it worked. I think it worked. In the meantime, I have noticed some improvements. All last year I was feeling increasingly dizzy. I would hunt for the wall to support me when I first woke up, the world spinning around me. Now…no more dizziness! I had one day when I felt a little dizzy for a few minutes, but I can sense a significant difference. Maybe it’s all in my head (pun intended LOL), but I think the Gamma Knife made the difference. I thank the Lord daily for the treatment options available to me, keeping my body stable and going.
Today is chemo day. I came yesterday to get my monthly shot of Xgeva, and today I’m here for my infusion of Herceptin and Perjeta. My yesterday nurse asked why I didn’t move the shot to today and save a trip. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that? That would have been a good move. But, it’s okay. I don’t mind. It gave me a reason to get out of the house on a cold, wintery day.
The nurses here are so kind and helpful. They did use my bloodwork from yesterday so I didn’t have to get poked again today. At least, that’s what I reasoned until a few minutes before my appointment when I realized I had not put the numbing cream on my port. Yeah, I do have to get poked, just not in the arm. Yet another silly blonde moment. The cream really helps, and apparently I didn’t have it on long enough today–ouch–lesson learned….
Every time I come for chemo, I get a different nurse. I was reminded today that I have a one in twelve chance of getting the same one. I’m pretty sure I have run through all twelve of them by now, as we know each other by name. It’s ironic because when I first started treatment in 2013, I had the same nurse several times in a row. Sometimes the lottery works out that way. I thought she was my own personal nurse until I got someone else. “Where’s Cathy?” I asked. That’s when I learned how the system actually works. I’ve had Cathy several times since then, but not today.
It is encouraging when I have an opportunity to converse with the nurses about life. Many of them are about my age, and we have similar life circumstances. Today, my nurse and I collaborated on the joys of “raising” our young adult “children.” Feeling a bit nostalgic I don’t think we will ever quit worrying about our kids, regardless of chronology. Now that they have families of their own, we have even more people to worry about. If you have little ones, enjoy the vexing while they are young. It is only temporary. Play with them. Love them. Teach them manners. Let them mess up the house, and then show them how to clean it up. Read to them. Bathe them. Laugh and cry with them. Say no to them, and say it firmly. Hug them and take good care of them. Discipline them. Don’t spoil them, but give them what they need. Don’t let the devil delude you into believing things will get better when…they are out of diapers…they go to school…they grow up…they move out…they have a family of their own…when…when…when. Don’t wait for life to pass you by while you wait for it to get easier. Life only gets more complicated with each passing moment. The future is inevitable and it will be here in the blink of an eye. Embrace whatever present is standing in front of you. It’s called the present because it is a gift. Unwrap it and live life today to abundance and overflowing with joy.
Jesus said, “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they may have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.” ~John 10:10 (NIRV)
Á la prochaine…until next time…