What a relief to have that over with! They gave me this anti-nausea medicine that should last about 5 days.... so I don't know how that will feel once it wears off, but so far so good! I didn't feel sick at all yesterday, and I was just a little tired. I went home, took a nap for an hour, and got right back into the swing of things. Tim cooked dinner, and I ate (so I had an appetite... I was actually STARVING) and had ice cream for dessert.
I have another, shorter, session today, so we'll see how that goes. I am reassured now, though.
One thing that I must remember is that everyone I've talked to says that the first session or two aren't so bad. It's when you get further and further into it that things seem to go downhill and your body starts to take a toll. So, I am prepared for that, but right now I'm doing fine. What a relief! I was very worried.
Some of the other information that I finally have includes that I'll be going in every Monday for blood tests to see where my white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and platelet counts are at. If I'm not in an acceptable range, then they'll be giving me a drug to help boost whatever blood counts need help. Things like that CAN delay when and how often I have my treatments, but provided that everything goes smoothly, I'm looking at going every third week for 6 months. So, it's January now, I'm hoping to be over the worst of it by about June or July. After that, I'll still have treatments, but they aren't considered "chemo." Those are just other drugs to help me out.
I was told that if I do end up losing my hair, it could start within the next two weeks, but I've also talked to a couple of people whose hair didn't start falling out until their 3rd and 4th treatments. I guess we'll see. I do have a couple of wigs handy just in case, although I'm not sure I'll ever wear them. I'm actually more of a hat/scarf person, I think. We'll see. I have decided that if I do lose my hair, I want to get a portrait of Tim and I both bald at the same time. I think it'll be something cool we could do. I am trying to embrace as much of this as I can. If it's going to happen, I need plans in line to sort-of take control of the situation and wrap my mind around it.
I'm also looking at starting radiation around March or April. I have an appointment with the radiologist in March, but I don't know how long after that she'll wait to actually get me started. I'll keep you updated on that as I learn more in that area.
As for the rest of the family, Tim's still working on the upstairs. It's looking great, and we're very pleased with the outcome so far! Basically, we're going to have an extra master bedroom and master bath upstairs! So, between work, taking me to appointments, working on the house, and an algebra class that he's taking, he's a very busy man... talk about multi-tasking!
Ashleigh is doing great. She comes in and checks to see how I'm feeling and asks questions when she's ready for more information. She doesn't seem to want too much info too soon, so I let her come to me when she wants to know more. That way, she has the opportunity to digest a little at a time. As artistic as she is, I'd love for her to be able to paint something cool on the back of my head once I lose my hair and have a portrait taken. Her report card came out about a week ago, and she's got all A's, so we're very proud of her. She is also still dating Travis... a little over 8 months now! He's a very nice, respectful boy, so we like him.
Carley is also doing great. Kindergartners are graded on the "E, S+, S, S-" scale, and she has gotten all "Excellents" on her report card. She really seems to like school. Oh, and by the way, she WANTS my hair to fall out, so she can put temporary tattoos on my head. She also thinks that I should get wigs of all colors (including green and blue). She sees it as an opportunity to do something that I wouldn't normally do with my hair. I love the different viewpoints that the girls have on this whole situation. They keep me grounded and help me stay positive!
We are currently looking into getting both of the girls into magnet schools for next year. The school Ash is in is in a bad part of town, and they really don't have a great curriculum. I want to get her into an artistic program or into a law program. She has mentioned lately that she'd like to be a lawyer, and she never really likes signing up for art classes because she loses her freedom of expression when someone TELLS her what she has to draw/paint/etc. So, we'll see.
As for Carley, we're probably looking at either International Studies, which teaches about different cultures and languages, or a Math/Science/Technology school, which is also stuff that she is showing signs of interest in and that she is good at. She has a logical mind and this type of environment would really help her, we think. As we figure out what we're going to do with each of the girls, we'll let you know.
Oh, and since I am looking at about 6 months of treatment, and sessions tend to get worse as I move along, I've mentioned to my Mom that maybe she should wait until around April to come down so she can be here when the girls are on Spring Break. By that time, I'm sure I'll be feeling pretty crappy. That way, she'll be able to help entertain the girls somewhat while they're out of school, and we'll have the upstairs done by that time. We'll see how that goes, though. In March, Tim is planning on having some friends down to help re-roof the house, and is going to pay for their hotel in Daytona for bike week in payment. So, we're looking at some house guests during the beginning of March. I don't mind, though. I get tired of being home alone all day.
I guess that's about it. Thank you to all of the wonderful phone calls that I got yesterday. It was so nice to have everyone call and see how I was feeling. Just knowing that I have a cheering section and people to listen to my thoughts and so on was nice. I very much enjoyed all the calls!
Love, ~Brenda
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