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that’s where this week has gone. my sister went home. two of my friends received cancer diagnoses. my hair hurts and it’s decided now is the time to fall out.
i go back to the hospital on monday for dose number two of eshap chemotherapy. of course i am dreading it. i hate knowing that i’m going to feel like shit, and i think it’s worse this time because i know just exactly how shitty.
let’s just take a break from all of this woe-is-me chemo business for a second. remember that garden i planted? i snuck out to have a look at it today. the “garden soil” we had delivered is pretty useless, so things have been off to a slow start in there. over by, and from, the compost pile, however, things are much happier! and by “things,” i mean plants.
i have a mystery melon growing from the geobin. i’m guessing watermelon, but what do i know? it’s something we ate, that’s all i can be sure of. maybe a cantaloupe? i’ve done zero research, but perhaps a kind reader will point me in the right direction. (i should post more photos of the developing fruit and flowers, huh?)
the trellis that is intended to hide our trash bin is home to a few heirloom tomatoes. i’m really excited about the tomatoes. free tomatoes are a good thing.
just a quick update, to let you all know i’m home and holding my own… so far. i feel pretty awful, mostly nauseated and wicked fatigued. mom has been over everyday to help and my sister arrives friday.
today, i’m waiting for my gp’s office to call us back so i can go in for labs. i keep getting up off the couch and lapping the dining room or kitchen, hoping to shake off some of this ickified funky feeling. no luck yet.
back to the couch now, because that’s just about all i can handle.
yesterday, nuggetdaddy and i dropped nugget off at grandad & grandmamie’s and then made the trek up to loudoun hospital where i was admitted and started my first day of eshap chemotherapy. i’ll be here at least until friday. my oncologist said he plans to keep me until he feels i’m well enough to go home.
nugget and nuggetdaddy will come up on wednesday or thursday and stay with friends in lansdowne until i’m ready to leave.
nugget is already missing her mama. she loved the video email, but cried for me tonight when we skyped. i had to call back after she got into her pajamas and sing her winnie-the-pooh songs while she jumped on the bed.
the nurses are great so far. the pharmacist = FAIL. it took foreverrrrrr to get my pain meds, and frankly they’re no better than what i take at home. one likes to imagine that at least while in the hospital, pain might be better managed. ahem.
moving on… it’s late and normal people are sleeping. the steroids coursing through my veins say to me, “hey, let’s party!” i think i’m going to turn on the tv and take some ativan shortly to see if i can trick my body into sleeping.
good night, all. we’re only $74 from goal #2! i really hope we can meet (& surpass) it while i’m in for this first dose of chemo!
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in response to reaching the $3600 goal:
YEAH!!! you guys (and ladies) rock! i am SO touched by your genorosity. i hope you’ll continue to spread the word. feel free to pass along this link: http://bitsofmyself.com/help-me-make-a-stand/ it will give interested readers a taste of my blog and show them exactly how they can doante directly to my team.
want to search for my star in the constellation? check it out & pass it along! go to: http://www.standup2cancer.org/constellation-launch?op=search
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i’m deep into day two now. feeling nauseated and in pain at times. a wicked headache sprung up on me. my face is a lovely shade of red from the chemo. it happened last time, too.
i didn’t get much sleep last night (but that’s a story for another day’s post) so i’m going to try for a nap now. wish me luck, since it’s shift switch time, and nothing good ever happens then.
there’s been much discussion over the arrival of my pain meds. i’ve been asking for them since 3pm. it’s now 10:07pm. i’m in pain, and now super irritated. grrr…
yesterday afternoon, nugget and i picked wild blackberries in the backyard and counted the first of our bloody butcher tomatoes in the garden. this memory alone could get me through chemo.
today, we met with the transplant oncologist at george washington university hospital cancer center in dc. the plan is for me to start chemo (eshap) on monday at loudoun hospital with my original oncologist and then go to george washington for the stem cell harvest & transplant.
unlike my last chemo (abvd), this one is administered in-patient over the course of 5 days. hopefully 2-4 cycles will put me in remission. each cycle will take 4 weeks.
once i’m in remission i’ll go back to dc for the stem cell harvest and transplant. i will spend 2-3 weeks in-patient at george washington. this will likely not happen until after my sister’s wedding in november.
my standup2cancer team has already raised $2,730. we’re even listed in the “top 50″ teams now! this fundraising effort is so very important to me in a time when i feel most helpless. please continue to help my family and me as we once again fight this horrible disease.
nugget is in no mood for me to be blogging, so away i go. goodnight, friends.
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