Chemo Begins - Monday July 14th

Oh what a difference a month makes...lol. A month ago I was going through life without a care or concern busily attacking each task in front of me and even busier planning every detail of the coming months. I never would have guessed that I'd be diagnosed with cancer and be starting chemo this summer. But God is so very faithful. And I'm so excited about what he's doing in my life. I keep saying to myself that verse in James where it says to count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds...that through them our faith is being perfected (thats not a word for word quote). This is not a trial I would have chosen but I'm excited to see how my faith will be affected and perfected! Okay so enough of the rambling and into the info everyone wants to know. I went in at 10:00am yesterday for my first treatment. But was delayed about an hour and a half because I'd developed a pretty nasty rash on my chest...an alergic reation to the tape/bandages I'd had from my port surgery last week. So I had to go and see the doctor and have him check it out and perscribe some steroids. Although I'm not too keen on steroids I'm thrilled to not be itching anymore. Kind of on a different note...while I was in with Dr. Keller we got off an my Congenital Pseudoarthrosis (the bone disease I had as a child) and he'd been research about it all weekend and actually found that pseudoarthrosis, BRCA1 and BRCA2 (the breast cancer genes) as well as a couple other disorder which I don't have are all on the same gene or are either really close together on the DNA strand (I don't understand all that kind of stuff)...he thought it was all very interesting and is doing more research but believes there is a connection...even if the medical community isn't advanced enough to understand it and figure it out yet. Anyway...back to the Chemo. We got started with the chemo at about 11:45...Dorian got to stay there for the first few drips before he headed off to work. Then Kathryn came and sat with me the rest of the afternoon...except when mom popped in for a quick lunch time visit. Much to my amazement I didn't feel anything different, weird, or even sick. There was one point during the second medicine that my sinuses started feeling a lot of pressure and they gave me a benedryl and some tylenol and everything got better. I felt great the rest of the day. We were able to go out for a late lunch (3:30) after treatment and then headed home to get the kids together so we could go to grandpa's. I started getting tired that evening at grandpas and ended up napping on the hammock until the mosquitos tried to get their share of Chemo blood, which couldn't have been too tasty but they kept coming so I went inside. Overnight I had a couple of rough spots...I had a difficult time sleeping (they said it's a side effect of the steroids) and a couple bouts of nausea. Luckily the medicine they prescribed for the nausea made me drowsy and I knocked out both problems with 1 stone or pill. Today I went in for my shot of newlastin (that's probably spelled wrong) it's a shot I have to get the day after chemo that will stimulate my bones to produce more marrow therefore upping my white blood cell count thus keeping my immune system more stable and an infection less likely. They said the side effect from that shot is that my bones could ache...I haven't had any of that yet and in faith at all. But I am tired today...I can do small things around the house but have to sit down a lot and rest. Luckily Kathryn has taken the kids out to the park!!! God is so good...all the time!!! I woke up singing my favorite song this morning...In Christ Alone...and I thought I'd leave this blog entry with my favorite line from that song which means more to me now than ever....

No power of hell

No scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from HIS hand

Till he returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I stand