My lymphedema therapist allows me to take off my wraps once a day in order to take a shower!!! It is the highlight of my day - says volumes about my life right now. I just had to learn how to wrap myself, which was not hard. I'm still hunting and pecking, so this is again brief. I have finished 7/33 radiations.
Jan
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Three More Weeks
It was determined yesterday that the gauntlet was measured incorrectly....so Monday I go to be measured AGAIN - hopefully third time's a charm. In the meantime, I have to remain wrapped - groan - for the three plus weeks it will take for a new gauntlet to be made and shipped. I am trying to "be patient in affliction", but I am having many lapses - translate "tears"!
Radiation is going well, but I am very tired - more than I expected. Thanks for continued cards, e-mails, and prayers.
BTW, taste buds seem to be back for the most part, but not the hair!
Radiation is going well, but I am very tired - more than I expected. Thanks for continued cards, e-mails, and prayers.
BTW, taste buds seem to be back for the most part, but not the hair!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Still Wrapping
The first week of radiation is going well, but I am still wrapped, trying to get my gauntlet and sleeve to fit. Keep praying - and thank you for doing so! This is brief, because I am "hunt and peck" typing - I can't use my right hand to type while wrapped.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Three Steps Forward, One Step Back
I have been marked for radiation, and will start tomorrow. I really like the doctor and staff at the radiation center, and I am not dreading radiation at all. I think it will be much easier than anything I've done so far.
My port was successfully removed yesterday, and I am recovering today. I am fortunate to have a Christian surgeon who always comes to pray with me in pre-op. I am a little sore, but nothing out of the ordinary, and I am glad to be port-free.
My custom made sleeve and glove came in, and I was very excited that they had arrived. My mom drove me to pick them up after my surgery and I put them them on. By the time we got home (30 minutes) my fingers were purple and my entire hand was numb. Soooo. . . . tomorrow I will have to be wrapped again to bring my arm and hand down to size so that the new garments will fit.
Tomorrow I visit the lymph specialist, the radiation center, and the plastic surgeon - busy day!
Please pray that this wrapping tomorrow will be successful. The last time it took about 48 hours to get the swelling reduced. I am hopeful that it will be about the same this time. The wrapping is tight, which is uncomfortable, and bulky, which makes it hard for me to do much. I also have to protect it from getting wet, which means "wearing" a kitchen trash bag for showers!
The highlight of my week was last night. All three girls were here. Katie (with some help from Sarah) made a delicious dinner, and all three girls made homeade cookies. After dinner, we all spent some time together before the older two headed home. It is always a blessing to have the whole family here - it feels like a holiday even on a cold Wednesday in January! Bryan and I both see the girls as three of the greatest blessings of our lives.
Emily travels to Murray this weekend for a Bible Study with some girls from the Baptist Campus Ministries - please pray for traveling mercies.
My port was successfully removed yesterday, and I am recovering today. I am fortunate to have a Christian surgeon who always comes to pray with me in pre-op. I am a little sore, but nothing out of the ordinary, and I am glad to be port-free.
My custom made sleeve and glove came in, and I was very excited that they had arrived. My mom drove me to pick them up after my surgery and I put them them on. By the time we got home (30 minutes) my fingers were purple and my entire hand was numb. Soooo. . . . tomorrow I will have to be wrapped again to bring my arm and hand down to size so that the new garments will fit.
Tomorrow I visit the lymph specialist, the radiation center, and the plastic surgeon - busy day!
Please pray that this wrapping tomorrow will be successful. The last time it took about 48 hours to get the swelling reduced. I am hopeful that it will be about the same this time. The wrapping is tight, which is uncomfortable, and bulky, which makes it hard for me to do much. I also have to protect it from getting wet, which means "wearing" a kitchen trash bag for showers!
The highlight of my week was last night. All three girls were here. Katie (with some help from Sarah) made a delicious dinner, and all three girls made homeade cookies. After dinner, we all spent some time together before the older two headed home. It is always a blessing to have the whole family here - it feels like a holiday even on a cold Wednesday in January! Bryan and I both see the girls as three of the greatest blessings of our lives.
Emily travels to Murray this weekend for a Bible Study with some girls from the Baptist Campus Ministries - please pray for traveling mercies.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Rollercoaster
I feel like I am on a rollercoaster, both physically and emotionally. I could do almost nothing Monday and Tuesday, but felt better Wednesday, so I went back to choir for the first time. I want to sing backstage at the Easter Pageant this year. I enjoyed seeing everyone, but boy did I ever crash on Thursday. By Friday evening I felt well enough to celebrate Sarah's birthday (she is 24 on Monday) at the Bristol with our family. Then I woke up this morning totally drained again and did nothing until time for church. I am hoping to have more energy tomorrow. I think my expectations were very high - too high - for regaining my strength after chemo. I pictured driving myself to next week's doctor's appointments and just being able to do more. It does not look like this is going to happen, so once again, I have lined up drivers. I don't know what I would do without Katie, Bryan and my mom to take me to all these appointments!
I have realized that I am going to have to continue to be very patient about the healing process, and this is hard for me to accept.
I am also very teary - I am guessing that is a result of the loss of estrogen in my body over a very short period of time, plus the accumulated frustration of six months of this process with the end still months away. I have days that I cry off and on almost all day, and the direst thoughts come to my mind. I really have to work at redirecting my mind, which I usually don't do on my own, but with the help of my family.
I know that I am going to get well, but at a slower rate than I expected.
Thanks for continued prayers, cards, and e-mails.
Jan
I have realized that I am going to have to continue to be very patient about the healing process, and this is hard for me to accept.
I am also very teary - I am guessing that is a result of the loss of estrogen in my body over a very short period of time, plus the accumulated frustration of six months of this process with the end still months away. I have days that I cry off and on almost all day, and the direst thoughts come to my mind. I really have to work at redirecting my mind, which I usually don't do on my own, but with the help of my family.
I know that I am going to get well, but at a slower rate than I expected.
Thanks for continued prayers, cards, and e-mails.
Jan
Monday, January 7, 2008
Back in the routine
We are home from our trip to Gulf Shores. It was a great trip. We enjoyed the Naval Air Museum and the Estuarium on Dauphin Island since the last time I wrote. We also saw The Waterhorse, a pretty cute movie. I did need to use a wheel chair for our museum and aquarium trips, but my husband says he enjoys "pushing me around"! I also watched my daughters, nephew Zack, and my husband compete playing Guitar Hero, which was fun.
I loved the trip, but so far at home, I am exhausted! It is a 12 hour drive, so I may need a few days to recuperate. I am not 4 weeks out of chemo yet. At 4 - 6 weeks, I am supposed to start seeing some change.
We are back to school. The house is very quiet, as Katie is diligently digging back into school work and working on some scholarship applications. Emily moved back down to campus yesterday, which makes the house even quieter. I am hoping to see Sarah tonight. She was not able to make the trip, so it's been awhile since we have visited.
I have no doctor visits this week, unless my compression garments come in.
My napping/resting is nicer now. It is hard to describe, but I just feel tired, not the yuckiness of feeling the chemo in my system. The taste buds are not back yet, but I keep checking!
Please keep praying for total control of my lymphedema and for the upcoming port removal and beginning of radiation next week. Thanks!
Jan
I loved the trip, but so far at home, I am exhausted! It is a 12 hour drive, so I may need a few days to recuperate. I am not 4 weeks out of chemo yet. At 4 - 6 weeks, I am supposed to start seeing some change.
We are back to school. The house is very quiet, as Katie is diligently digging back into school work and working on some scholarship applications. Emily moved back down to campus yesterday, which makes the house even quieter. I am hoping to see Sarah tonight. She was not able to make the trip, so it's been awhile since we have visited.
I have no doctor visits this week, unless my compression garments come in.
My napping/resting is nicer now. It is hard to describe, but I just feel tired, not the yuckiness of feeling the chemo in my system. The taste buds are not back yet, but I keep checking!
Please keep praying for total control of my lymphedema and for the upcoming port removal and beginning of radiation next week. Thanks!
Jan
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
We arrived at Fort Morgan Saturday night after a 12 hour drive, the last of which was in the rain. It rained Sunday, too, so we went to a movie and dinner. Monday was sunny and 65 degrees, so we sat on the beach and read (bundled up) for most of the day and then went to dinner at Lamberts', a restaurant famous for its' "throwed rolls" and country cooking. My dad brought some firewood, so we had a bonfire on the beach for New Year's Eve and did some star-gazing. We shared memories of 2007, and it surprised me how many events surrounding my diagnosis, surgery, and treatments were in some way positive memories for my family. We watched the ball drop in NYC - it happens at 11:00 where we are - and we "hit the hay". New Year's Day has involved watching bowl games, reading, napping, hiking, and shopping. I was the reader and napper!
We are supposed to have record low temps the rest of the week, but we plan to do indoor activities - a museum, an aquarium, etc. I am praying that I will have the energy to do these with my family, even if I have to resort to a wheel chair. I cannot do much walking yet.
Please be in prayer for my lymphedema. I am waiting for garments custom-made for me from Germany, and in the meantime I am wearing loaner garments that are not a great fit. My hand remains swollen despite my best efforts at massage and I wear the garments from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep. The lymphedema specialist has found a hard spot on my forearm, which means at that site the condition is irreversible. Please pray that I can get this under control and that the current damage will be reversible. Also pray that the new garments will arrive quickly and that they will be a good fit.
Also, tomorrow I will be 3 weeks out of chemo. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next few weeks - regained energy, less pain, swelling subsiding, hair growing. It is hard not to be impatient at this point to start to return to my "old self", although I know I will never really be my old self. I can't think that anyone who goes through this process is ever the same.
I am SO grateful that I am not going to chemo tomorrow!
Thanks for continued prayers.
Jan
We are supposed to have record low temps the rest of the week, but we plan to do indoor activities - a museum, an aquarium, etc. I am praying that I will have the energy to do these with my family, even if I have to resort to a wheel chair. I cannot do much walking yet.
Please be in prayer for my lymphedema. I am waiting for garments custom-made for me from Germany, and in the meantime I am wearing loaner garments that are not a great fit. My hand remains swollen despite my best efforts at massage and I wear the garments from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep. The lymphedema specialist has found a hard spot on my forearm, which means at that site the condition is irreversible. Please pray that I can get this under control and that the current damage will be reversible. Also pray that the new garments will arrive quickly and that they will be a good fit.
Also, tomorrow I will be 3 weeks out of chemo. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next few weeks - regained energy, less pain, swelling subsiding, hair growing. It is hard not to be impatient at this point to start to return to my "old self", although I know I will never really be my old self. I can't think that anyone who goes through this process is ever the same.
I am SO grateful that I am not going to chemo tomorrow!
Thanks for continued prayers.
Jan
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