That wasn’t so bad…

I had my very first chemo treatment yesterday, Friday, January 4^th and it actually wasn’t too bad! (More about the actual procedure below.)

Once again, I was inundated with LOVE from SO many people. My phone and my Facebook just lit up with messages in support of me. Many of my dear friends shared my story with THEIR friends asking for MORE prayers…it was awesome!! I had people I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW telling me jokes, asking to add me to their list of people they were supporting on the 3 Day Cancer Walk, offering prayers and words of support…I was speechless!

 

For those of you that know me well, you know that the little things in life can make or break my spirit. This can be a blessing and a curse at times. Luckily, I try to surround myself with positive people, so I experience more of the “make my day” kind of little things, then the “that really bugs” me kind. J

 

Out in public though, you never know who you will run into and how they will impact your day. I always think it’s cool when people you don’t know go out of their way to do nice things or the do “right” thing. I feel a warmth in my heart when someone opens the door for someone else, or expresses a kind word, or removes their hat during the national anthem, or when people pull over to the side of the road when an emergency vehicle is trying to get through. It is that unspoken consideration and respect that people give to other people (sometimes to people they don’t even know), that makes my day. I LOVE THAT! It’s wonderful to experience the good in people and in the past couple of weeks I have been on the receiving end of so much positive energy…my heart is just smiling from it all!

 

APPOINTMENT INFO

Yesterday, Aaron and I spent most of our day at the oncology office receiving my first treatment of chemo. We walked into the large chemo room where there were 3 sections of recliner chairs with people receiving chemo…it was pretty packed actually (which was kind of sad to think about….all these people were fighting their own battle against this HORRIBLE disease…I hoped that they all had an amazing support system like I do).

The nurse grabbed me a heated blanket and told me to pick an open chair to get situated while she got my IV bags all prepped. I sat down in the chair and just tried to take it all in. There were people at all different stages in treatment…some with no hair, some with wigs…I was probably the youngest one in the room by 10-15 years.  I was terrified and sad all at the same time…the tears rolled down my face as we waited for it all to begin. I didn’t know if it would hurt or if I would feel yucky or what to really expect, but I tried to find comfort in my mom’s cozy pink fleece jacket and in holding Aaron’s hand and seeing the confidence and the reassurance in his eyes.

After about 20 minutes of impatiently waiting for it all to begin, the nurse came over and walked me through everything that was going to happen. She was going to stick a needle in my newly placed port, flush it with saline, give me anti-nausea meds and then start in with my chemo treatment (for those of you interested in the drugs I received…I was given: Carboplatin, Docetaxel & Herceptin).

The needle stick was painful because my port was so new and a little bruised, but to be honest….that was the WORST part of the whole day! From there on it really went well. I kept waiting to feel nauseous and I never did. I actually couldn’t even feel the drugs going into my port, which was weird because I thought I would feel a sensation of some sort. Not sure if it’s different every time you go in or not, but if things go like that next time…that would be fine with me!

While receiving treatment, Aaron and I chatted with the other people in our area. It was interesting to hear their stories and about their treatment plans. They talked about the small steroid dose that I was getting and told me that I would probably be wired for the rest of the day. The one lady said she stays up until 2 or 3 in the morning the day of treatment because she is wide awake with energy, and then the days that follow she becomes more tired and sluggish.

The nurse gave me 3 prescriptions for anti-nausea stuff, so here’s hoping that I don’t need to use it in the next couple of days! Also…instead of JUST doing chemo every 3 weeks, they now want me to come in weekly for 1 of the drugs…Herceptin, so I guess I will just add that to my weekly routine.

 

My chemo finished up a little earlier than planned so I called to make an appointment to look at wigs. I really wanted Aaron to come with me for this and I didn’t know when we would have the chance to go without the kids and Aaron starting his new job on Monday. (Side note…thank you Jeannie for watching my kids all day and feeding them and us…we SO appreciated it!)

I called this place called “It’s Still Me” in St. Louis Park (it’s actually owned by a cancer survivor) and she was able to squeeze me in last minute on a Friday! Hooray!! We were there for like 2.5 hours! She told me her cancer story, showed me pictures of the stages of her hair loss and we tried on wigs, scarves and other headwear…she was WONDERFUL!  

I won’t go into hair stuff now, but I am sure I will be posting about it in the next week. I am going to be proactive and take control and just shave my head on MY terms….not cancer’s terms! (Trying to think of a meaningful way to do this…I would like to save some hair for a shadow box, but I may just have the kids help me cut part of it and then have Aaron shave the rest…we shall see!)

Ok….this is getting to be long AGAIN! Sorry I get to rambling sometimes, but I just want to fill everyone in and this is the easiest way!

Peace & Love to All!

Nae