It has been a minute since I have updated you all. Life has gone back to busy here in Cotterville. With school, baseball, karate, and church our schedules have filled back up.

I had my second round of AC chemo last Tuesday. All in all, it has been a better experience than the first. My major symptom is fatigue. There have been a few days in the last week where I have slept the majority of the day. Today, we took Eli to daycare. I came home and ate some breakfast and told Chris I was going to lie back down for a few. I woke up at 2! I had no intention of sleeping for five hours, but my body needed it. In addition to fatigue, there have been some nausea. Constipation is a huge side effect and I for sure have battled that in both treatments so far, but nothing too bad this time around.

A few weird side effects that I noticed both times, but more prevalent this time is the loss of taste. The entire weekend nothing tasted good at all. Just bland. The bread was the worst thing I could eat. It was horrible. Along with the taste buds being out of whack, my sense of smell is weird as well. I keep smelling something and the only way I can describe it is that it smells like cigarette smoke. I smell it all the time. At home. In the car. Random other places. No one else smells it. It is just so very odd.

Overall, I am doing okay. The fatigue is hard on everyone. Chris has to do everything and he does it without complaint. Isaac is a great helper and Eli is learning how to clean up toys and such to do his part as well.

I want to leave you with this thought. Every day many people call text or ask in person how I am doing. I greatly appreciate that. It helps knowing how big my support system is. The thing I want everyone to realize is that cancer affects more than just the patient. The entire family is in a battle. The things other members of the family are going through is often forgotten. Their feelings put aside to focus on the patient. It is hard for everyone. Don’t forget to check on all members of the family. I try to do this daily by asking Chris and the boys how they are doing. How they feel about all the changes happening and how they are coping.

We are so blessed by so many friends and family who have stepped up and helped us in the last two months. It has made this journey much easier to navigate. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!