Hi! So it’s 4:30 am…steroids got me awake! I thought why not do a video update….I mean you all can see my hot mess, no sleep in the last 21 hours self! And in the spirit of keeping it real, this video is unedited and done in one take! Enjoy
Side note….The dogs are in here with me and when I watched this back I heard that Fabio, our grey American Staffie, was serenading you with snores! I guess I tune it out, but he was rocking it!
Here is the video followed by a pic of my staffie!
Hello from Alaska, I mean, Texas! It is cold here. And I am not talking cold as in hovering around freezing, wear a sweater, cold. I am talking about the coldest temps Texas has seen in a century or more. This morning we hit zero! Texans are not used to this. We have snow on our coastal beaches! Sadly, our energy infrastructure was not prepared either and many millions of my fellow Texans are without power and have been for days…in this frigid cold it is so dangerous and my prayer is that electricity can be restored and pipes will thaw without bursting!
Cotterville, so far, has weathered the first round of snow well. We picked up about three and a half inches of pure powder snow on Sunday night into Monday. The boys have gotten out for short spurts to play. We have not lost power or water and for that we are grateful! So many have…
I finished AC chemo two and a half months ago (wow! Doesn’t feel like it has been that long ago) I was told that once AC chemo was done my hair would begin to grow back. Within t he last few weeks we have finally seen something happening!
Today, I took my beanie off and Chris said, your hair is sticking straight up! So, of course, I grabbed my phone to use it as mu mirror and to snap a few pics.
We still can’t tell color or if it will be curly, but I’m holding out for light curls. Regardless, It is a beautifully “bad” hair day!!!
Stay warm over the next few days! Praying I can still have my infusion on Thursday! Five more Taxol to go!
It’s been another week and another week of new-ish symptoms.
When I was getting AC chemo I had changes in the way food tasted. Everything was a metallic flavor and just off. That improved when the AC chemo stopped, until this week. Now, I again have changes in taste. Everything taste bland. My favorite sweets like Dr. Pepper and this cute Little Debbie Valentine cakes are far less sweet. It’s hard for me to eat breads because there is no taste at all to them. I crave things and then eat them and am not satisfied because of the taste! I did find one thing that tasted amazing and I know most of you will not be surprised by this. Last year our Dairy Queen closed suddenly and I was bummed because one of my favorite fall/winter foods went away. A little over a week ago the DQ reopened. Chris and I have been trying hard to eat at home to save money and eat healthier so I wasn’t sure when I would be able to go. One night this week I had fixed dinner and we ate. Well, everyone else did. I couldn’t handle the lack of flavor and opted to give my portions to my growing boys. We were “celebrating” the end of the weekend or something and I decided we would go to DQ for ice cream. On the way there I decided to get my favorite food…chicken and dumplings! I was worried I would be unimpressed, but I took that first bite and all the flavors! I think it’s mostly the salt and pepper that stood out but it was the most I had tasted in days. And it’s probably the best I’ve eaten all week.
Another new symptom is neuropathy in my fingers and toes. It is a know side effects of Taxol and the reason I ice my hands and feet during the infusion as a prevention mechanism. It is not painful at this point but I do feel like the pads of my fingers and toes are numb. This is something that will be monitored by my medical team and hopefully will not increase in severity or be long term.
One final update. I am now about two months post AC chemo. The doctor said that my hair should begin growing back, even while undergoing Taxol treatment. I was skeptical due to accounts from other cancer fighters in my support group. This week Chris and Isaac said in separate occasions they could see some hair coming in! It’s hard to tell color or texture, but there is definitely some peach fuzz. This is exciting, but I also secretly like having no hair to fix! I am interested to see how long it is before it can be styled and/or dyed PINK!
Tomorrow morning I will receive Taxol treatment six! This is the halfway point of Taxol. If all goes as planned, my last Taxol treatment and FINAL CHEMO will be March 18th!
The plan then is a two week break before beginning 30 daily (weekdays) rounds of radiation.
Let the countdowns begin!