When I was diagnosed in August the end of treatment seemed so far away. It felt like it would never arrive. Surprisingly, the past seven months have gone quick. I believe the countless appointments kept our schedule busy and I slept a majority of the time on chemo. It probably felt faster for me than those around me caring for me.
May is the month my active treatment finally comes to an end! On Friday I completed radiation 12 of 28. We are almost halfway done. As of now there are no side effects and for that I am grateful!
The effects are chemo are starting to subside. I am still battling neuropathy which has actually worsened over the last two weeks. I pray we are in that, it will get worse before it gets better, stage. Praying it starts to subside as it has become more uncomfortable. My taste has pretty much returned. Yay! My hair is growing (on most spots). My energy level is good and I feel great. God is so good!
I know it’s been a while since I updated so I wanted to share my life over the last few weeks. My days are busy working two part-time jobs, daily radiation appointments, karate and baseball with Isaac, and Eli just being Eli. There are not enough hours in the day, but life is wonderful and I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything.
Below are a few pictures of how it’s all been going.
Eli doing his silly thingIsaac doing his baseball thing! Still no hair on the right side of my head! So weird! Coming in good on the sides and back!
I am writing this eight days since my last chemo. I have not felt this well in months! There are still some lingering side effects. I do still struggle with neuropathy in my fingers, but it does seem to be improving. I’m hopeful it will eventually go away completely. There is still some loss of taste, but I’m thrilled to report that is slowly returning as well. Fatigue is still a struggle, but I’m not sure how much that is chemo related and how much it is because I’ve basically done nothing since September and have no stamina. As Eli gets bigger I find it hard to hold him for more than a few minutes because my arms are weak. Walking wears me out. I naturally like to run everywhere I go and I get winded and have to stop to catch my breath. That too should improve with time and movement! Building up muscle tone will also take time. Who wants to lift weights with me? No one, okay I understand!
I wanted to share a fun text I got yesterday. A dear friend and I had been texting back and forth and then she said, “Guess what today is!” My first thought was that it was April Fool’s Day and wondering how she had pranked me…I replied with, “April Fool’s Day.” While I waited for the gotcha moment…She quickly replied, “No, it’s Thursday and you have no chemo!!” I absolutely love how so many close to me jumped on this rollercoaster and have taken the ride alongside me. She was celebrating with me as many of you have. It sure makes a girl feel special! And as a side note, I don’t think I even wore pink! I’m giving other colors a chance.
Instead of having chemo, I went for a radiation mapping appointment and I will do a separate post on that. I then went to work and had a great afternoon. We were made aware of a “Future Raiders” baseball game at the high school and I wanted to take Isaac, but I wasn’t sure how tired I would be after a full day. I was feeling okay so I cooked dinner and proposed going to the game to the family. We hadn’t done anything like this in a while because of me and COVID, but we decided to go. I am so glad we did! I can say I would much rather be outside enjoying a perfect Texas night spending time with my family than asleep in bed feeling horrible after chemo! I was still not that tired after returning home and enjoyed relaxing with Chris and watching pointless YouTube videos. It was such a huge difference from the 12 previous Thursdays.
I titles this post “A New Me” because it is truly how I feel. I am settling into my new jobs. Yes, jobs. Both are going great and God is doing some amazing things. I never intended to go back to work full-time, but these two part-time jobs will keep me good and busy during the days. It has felt so good having something to do and feeling productive.
This week has felt…normal. I know that thanks to 2020 it’s a new normal, but it’s the most normal I have felt in a year. I am working. I am attending baseball practices with Isaac. We are going to watch baseball as a family. Six months ago I wasn’t sure those things would ever happen for me. There was so much uncertainty as to if I would be around to do those things.
While my fight isn’t over, the hard part is done. Surgery and chemo are behind me and by mid-May I will be done with daily/weekly doctor visits.
To quote the lyrics of one of my go-to songs, The Father’s House, “My story isn’t over, my story’s just begun” I cannot wait to see the chapters God is going to write for me!
Several of you have asked how the boys are doing and, honestly, I had never really asked them specifically. I can tell when they struggle, but I had never asked what do you think about all this and how are you doing. While Isaac is home on Spring Break I decided to ask him some questions. I love this kiddo so much. He has such a big heart and it was good for me to hear his feelings and for him to tell me.
We started with some fun questions and then moved into the harder stuff…ENJOY!
How old are you? 11
What is your favorite color? Blue
Favorite and least favorite subject in school: My favorite subject is History and my least favorite is Art. (This surprised me!)
Favorite things to do outside of school: Rest and play Minecraft.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A History teacher. (Again, surprised. This is a relatively new development.)
If you could go to college today, where would you go? Oklahoma Baptist University, OBU…..GO BISON!
The best thing about playing baseball: Making friends and having fun.
What position do you want to play? Pitcher or Centerfield.
The best thing about karate: Sparring.
How do you feel about testing for your black belt next month? Confident and ready! (He’s been training for this for three years and he is absolutely ready.)
What are your karate goals? To earn my third-degree junior black belt, because no other kid has ever done that before. I want to push one step farther than everyone else. (WOW!)
What is cancer? A disease that is very bad and can hurt people.
When we told you I had cancer how did you feel? Weird. I didn’t like what I had heard. Scared, confused, nervous.
What has been the hardest part so far of my treatment for you? When you went in for surgery. I didn’t think you were going to make it. (He had never said that to me before….) Also, helping take care of Eli.
What good has come out of my treatments? Nothing. (After a little discussion and talking about it). The food train was great. People brought. Us new. Foods we had never tried and it was really good. Especially the strawberry cake from Ms. Kellie!
Are you still scared, nervous, confused?? A little bit. Not really scared. Well, chemo scares me. Because it makes you feel drunk.
Anything else you would like to share with everyone? My baseball coach this season is great. He doesn’t yell at us.
Well, there. You go. Isaac is so strong and so caring. He has taken great care of me and Eli. The. Last five months. He has had to do more than I would like as far as taking care of his brother and helping out around the house, but he always does it with such a positive attitude, usually while singing and dancing along to music he is listening to or hearing in his own mind! We love you so much, Isaac!
This picture captures. Isaac’s personality so well!One of my favorites of him and me from several years ago.
