4 DOWN 2 TO GO!!!

This was on a wall at a salon mom and I went to.  I've never really been a pink girl but I guess it's growing on me. 

Well, I am so close to being finished (with chemo at least).  Chemo day was a bit nerve wracking for me.  I should say it actually started out really early.  Again timelines are easier for me to remember how my day went.

4:30 AM- wake up can't go back to sleep.

6:00 AM-Get H up and get him ready for school.

7:15 AM- Chris and I take H to school make it back home.

9:15 AM- Leave house to go speak at a girls school.

Back up to Sunday evening: I got a phone call from a neighbor on Sunday night asking me if I could help her out.  Knowing that I had chemo the same day I wasn't sure I would be able to.  Well turns out it all worked out. She was suppose to go speak to the girls at one of the private schools here and she had something come up.  It was early enough that I was able to fill in.  
The organizer calls me and the first question she asked me is if I am a cancer survivor.  I tell her yes I am and I am currently undergoing treatment.  She says oh that is great. We want you to talk about the support you receive from family and others.  We want the girls to understand how important it is to support those around them that might have cancer.  Easy for me since the support I am getting is beyond anything I could ever imagine.

Monday, 10:20- my turn to speak

My Dr. that originally examined me the first time and had the ultrasound/mammogram/biopsy ordered spoke before me and she gave the girls (grade7-12) the simplest medical background.  Then she turned it over to me b/c they wanted to know how a lump feels when you find one or how to know what to do.  If you remember back when I told you all about my lump I told you that it hurt.  So I shared this with the girls.  These girls were so attentive and listened so well.  Totally opposite of what I have with teaching boys.  
Anyhow these girls had so many questions? How did I find my spot, was I scared when they told me I had cancer, Am I scared now?  Now living in the UAE and most of these young girls were probably muslim I knew I had to be careful about talking about my Faith but the one thing I did say was, "my Faith it was keeps me strong!" They also wanted to know it had affected my family.  I gave my mom the opportunity to speak but she already had tears and I knew she didn't want to so I just told them that she has not left my side since arriving in the UAE in July and she would be here until December. Then I was able to also talk a bit about how even thought I'm from America and I live here I have the biggest support group from all over the world.  People praying for me.  The last thing I told them was that if they know anyone from their family or friends circle make sure and stay by their side.  THEN I said, you want to see what a 'real' cancer patient looks like with NO hair.  Oh it was awesome to show them how I really looked.  I saw these girls smile and have tears in their eyes at the same time.  

Picture time.  Unfortunately I can't post the group pics.    

11:00 AM- home to grab my snacks and head to onocology for chemo.

11:50 AM- finally get to hospital.  Had to make a few stops oops.  LOL! Good thing my appointment wasn't until noon.

My Rustic Cuff Chemo Stacks

11:50 AM-3:00 PM- The time it takes to get registered, wait, visit with my new friend Correna, have vitals and blood taken, see the doctor, go to pharmacy get my after chemo meds.  Yep it takes all day. Oh well I won't complain b/c I'm gonna praise God through all of this and when I am finished He will get the victory for sure as He is already getting the Glory for how I am handling it all.

See that Starbucks.
I totally wanted it before chemo but didn't take one sip of it.

3:00 PM-5:30 PM- Chemo time.  These next 3 rounds are called Taxotere. If you want to know more go here.  http://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/drug-info/Taxotere.aspx. I have to have Benadryl with this drug b/c I can have an allergic reaction.  I also have to take inflammation meds the day before or I can't have it. So many things to know.

As I am laying on the bed my hand/arm where they have the IV (pre-meds) starts to burn.  Turns out Benadryl burns in an IV just in case you didn't know.  It stops for a bit but then starts again.  Finally I have my pre-meds finished and I literally slept through my entire treatment listening to my Praise and Worship music and holding my Clinging Cross.

6:00 PM-Home and went straight to bed.  Barely even saw Chris and the boys.

Flowers from Chris and the boys

Almost every morning after chemo day I get a note from H

10:30 PM-12:30 AM- Woke up and skyped a Stacy and my dad then back to bed and slept until Tuesday morning.

Tuesday- Went to grocery store in the morning and I even went with mom to pick H up from school and went to his football practice and sat out in the fresh air.  The sun wasn't out to much and I found some shade.  It was great to be out. Even the day after chemo. Was in bed by 8:00 PM.

Wednesday- Made H breakfast and went back to bed after he went to school. Then I went with mom to get a haircut.  Had some lunch and picked H up from school.  We all stayed home for the evening and again was in bed by 8:00 PM.

It is now Thursday (Oct 29) and I have been feeling ok.  Headaches aren't really there except in the evening, and no nausea.  Today I have woken up with some joint pain but that is a side effect I'll have to deal with.  Please just pray it doesn't get too bad.  

I am going through Beth Moore Daniel Bible Study at the moment and wow Daniel 3 is amazing.  I can't wait to dig deeper into this study.  I've done it before but this time it means so much more for me. 

Chris ship is in at the moment so the boys and I got to spend some time with him this weekend before I had chemo on Monday.  He will be back this weekend as well. 

CMan is just having fun being at home and playing with the neighbor or watching Netflix.  The child knows how to work an Xbox at 3 years old better than me sometimes. 

So thankful God blessed me with these 2 boys.  They are another thing that keeps me going everyday!!

Thank you all for again for the prayers and support.  You will never know how much it means to me that there are so many people praying for my family and me.  We definitely feel it.