Twilight Zone — HER2 and YOU

Originally published at bcvsbc.blogspot.com on 08/15/18

Often times really good things are followed or preceded by really bad things, at least in my experience. Below is a bit of a story to set the stage for the newest side effects I have experienced so bare with me!

I haven't said anything on here because I think I was afraid it would jinx it and some how things would fall through...but we bought a house in Ripon finally. It actually closed a month or so ago but we are doing some work on the house before we fully move in. Plus my mom would do pretty much anything to keep me with her till I finish up the bad chemo and is overjoyed at the prospect of a renovation project to prolong our stay. Below are a few pictures of the demolition.

We are redoing the kitchen, ripped out all the flooring, adding tile and new carpet, painting, adding new light fixtures and fans, plus putting in a pool. The flooring was a must because the previous owners had lots of animals that had accidents inside. In the kitchen we are resurfacing cabinets, adding a double oven, moving the microwave, adding quartz counters, a larger sink, backsplash, and pendent lights. It is going to be beautiful to me and I can't wait!

In an effort to save money we (by we I mean Scott mainly, with the help of my brother James, my pops, and my brother-in-law's Tone and Ryan) removed all the flooring. That was a intense process and exhausting, but it got done. We also decided to paint the entire house by ourselves. We have painted all of our houses so this seems like no big deal. Wrong.

I was hoping to get all the painting done before my next chemo and also before work started on the kitchen. Off we went to buy our paint at Lowe's not knowing that their merge with Sherwin Williams would be a negative combination. The paint in the first set we bought was the color I had picked out and loved. We should have had enough paint to finish the entire house if was not flat paint and I swear only a primer. So we ran and bought more paint. The second set of paint was a slightly different color but not noticeably different till it had dried. Of course it was all the cutting, or edges, that I had done that were wrong color. Back to Lowe's we go and explain the problem to the paint dude who gives us another bucket...we go home redo the room...wait to dry...doesn't match. By this time 90% of the house is done and almost every room has to be repainted.

Scott and I went to Lowe's that night with every container of paint we had bought and pictures to show them that it really wasn't the same color even if the name matched. I honestly thought it was chemo brain and I was the only one that could see the colors were different the first time it happened. Come to find out they got a new paint mixer when they merged with Sherwin Williams and it was screwing up all the paint. We got back all our money plus all new paint, which is great, but we still have to repaint the entire house again!

In my mad dash to get the painting done before my next round of chemo I didn't stop to eat lunch one day. Mind you I ate two kind bars, a ton of cashews and 2 apples, but it wasn't a traditional "meal". Scot and I painted from about 7 am till 6 pm. When we got back to my parents we were both starving and dinner was ready so we sat down to chow down. As we were eating we were all talking about my day and this is when the first weird thing happened. It started slowly, I miss said a word...like it got jumbled coming out. Then I said an entire sentence with the words in the wrong place. Example: let the dog outside, was actually coming out of my mouth as, dog the outside let. After that I tried to just speak and it was jibberish, not intelligible at all. I remember Scott put his arm on my shoulder and told me to wait for a bit and not talk. When I tried again I had to go super slow and all I said was what the heck is wrong with me?!

Dinner progressed on and I got a text from my friend Miranda. I tried to read the screen and couldn't focus enough to read the screen so I had to have Scott read it to me. Then when he handed me back the phone I dropped it because my hand was numb. At this point I looked at everyone and said I needed to go lay down. By this time it was almost 7. The next thing I remember was waking up at 8 am the next day. When I came out of my room my mom looked scared to death. I felt fine, normal even. We talked and decided it must have been that I hadn't eaten or drank enough while painting. So at this point I am back to my mom trying to force food down me...and the house is still not done being painted.

Then last weekend Scott and I had a wedding for some good friends down in Newport. I really wanted to attend and because of where it fell in the schedule of my chemo we decided it would be okay. Since my diagnosis I haven't really left the house beyond going to the doctor because I don't want to end up in the hospital over a cold or worse. So this was a big outing. My oncologist said it would be okay but no flying, too many germs. She gave other recommendations like stay near an open door or outside at the event if possible, don't shake hands, and no fish. Scotty and I like a good road trip so we were excited!

The drive down was nice. Scott stopped more frequently than we typically do to make me get out and stretch my legs, go the bathroom, and eat (because my mom lectured him I needed full meals in hopes of never having that weird episode again from the other day). I never noticed that my legs felt any different nor did I LOOK at my legs until we got to Newport and went to grab dinner. When I stepped out of the car my legs felt heavier than normal and when I looked down, THEY WERE ENORMOUS! I swear it looked like my legs had doubled in size and my toes were so fat I thought my toenail was going to physically pop off.

My super sexy swollen legs stayed the entire weekend (in case you are wondering they are still huge now) and that cut down on any adventuring we might have done while down in Orange County. We did go to one set of stores to find the kids a little gift but other than that I slept or laid on the ground with my legs against the wall. It was pretty lame. However the wedding was amazing, think People Magazine amazing. I didn't shake hands with anyone which I am sure people thought was rude of me, nor did I eat fish, and I couldn't get up to dance with Scotty because my feet and legs were throbbing but it was a wonderful weekend.

I wore a wig for the first time too...I know lots of women with cancer love the wig but I am not a fan. Though I am sure no one is looking at me I feel like it makes me stand out and scream I have cancer more than a bald head. Seems dumb I know and it isn't rational at all but to me everyone knows I have cancer, they know I am bald, I'd rather embrace it I guess. I will say it looked better than I thought it would...made me miss my hair quite a bit.

I am going to see my oncologist this morning about the wacky things that have been going on. Pretty sure I am going to need a water pill of some type to get rid of the swelling...