Round 10 (opps) and 11
Originally published at bcvsbc.blogspot.com on 12/29/18
I took a little break from all things social media related the last month to be a bit more focused on the holiday and my family which means there is a bit of catch up needed now. First I received my pathology back on the tumor that was removed from my mouth...it was benign! So fantastic news there, thank the Lord. Second I have had two more rounds of chemo, the last was yesterday (pictures below). Last of all, my hair has grown so much that in the morning it is starting to stick up a bit!
Round 10 was hard because I was so exhausted from the exchange surgery, my weird eye dilation, ever increasing blood pressure, and mouth surgery. To say I was over it all would be putting it lightly. Of course when I sat down to get started on my infusion I was placed next to an older woman with Leukemia. We got to talking and I found out that she is stage 4 and will be doing chemo till she dies. A little perspective to remind me that I need to snap out of it and be thankful for what I am dealing with.
Yesterday I had round 11. Since switching to the targeted chemotherapy I have been going to these infusions on my own (they are about an hour and I don't get sick immediately). This time I had loads of company!
Scott came since he is off work for the holiday and my oldest brother John and his family is in town from Texas too.
Tyler, my nephew (next to Scott in the picture) tagged along as well for a pretty amazing reason, his Eagle Scout project. In order to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout you have to put together a service project. Tyler has decided to organize a group of people to get together and sew port pillows for cancer patients. My mom has been making these and I bring a bag with me to almost every infusion I have. A port pillow is a small pillow that is strapped to the strap of the seat belt so that it does not lay directly on your port. Since it takes weeks for the actual incision to heal my port pillow became my best bud.
After weeks of trying to get a cancer center in Texas to accept the donations he asked if maybe he could just donate them to mine center. We talked with charge nurse and she was overjoyed that he wanted to donate them at our location! So he brought two big bags yesterday and he will go back to Texas with the forms signed, geared up to get a group together to sew a bunch more!
I know that I have said this throughout this blog but cancer touches everyone in your family. My brother and his family don't live here, they are as far removed as you could be from the day to day of this stupid disease and still they are effected by it. And here I am again in awe of how my family has stepped up and made a bad situation pretty great.
I will update this with a picture of the port pillows we donated yesterday when I get it from my brother...sorry!
UPDATE -- So John snapped a picture of Scott and I while I was getting infused. Just wanted you to see how adorable my husband is. He went shopping (no surprise there) and came home with one shirt for him, the one he is wearing. It is a breast cancer under armor shirt. Notice his wrist? He refuses to take of the breast cancer bracelet until I am done with all my chemo. Seriously I question how in the world I found him and cannot express how filled with love I am for him.
Below is my totally rad nephew Tyler and one of my nurses, Jody. Those bags she is holding are the port pillows that my mom finished up to send with us. I think since I started chemo I have brought in five bags that size so this marks 7 total we have donated already.
