Yes, even with all of the turmoil this monster keeps wreaking on me I still praise The Lord if only for guiding me through it all. To each of you reading these posts please know these past weeks have been a bit overwhelming with medical challenges even my doctors have been surprised by. Far too much of my time on a daily basis is spent with me 'lost in space' of late; in fact trying to focus on this posting is challenging. I hope you'll bear with me as I try to be more consistent with updating this blog.
It's already March and I think back to a year ago I was struggling to pack for the big move to Texas. Today,here I'm sitting in my own sweet mobile home enjoying the plethora of nature. Being able to enjoy antics of the squirrels, beautiful but noisy blue-jays, cardinals and finches is such a gift. When I feel better there will be yard work for me to do; including flowers and a small veggie garden to plant. Today is one of nearly feeling well; days like this are very precious because during the past two years they are rare. Thanks be to Almighty God for this extra blessing!
Since last I posted I've had some pretty dark days doing battle to kill this monster. The side effects of chemo are annoying at best and frightening at worst. The steroids have packed nearly 40 pounds mostly in my mid-section, now add to that bi-lateral lymph edema in my feet and legs and I look like the Michelin Tire Mascot. At one point two weeks ago the skin from the knees to the tips of my toes was so swollen fluids were leaking from the pores of my skin which had turned red and hot to the touch. (that bought me a four day hospital visit). Of course my blood counts continue to spiral downward, so I've had more transfusions and I'm nearing the 80 units mark. Lately chemo fog has been affecting my memory, most food or beverages are tasteless to me and for nearly two months now I'm daily battling nausea and diarrhea. Lastly the extreme fatigue continues which partly is due to the bacterial infections I keep getting in my intestinal track and strep infections in my legs/feet (caused by the lymph edema). Just a bunch of fun, eh??????
Currently I'm on a chemo break; this basically means treatment gets stopped before it stops me. I'm just one of those persons whose body has violent reactions to the treatments. On March 15th I'm having a PET scan and the results of that will determine if any more treatment is even needed. I'm hopeful that the monster is gone forever but I'm well aware because this time it got into my lymph system I may be facing a prolonged battle. Having this break from chemo will give my body time to rest. As I've mentioned in previous posts, every cancer patient gets customized treatment and from now on my oncology team knows just what my body can and can't handle so even if I've got more chemo to do what I'm physically going through won't be a shock.
The major issue I'm dealing with right now is another strep infection in both legs/feet. In addition to antibiotics the physical therapist had to wrap me up. She first weaves gauze around my toes, next my feet/legs up to the knee caps are covered with stockingnet , then she wraps sterile batting over that and then elastic bandages are wrapped from the base of my toes to below the knee caps. Lastly, another stockingnet goes over the wrapped areas to help stop unraveling. This treatment also involves simple therapy massage designed to unblock the lymph nodes so the swelling goes away. Once the swelling is gone I must wear compression stockings until I go to bed; these aid in keeping the lymph-edema in check. We think the first strep infection never went away and that's why I'm going through this treatment again. Gotta tell you there's quite a bit of pain with these episodes and then there is the walks like a wooden soldier stuff to deal with. By the way, I'm told I most likely will be dealing with this condition for the rest of my life......hmmmmm, we'll see what God has to say about that.
Well folks that's it for this post which has taken me a long part of today to get through. Please know I pray for everyone's needs to be lovingly handled by God; He knows what's best for us regardless our circumstances.
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2
Ginger,
ReplyDeleteThankfully you are still here battling your monster. I tried to get in again twice after my last comment in June and could not for whatever reason get to the blog. It was as if it had vanished. I feared the worst, but tried again to see if there was any new post. Again, no way in. It made me very sad to think I would no longer hear any communication from you. Today, Palm Sunday, I was looking through my gmail account, going back a few years, thinking about finally deleting some old posts (I never delete anything, it's a wonder I'm not ready for my TV debut as a "Hoarder", but anyway), I saw the first post you ever sent about your blog and battle and decided to give it one more try, because I was ready to delete the link. It was a teensy miracle on a scale of 1 to 10, but the gladness it brought to see that you are still posting was enormous. God Bless you Ginger and my prayers are with you again.