1 Chemo Treatment Down, 3 More To Go!

I know I've been slacking in updates on the blog. For that, I apologize. It's been rather hectic around here with the Christmas holidays, family in town, and starting chemotherapy and not feeling "up" to posting. But all is well, and here I am, back with the latest news!

BIG NEWS FIRST! Logan celebrated his 2nd birthday on December 20th! Happy Birthday, Logan! Mama's little boy is getting so big! Here he is with his birthday cake, and HERE is a link to his birthday pictures!



Let me just say, I had an absolutely fantastic Christmas holiday. I got to see my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, tons of cousins, and even my brother and his girlfriend came up to see us for a few days. It was so wonderful to have all of us together, just like old times when we were kids. Logan had a BLAST opening gifts. And before you go worrying about him, please know he's among the most spoiled of 2-year-olds you'll ever meet. The number of toys that child received is out of this world. He's happy as a pig in... mud!

HERE is a link to all of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day pictures!


I am so glad I was able to begin my chemo after Christmas because it really wore me out. I went on Monday, the 29th, for treatment #1. They checked my blood cell counts first, to watch their progress along the way. Then a bit later they brought me back to the treatment room to get me all hooked up. This will sound really odd to say, but I actually had "fun" at chemo. I met so many other people going through cancer and heard their stories. We all shared our trials and treatments and things to expect during the process. It was nice to be in a room with other people who knew what it feels like to be going through all of this. Yes, sitting in a chair for 4 hours hooked up to an IV drip isn't the most fun thing in the world, but why not make the best of it? I met a sweet lady named Debbie who's fighting mouth cancer and her daughter-in-law, Jane. They were sitting right next to me. Lee and I chatted with them the entire 4 hours or so that we were there and even played a card game of Rummy. I have to say, too, my husband is such a trouper. I don't know many men who'd sit patiently for so long chatting with a bunch of women about everything from hair loss to mouth sores to wigs, etc. You name it, and Lee was right there chiming in. He's such a wonderful husband and I don't give him enough credit. I am so truly blessed to have his support.

The four hour treatment didn't seem to take as long as it should have felt like. Talking and keeping busy with the other patients made the time pass and not seem like such a chore. After that, I went upstairs to the Cancer Resource Center at Memorial Hospital. They have such a lovely area set up for patients going through cancer. There are support groups, free massages, TONS of pamphlets and books you can check out, nurses to answer any questions while you go through side effects of chemo. They even give out free hats and wigs. It is so nice, and I hope to attend a lymphoma support group soon and meet others experiencing what I'm going through.

That night, after getting home from my chemo treatment, I was literally the most exhausted I've ever been. I had a baby 2 years ago and never felt as tired after giving birth as I did after this chemo treatment. I was soooo tired. I'm sure all the chemo drugs were a huge part of my fatigue, but alllll the talking I did there surely didn't help. All in all, it was a jam-packed, totally busy day. I was in bed for the night at 7:30!!!

Tuesday I had to go back down to the oncologist's office for a "growth shot" as they call it... basically, it's a shot to stimulate my bone marrow to produce more white blood cells since the chemotherapy can make the blood cell counts drop too low. They want to be sure I won't be way too overprone to infections. After that, Mom and John and I went shopping to a local beauty supply store where I bought some wig liners and got a great deal on 2 cute wigs, too. Then we went out to eat. I still have my appetite, so that's good!

I have been SO extremely lucky. My body responded well to the first chemo treatment thus far. I got no horrible side effects, no major nausea, just some light-headedness. I attribute that part to the fact that I have some of the best anti-nausea meds on the market. Thank the Lord for good medicines. The worst part has been just how tired it's made me. Today, now 3 days after the treatment, I do have a bit of a sore mouth which is a normal side effect of one of the drugs. Eating popsicles, sherbet, drinking lots of water and taking cough drops seems to help that. For all those wondering or unfamiliar with chemo, YES, I still do have my hair... BUT only for about 2 weeks. My hair will probably all fall out within the next week and a half. I have a few cute hats, a pretty scarf, and a couple of wigs already in place for when I do, inevitably, lose my hair. I'm sure that part is going to be pretty emotional for me, but at least I feel prepared with many options for head gear. I'll do another post sometime soon modeling my wigs and hats! :)

Now that the holidays have passed, I'll try to be better about posting here about how I'm feeling and doing. Thank you all so much for the well-wishes, prayers, thoughts, phone calls, and cards. I love you all so much and realize how much I am loved and I cannot thank you all enough for the support you've given to me when I need it so much!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! Here's wishing you all a happy, healthy, and better year in 2009!

* Edited to add: OK, after much consideration, I've decided these photos are just too funny NOT to share, so without further ado, here are some of me in 2 of my wigs... and my mom wearing one of mine and Lee being supportive wearing a wig of my Mom's, too! Isn't he cute? :)

Me in the first one, both front and back view:



Mom modeling my other, longer wig:


Me, in the same wig Mom had on, pulled half back with a clip:


My cute husband, being supportive as always!

We DID get to play outside after all!!!

The rain let up around 4:00 or so and the sun came out so I got to take Logan in the yard to test out the new water toys! Okay, so I'll be first to admit, the slip-n-slide was definitely a purchase I made more for myself... which turned out to be good because Logan wasn't very cool with me sliding him down it... he did like walking up and down it and touching the water spraying onto the slippy slide. Whenever I'd slide down, though, he got a bit freaked out... I think he thought it was trying to "get me" or something. It was rather amusing.









After we had enough of that, we went to the front yard to put Logan's Backyardigans sprinkler out in the driveway. He LOVED that thing. He kept running up to it with his mouth wide open and smiling and then he'd turn his back to it when he'd had enough. He kept doing this cycle again and again. What a fun toy. I'm so glad I found that for him!

Chicken nuggets & New toys!

I love unexpected, fun days. Today was one of those days... I went out with Logan to Walgreens to pick up some photos I had printed and while we were there we walked around and looked at the summer toys on sale. Logan had fun bouncing a big, pink bouncy ball off the floor in the aisles and watching me run to retrieve it for him. He was giggling like crazy. I was getting worn out, but he had fun so we took the little 99-center home for him to play with later.

I was going to just drive home, but I was kind of hungry, and figured Logan was too. Little man and I had lunch out, just the two of us, at Chick-fil-A, and it was nice. He had his little 4-piece nuggets meal and I had my 8 nuggets. In case you don't already know, this child LOVES drinking straws. Whenever we go somewhere to eat I always grab an extra (or two so when he drops the first one on the floor I have a clean one ready) for him to play with. He had fun playing with his straw and watching the other folks eating lunch.

Then, since it was right there, we went into Target to walk around for a bit since I don't go in there much and like to look around occasionally. I got some really cute board books for Logan for a buck a piece that have these cute little flaps with a photo on them you lift up and it has the word of the thing underneath. I got him 4 of them: shapes, colors, animals, and first words. Not only are they cute and actually entertain him, but they're somewhat educational so we can show him the pictures and teach him the word. Daddy read one with him tonight, actually. Ooh, Target has a ton of their outdoor, summer toys on clearance. I got a slip-n-slide for 5 bucks (even though Logan's a little young, I thought he still might get a kick out of it and, well, I always wanted one as a kid and never had one so you know I'm gonna try that bad boy out and break a hip while I'm at it.) I also got Logan this nifty little Backyardigans sprinkler so he can run around in the water in the yard. You all know how much Logan loves water, hoses, and the like so I figured I couldn't go wrong with that toy. Besides, what kid do you know that doesn't love running through a sprinkler in their swimsuit on a hot day? Well, a kid with a giant swimming pool I suppose, but we don't have one of those so the sprinkler should be a hit at our house!

We came home after shopping and Logan was worn ragged so I put him down for his nap and he slept for 3 hours. I got the grass cut while he got his beauty sleep. We had a really fun day just the two of us. I can't wait for tomorrow to see Logan playing with his new water toys in the yard! You know I'm gonna be taking some pictures to share!!