They say some things never change, but on the other hand, they say change is good.
When it comes to my body and chemo, the first round really had me worried that I now would respond differently each time. I can honestly say, I'm experiencing ... Adventures in Chemo Land!!!
Right before my last blog post, I attended my quilt guild's fall retreat. I had a great time seeing friends and sewing/quilting for a weekend away. My sister & I also took our business stuff and vended. After getting home and carrying all the stuff back in the house, the next day, my back was sore and I had developed a "rash." I thought, that was odd, but I was carrying boxes, a sewing machine, etc., so I put some "Icy Hot" on it and hoped it would go away. By the next day, the soreness had not gone away and my sister kept saying the rash looked worse. I went to Bible Study, stopped & ordered our Thanksgiving pie (by the way ... it was yummy), came home, had lunch and continued on with my list of things to do. By Wednesday, the bumps were getting bigger and more annoying!!! Finally, on Thursday night after choir rehearsal, I asked my nurse friend to take a look at the rash. She said she wasn't sure, but it looked like .... Shingles!!!
The next morning I was on the phone shortly after 8am to see if I could get in to see my doctor. Unfortunately, she had no available appointments, but thankfully, I was able to get an appointment with another Cooper doctor that morning!!! Of course, that was the morning I had an appointment to shave my hair off and I had to take my Dad to get both his flu shot and his COVID booster (in 2 different places). I arrived at the doctor appointment and soon was called back to an exam room. Soon the doctor came in and looked at my rash and confirmed ... yes, you have Shingles!!! And of course the rash is on the same side as my huge bruise from when I passed out in the shower. She prescribed some medicine and I asked the important question, can I get them again? And, unfortunately, I can. Gosh, that made me jump for joy!!! Not really. I stopped by the drug store later in the day and picked up my 2 new drugs.
Of course, I had 3 different activities planned for that Saturday, all in different directions and different places. However, due to the shingles and the "pain spikes", I only attended one of those activities. I laid pretty low the rest of the weekend, took my meds, and tried to rest. I watched lots of football, napped, ate, and napped some more!!! By Tuesday morning, I was more than ready to go to Bible Study. As I was driving, I prayed and asked God to relieve the "pain spikes" so that I could enjoy Bible Study. I know it sounds trivial, but God heard my prayer. Not only did I not have any "pain spikes" during Bible Study, but I didn't have another one. None. Zero. Zip. Nada!!! Praise the Lord!!!!! And yes, when chemo is over, I'm getting a Shingles shot.
Then on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I went for my pre-chemo blood work. I thought my numbers would look better than after feasting on turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc. Because it's been so hard to find a vein in my elbow, I just give them my hand and that has worked out pretty good. I received the results back on the following Monday and PRAISE THE LORD ..... my CA-125 dropped from 210 to 138!!! That's 72 points lower!!! It still has a long way to go to get to "normal" or lower, but I'm on the way!!! And my platelets were higher!!! I don't know how that happened with chemo and the fall, but they were much higher. WooHoo!!!
Then I had my chemo follow-up on Tuesday morning. I got to see my Advance Practice Nurse (APN), Jacquie. We hadn't seen each other since March. During the exam, we laughed a lot, discussed movies, my numbers, etc. and spending Christmas day in pajamas. I then headed up to see Mr. Chemo and spend a long day in the chair. By the time they hook you up, give you the pre-meds, I'm ready for a nap!!! And because I've had a reaction to Carboplatin in the past, they check my vitals every hour. I'm usually one of the first people in a chair in the morning and I'm one of the last to leave in the evening. My nurses Jenn & Jalpa were great. Finally, it was time to be unhooked and go home. The one good thing is that they leave my port access in and just tape it up so I they don't have to poke me again the next day.
 |
| My Tuesday view |
Wednesday was a later start time, so one of my bff's was able to take me. I checked in and took a seat in the waiting area waiting to be called back. I watched people come, get called back, more people came, and got called back, but not me. After a while, I wondered, did they forget me? I mean, I was sitting almost in front of them!!! Finally, I asked one of the check-in girls, did you forget me??? Within a few minutes, they came to get me and they took me to a PRIVATE ROOM!!! I had requested my Tuesday nurse, Jenn, and sure enough, she was my nurse for Wednesday, too!!! She took my vitals, got me hooked up to Mr. Chemo and what did I do??? If you guessed took a nap, you'd be wrong!!! I actually ate lunch, and believe it or not, I brought a quilting project to cut out. (see pictures) I didn't get it all cut out, but I made good progress!!! Again, I was one of the last people to leave the floor.
The days after chemo are what I fondly call "slug days." I have little to no energy to much of anything. My mind is foggy and my body just wants to stay in one place. Usually, I don't have much appetite and sometimes food doesn't taste very good either. This past time, food tasted fairly good. And since I don't do much during the day, sleeping at night is a problem. The only thing that seems to help is listening to someone read Scripture on a video on YouTube. It's a horrible cycle and only time can correct the imbalance. However, once the nasty chemicals are "flushed" from my system, it's like night and day. I still get tired easily, but at least I have energy to do things around the house and to write!!!
Over the past month or so, I have heard some incredible teaching from the Bible. I'm going to try and keep it short & sweet, but God's words are so powerful.
I was able to jump in on Tuesday morning Bible Study. They were doing an overview of the entire Bible called "The Story of Scripture." Quite a feat in only 13 weeks! By the time I was able to attend, they were at the end of the Old Testament. The next lesson was not the start of the New Testament, but what scholars call The Intertestamental Period or The Silent Years. This was 430 years where God's people did not hear from God. But as we learned, God was still working during those years. If you studied that time period, you would be amazed at what transpired. Little did God's people know, He was still in control and preparing the world for the arrival of His Son, Jesus Christ. In all my years in church, I don't think I had ever heard such a concise and understandable lesson about this time period and the significance of it in the history of the church. It strengthened my faith to know that even when I think God is silent in my life, He is still in control. He is still working. And He still hears my prayers.
The other Bible teaching is from my pastor, Seth McCoy. For advent, he is taking a character from the Christmas story and looking at that person with perhaps, a different perspective. The first Sunday of December, we studied Zechariah from Luke 1:5-25. I think the part of the message that got to me is to never stop praying and believing that God will answer. Zechariah & Elizabeth prayed many years for a child and had probably given up hope, but God answered when they least expected it. In fact, because Zechariah didn't believe the angel Gabriel, God silenced him until his son was born.
Last Sunday, we looked at John the Baptist from the passage in Luke 1:39-66. John was the son that Zechariah & Elizabeth had been faithfully praying. This passage tells about the visit of Mary to her cousin, Elizabeth. Mary was newly pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth was in her 6th month. Luke tells us in the first part of verse 41, "And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb." At those words, I stopped to ponder, do I "leap" for joy when I see a brother or sister in Christ? Do I "leap" for joy when I hear what God is doing in someone's life? Do I shout praises to God for what He has done? Or has this current life that I live with COVID protocols, chemotherapy, and dealing with NJ disability claim cause me to become passive with others blessings? I pray that I would rejoice always - through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I pray that you can, too!!!
So, to wrap up:
God is always in control.
God is always listening to our prayers.
God is always answering our prayers and sometimes it takes a while.
God is always waiting to hear our praises in all things and in all situations.
I recently started hearing this song from Sanctus Real on Christian radio. It's called "My God Is Still The Same." The words remind me of the Bible teaching I've heard over the past month. I pray that you will be blessed as you listen.
From me & my family, I wish you & yours a very, Merry Christmas & a Blessed New Year!!!
Joy to the world ... the Lord is come!!!
Prayer Requests:
December 21 - Pre-chemo blood work - pray for a lower CA-125 & good platelet number
December 28 & 29 - Follow-up exam (Tues.) and Round #3 (Tues. & Wed.)
Only by His Strength,
Sandy
