Day 6- A good day!

For almost every Sunday for the last several years, I have been involved in one thing or another with the Sunday service at church. I have almost forgot what it was like to show up early and soak it all in. What a pleasure and a release. It was difficult for me to tell people that they were not allowed to hug me today, due to the fact that I sometimes battle being a people pleaser, and my white blood cells are depleted to the point of being fairly susceptible to infection, but I managed to hide in the back from all of the lovely Sunday huggers for most of the sermon. There was a couple of renegade huggers in there, but Heather and pastor warned them that next time there would be pepper spray.

Friday marked my first full week of treatment. I would have posted something sooner, but the drugs and the naps got the best of me for a while there, and this is the first time that I have actually been able to sit down and think somewhat clearly since I left the hospital. Plus the theme of my blog has been somewhat optimistic, and to be honest, there wasn’t a lot of optimism coming out of room 109 over the last week.The Chemo was not as rough for me as it was for some, but it definitely is something that is hard to explain to someone who has never had it before. Getting pumped full of poison every couple of hours and battling the cold sweats is something that I would compare to a drug addict detoxing.. That and the constant constipation and feeling the need to go pee from all of the pre/post hydration is enough to drive anyone crazy. The upside to all of this is that I am alive and have a great prognosis. I walked by several rooms of loved ones who were dying on the oncology unit if Mercy and peered in the rooms to see large families embracing each other and crying. I also saw people who had twice the amount of drugs strapped to their IV’s and looked as if they had it 10 times worse than me. It can always be worse, and I choose to be thankful. Very thankful..

Happy Valentines Heather!! She gets the reward for being the most selfless.. What a trooper. It makes me somewhat sad to know that her first valentine would be a grumpy sick cancer patient in her first 2 weeks of being married. Through sickness and in health. We are starting with sickness.

I went in today for a marrow/white blood cell shot that is supposed to help me produce more white blood cells over the next week as my immunity grows weaker. I am warned that the joint pains that are coming as a result of this shot can be a ***ch, but I guess it beats the alternative of being sick.

I have attached a photo from Dave and Mark. These are two of my good friends who thought that they would join me in my baldness in the weeks to come. They showed up at church today bald and then sent me this picture for my pleasure.. And now yours…