IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG
I can happily say that you haven’t as many posts from me because I have been BUSY with regular home life – kids, dogs, laundry, grocery shopping…you get the picture. My point is that I have had the energy to keep up with all of these things. I have even been able to go back to the gym the past 3 days. I may only walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes (and climb 3 sets of stairs to check the kids in the childcare area) but its a far cry from what I was able to do a few months ago.
I have been home almost a month and see my oncologist weekly for blood draws and checkups. My blood counts are returning back to normal levels – which is the main reason for my increased energy. The aftermath of the chemo has not come without side effects though. Since I have been home, I still experience hot flashes and being extremely cold (especially my feet which are FREEZING all of the time). I also have neuropathy (sensation of your hands and feet tingling and falling asleep) and joint pain. The joint pain has really set in the past week or so – everything just seems to hurt when I move. I feel like an old lady. I’ve read about both of these side effects and they both supposedly get better as time goes on. I sure hope that is true.
I do check back into the hospital (I’m pretending that I’m checking into a fancy hotel) on Monday for my first round of maintenence chemo. Best case scenario: I am in the hospital for 6 days – receiving chemo on Day 1, 3 and 5 for 12 hours at a time. As long as I don’t get fevers or any other major complication/side effects, I get to go home after the 6 days. You can bet that’s what I am hoping for. I am not looking forward to the hospital food and being hooked up again, but its obviously well worth it. My oncologist is hoping 4 rounds of maintenence chemo (spread out with around a month inbetween treatments) should do the trick. And I say all of this with the reminder that “things always change”. I am not positive what is in store for me, but that is the basic game plan.
Of course there will be more to come…the hospital gives me more down time than being here at home. For some reason, a 4- and 6-year-old seem to keep me quite busy! (wink, wink, smile)
