Life is good

Thank you for your prayers! I made it through yet another chemotherapy relatively unscathed. As usual day 3 was the worst. I felt a little nauseous and generally lousy. My rash flared up a bit but the medication is keeping it from getting too bad. My throat needed a little bit of my special mouth wash today but it’s really not a big deal just a little uncomfortable. My weight has been mostly stable, hovering just under the 150 mark. My day 3 lack of eating did not have as much of an effect on my weight as last time. I had a little bit of diarrhea on day 5 but I attribute that to late night fried chicken. I am still receiving daily injections from my dear wife which is lots of fun.

Life is good.

Next chemo is Friday, May 3. Please continue to pray for us.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever

Psalm 136:1 ESV

 

 

A peanut butter and banana sandwich a day, keeps the chemotherapy side effects at bay

Apparently, some people have been worried about me since I haven’t posted in slightly over a week. Well, I am indeed alive and actually doing quite well.

This past chemo cycle (starting April 5) has left me with the least side effects yet. Here’s a quick rundown of the most harrowing days of this treatment cycle.

Day 1: Chemotherapy day. I was mostly symptom-free and full of energy (I’m sure the steroids had some small part in that…). I brought my laptop and got several hours of work done while I was hooked up to the chemo machine. I had a hyperthermia treatment at the naturopath afterwards and was so intent on squashing a “bug” that I had my laptop out again in the naturopath’s waiting room.

Day 2: Everyone deserted me! While Leanne attended the Kitchener-Waterloo Christian Home Educators Association conference, her parents took the kids to Jakeman’s Maple Farm for pancakes and a wagon ride and to pet the animals. I still felt well enough to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich and cook a box of expensive organic macaroni in between TV viewing and naps.

Day 3: As expected, this was my worst day. I experienced nausea most of the day, including some dry heaving. I managed to eat my daily PB&B but that was it in the food department. I also napped quite a bit.

Day 4: I felt better in the morning but not quite well enough to work. I had a smoothie while I watched Stargate and then went off to get my hyperthermia and Vitamin C infusion in the afternoon.

Day 5: Back to working full time (at home). I even felt well enough to continue my ongoing project of assembling the girls’ bedroom furniture.

I know I didn’t eat a lot on the weekend but somehow I lost 7.6 lbs. I went from weighing 151.8 lbs on the Friday to 144.2 lbs on Monday morning. I may need a new scale. As of today, I am 149.7 lbs.

Today is Day 11. Most surprisingly I haven’t had ANY diarrhea yet, which is really weird since diarrhea is a common side effect of my chemotherapy drugs, my antibiotics and my daily Grastofil injections. 

The only real side effects that I have been noticing are related to my skin. My rash looks like it may be coming back a bit and my skin is very dry. My throat feels a little odd as well, almost like it could use some hand cream. My expensive Lidocaine/Kool-Aid mouthwash is supposed to help with my throat as well. It only bothered me enough to use the mouthwash twice.

I am back to a single bowel movement a day. Praise the Lord! Seriously! I would hate to know the number of hours I have accumulated on my toilet… (Actually, that’s not true; I wouldn’t mind knowing the statistics. I have a graph of my daily weight and temperature readings, after all. Data is fun!)

I really am feeling good.  God has blessed us so much. I am happy and content with my life. My cancer just doesn’t bother me, or at least I don’t allow it to. I know it could get worse, but since I can’t do much about it, I figure it’s best just to let the Creator of the universe handle it.

Life feels normal again. I am thoroughly enjoying my work. Little Magnolia is a constant delight as she is beginning to talk and smiles and laughs at everything. Our Daisy Kate is nuts which is why I like her so much. She can be a nightmare one minute and a barrel of laughs the next. She seems to be quite the artist for a three-year-old. Harry is learning so much lately and I’m so glad I get to play a small part in it. Even today I had an opportunity to give him a spontaneous multiplication lesson. He is getting more fun to talk to as well; I could use a break from discussing Minecraft though.

Please continue to pray for us because it is working!

My next chemo treatment is on Thursday, April 18. Please pray that my symptoms continue to be as manageable as this past cycle.

Pray that the chemotherapy keeps working so that surgery will be an option.

 

 

The needles worked

The daily injections weren’t as bad as I thought. My dear wife was gracious enough to give me my daily stabbing as I have not the fortitude of mind to inject myself. I should see if they will let Leanne do my blood tests too because she is much more gentle than any nurse I have met so far.  I had to ask Leanne if the needle was even in yet. I suppose a subcutaneous injection is a little different than an intravenous injection (hopefully I used those terms correctly). 

I passed my blood test this morning. My white blood cell count is up. At the time of writing I am currently hooked up to the chemo machine being pumped full of poison medicine. 

My weight is now up to 151.8 lbs (thanks to poutine and prayer) which is a nice improvement from my low at 137.0 lbs. 

It’s now been 4 weeks since my last chemotherapy treatment. It’s been a nice break but I am glad to be getting on with my treatment.

Please continue to pray for us. Pray that I recover from this round of chemotherapy quickly.