Saturday, July 16 - Made it Through Chemo #2

Well, the fact that I am awake and moving around the house at 6am gives you some indication of how well it went yesterday at my second chemo infusion.  My girlfriend and support angel, Jody, picked me up yesterday at 8am and we headed over to Diablo Valley Oncology.  In an effort to make it a better experience than last time, I went in with a "kick a**" attitude, wearing my favorite yellow bike jersey (the yellow is color the winner of the Tour de France wears)  and my livestrong bracelet; all a result of feeling inspired by one of my heros, Lance Armstrong.  I recently re-read his book which details his fascinating cancer journey (called "It's Not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life").  I should have prefaced all this by saying that Harun and I are avid road cyclists and when we are not out riding ourselves we are following the Tour de France or reading cycling magazines or books about riding or racing.  Bike junkies, we are.  Anyhoo, Lance's book is truly amazing or I guess I should say his fight against cancer was truly amazing.  He was diagnosed with late-stage testicular cancer, which had began to move through his body, affecting both his lungs and his brain.  He had two surgeries and months and months of horrific chemo and given a 20% of survival.  20%!!!!  And not only did he beat the odds, he came back to win the Tour de France 7 times!  A truly AMAZING feat.  Alright, enough about the book, but I truly recommend it for anyone who is looking to read something truly inspiring (whether you've been touched by cancer or not).  It was much different for me reading it this time around now that I am facing my own battle.

Chemo #2 was basically the same drill as the first.  My angel nurse, Kaval, hooked me up to all the bags of clear liquids which would eventually drip into my veins over the 90 minutes we are there.  The only drug that looks different is the Adriamyican...it looks like Koolaid, and everytime I tease Kaval that it better not be Koolaid.  I know the Adriamyican has made it through my body because my urine has a slight reddish hue for a day or two following the infusion.  I forced myself to drink a ton of water during the appointment, as well as an Ensure shake which provides protein and calories.  On the way home, Jody treated me to a Jamba Juice and that went down fairly easily, too.  I felt great at home for the first few hours...I even ran out to a prosthesis clinic to pick up a compression sleeve for my right arm.  Whenever you are travelling to high altitudes, the doctor recommend you wear a compression sleeve to aid the circulation in the arm where the lymph nodes were removed.  I often have numbness and soreness there, so the compression sleeve is used to help alleviate this.  Since we are going up to Tahoe next week, the doctor thought it would be a good idea for me to wear one.  It's flesh colored and you can't really see it, so I will probably wear it as much as possible.

I started feeling sick around 6 or 7 pm, but my sister and mom were here and we popped in a movie to help keep my mind off the nausea.  It definitely helped.  I also tried to eat more and sip my juices but I still felt quite queasy and weak.  By the time bedtime rolled around I as ready for my nighttime medications, and voila! I was off to dreamland only to wake feeling much better and refreshed this morning.

I have a few folks in my angel arsenal to thank especially for their help yesterday.  Chemo days are tough so I am most appreciative when friends step up to help me on those difficult days...
Jody - for giving me a ride, and for awesome moral support
Monica - for taking Conrad all day long and tiring him out
Pam - for inviting Carolyn to spend the day again with her buddy Laura
Debbie - for a perfect dinner for me and all my family, it was wonderful
My mom and sister - who provide me with love and support DAILY, but who sit with me and are especially patient with me on chemo days!

And thank you also to all of you who are thinking of me, and praying for me, and sending me cards and wonderful words of faith, hope and love.  I am saving all these cards (in a huge binder!) and I look at them often for inspiration when I am having a bad day.  To close, I wanted to share a few words from a book of daily devotions I was given by our friends Darren and Anita Wardle.  This passage struck me as incredibly relevant, being that I am a little nervous for what is to come today.  This morning I have to go back to Oncology for my "Neulasta" shot...it is given to raise white blood cell counts the day after chemo and it is painful and makes me feel sick and achy.  Needless to say, I am not looking forward to it.  It's almost worse than the day of chemo.

So here's what the passage states and I read it last night:

"Do not worry about tomorrow!  This is not a suggestion, but a command.  I divided time into days and nights, so that you would have manageable portions of life to handle.  My grace is sufficient for you, but its sufficiency is for only one day at a time.  When you worry about the future, you heap day upon day of troubles onto your flimsy frame.  You stagger under this heavy load, which I never intended you to carry.  Throw off this oppressive burden with one quick thrust of thrust. As you thus affirm your faith, shackles of worry fall off instantly.  Enjoy My presence continually by trusting Me at all times."

Sounds good to me.