Chemo #2

I'm just sitting here getting my chemo pre-meds.  My counts were good today and I'm physically, spiritually, and psychologically ready to keep on going!  Although the steroid caused a mostly sleepless night last night, so I'm a sleepy girl today.  That's alright though, I've got plenty of time for sleeping blocked out for the next few days.

I forgot to share in my last blog post that the chemo appears to be working!  The nipple leakage is gone!  In fact, it's kind of too much information to share (but that's never stopped me before) but the area where the leakage was coming from dried out, almost like a callous or something.  Then within a few days, the callous rubbed off, maybe from the friction in my bra, I'm not sure?!  But it's gone and I'm happy!  Dr. Satelli confirmed this morning that it's a sign the chemo is working.  Not very often, but on occasion, people get to the mid-way check and they discover that it was all for nothing because the chemo wasn't working.  Ugh!  But it appears that mine is working!  Praise the Lord!

We've had an eventful past few days.  We snuck in as much girl-fun as we could while Daddy was on a much deserved fishing trip to Bennett!  We had two swimming dates with friends, watched some fireworks, and had a Head Shaving Party!  

Ever since the first treatment, I was waiting for the hair to begin falling.  On day 15, it started.  And I didn't like it very much... at all!  I've always had a head full of hair, so I'm used to shedding quite a bit, but it just wouldn't stop.  It gave me a tummy ache every time I'd pull a handful out.  Being a "rip the bandaid" kind of person, I texted Tara, my lifelong friend and hairdresser and asked if she could come over on Friday night.  She made it happen, and then I started to fret.  I'm really not a vain person, never have been.  For example, if Ryan and I make a late trip to the store and I'm already in my comfy clothes, I won't bat an eyelash about leaving the house without changing or looking in the mirror.  My handsome husband, on the other hand, is a bit high maintenance.  He would never leave the house in comfy clothes.  He'd run back to the bedroom and change into something with a belt (I'm not kidding) and fix his hair or grab a hat.  Usually, I could've made it to the store and back before he's ready to go!  But for me, my hair has always been a defining physical trait.  My whole life people have commented about my thick hair.  So in some way, I felt like I was going to lose a part of who I am.  But I asked for prayers and I spent time praying and pondering the upcoming event.  And God did what He does.  He led me to realize that I am His child, Kristy Weaver, hair or no hair.  That was all I needed.  When it was time for the Head Shaving Party, I was almost excited!  The kids were looking forward to some fun!  Tara even showed up with a sack full of scarves and other goodies to make this experience easier!  She even had jewels on her scissors!  I invited my sister and her girls, my mom, and my sister-in-law and her girls for the fun!  Before we got to work, we had a serious talk about hair-cutting scissors and non-hair-cutting scissors.  All the little girls seemed to understand... time will tell!  Then the fun began!  I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Everyone who knew my dad has decided that I look a lot like him when I don't have hair!  I need to have my mom get me a picture of my dad when he was younger, just out of basic training.  We look like twins!  It's fun and creepy!

 

Then on Saturday, the girls and I decided to have some more fun!  Because it takes no time to get ready in the morning when you have no hair, I did my makeup and curled the girls' hair.  We painted our nails and tried on head scarves!  The girls even wanted to get their heads wrapped like Momma.  I'm telling you, these two girls have the sweetest hearts.  I was really worried before I began chemo that this time in their lives would be marked by sadness and gloom, but they have taken everything in stride.  Gracie confided in me that she is nervous that people will think I look funny and that she might be embarrassed if I don't cover my head.  I told her that it's completely normal to feel that way and that people might think I look funny.  She said she wants them to know that the reason I don't have hair is because I'm getting treatment for cancer.  So we've had a lot of conversations about how to handle tough situations.  I use metaphors a lot when I talk kids, so Gracie has gotten pretty good at figuring them out.  In this situation, I mentioned "When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade!" She just asked, "But how, Momma?"  She could figure out that the lemon in this situation was losing my hair, but she couldn't figure out how to make lemonade out of it.  So we discussed that adding sugar to lemons makes them taste sweet, not sour.  So we can sweeten this lemon of hair loss by adding joy, fun, happiness, smiles, earrings, makeup, cute hats, colorful scarves, a good attitude, and just being open to sharing with people why I don't have hair.  She started to get it and I can tell that the passing time is helping her feel more comfortable.  Hattie was her usual self in this experience.  She tends to be timid at first, but as soon as she gets used to things, she acts like she's been doing it her whole life.  On Friday night, she was unsure about my bald head, but by Saturday morning, it was like I never had hair!  

On Sunday, Ryan got home from his fishing trip.  The girls and I enjoyed some quality time with him before they headed off to a sleepover at Aunt Steph's house!  I tell you, these chemo treatments are like birthday parties for them!  Ryan and I have started a little ritual of snuggling on the couch to watch a movie the night before chemo.  It gives me something to look forward to.  For the first, second, and third chemo treatments, we're watching the Divergent series.  The first and second movies were awesome!  I'm making us wait till chemo #3 to watch the last one.  Then we have to figure out what series is next!  We wrapped up our night by putting away laundry and running the dishwasher.  I've discovered that a clean house before chemo makes me feel like a better wife and mother, for some reason?!  

Right before heading to bed, I finally worked up the courage to pick all the gooey stuff off the liquid bandaid over my port incision.  It's been 3 weeks and they said it would come off in a couple of weeks.  It's been driving me nuts, but I hate cuts and blood and such, so I've left it alone.  But I'm glad I picked it off because it looks much better now!

Well, the chemo fog has begun to descend upon me.  My thoughts are beginning to cloud and I think it's time to wrap up this post.  Thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement!  I've had such a fun time seeing all the #weaversbelievers posts today!  Y'all are amazing!

The prayer requests have not changed since the last post.  Please keep those prayers coming!

1. Pray that the cancer has/does not spread to my lymph nodes, blood, or other body parts (we won't know the answer the this question until after surgery)
2. Pray that it is clear to the team of doctors that I do not need radiation
3. Pray that my faith and the faith of my family is strengthened during this time
4. Pray that my belly and the dry mouth are more manageable this time around
5. Pray that the chemo does not cause any longterm damage to me
6. Pray that I do not get sick during this season of weakened immunity, but am still able to enjoy time out of the house with my family