For those of you who are interested, the day we shared at church is available to listen to online. It is part of a series on the Life of Joseph.
Click on the talk entitled "I Get Knocked Down" You will hear the pastor speak for a few minutes and we share in the middle of the talk.
I can't get the link to work from this page for some reason, so just cut and paste the following link into your browser....
http://nlcf.net/talks/the-life-of-joseph-series
Kat
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
All I want for christmas is my two front boobs...
How can you resist a cheesy title like that? This week has been a good week on many levels. On Tuesday I had my last AC chemo!!!!! This means I have arrived at the halfway point in my chemo and my next chemo will be a new cocktail of chemicals, called Taxol. (I will describe more about this later) I had the least amount of nausea yet with this last AC. I forgot to take my major expensive ($100 a pill) drugs on the second two days because I was feeling so good. I slept from the time I can home from chemo until the next morning, but then felt much better the next two days.
We had a special treat this week in that Jeff's Dad and Mom were able to visit us for two days as they were driving down the east coast from New Jersey. We didn't tell the kids and they were able to surprise Bethany as she got off the bus. It was a great sight to see her so excited. The day before she had come home kind of bummed saying she had had a "bad day, where some of her friends wouldn't play with her." I insisted we pray that she would have a better day the next day. I told her I had a feeling it was going to be better. When she got off the bus, she said, "Mommy, you are right, today is a better day!" I was out of commission the whole first day they were here, but I was able to visit with them the second day and even felt well enough to go out to dinner. The kids enjoyed their visit. Both Walt and Sue look well and are actively changing their lifestyles and diets to make themselves the most healthy they can be. Walt has indicated no side effects yet from his hormone treatment. They will not know for several months how his body is responding to it, but a big praise for no side effects.
I had my usual plastic surgeon's appointment before my chemo and I got a scheduled date for my "swap out" surgery. This is when he will remove my saline filled tissue expanders and insert my permanant silicone implants. It is scheduled for December 19th, so Merry Christmas to me (and Jeff) I am getting boobies for Christmas this year! I joked last year that I am getting to a point in life where it is hard to come up with things to ask for for Christmas anymore, but this year, I know exactly what I want. If you had told me last year, that this is what I would be asking for this year, I would have laughed in your face. Funny what a difference a year makes, eh? It will be a much simplier surgery then my mastectomy, but I will still likely have an overnight stay in the hospital. I have about 100cc more of "fill-ups" to do with my tissue expanders, right now I would guess I am at about a small "B" cup, for those of you who have asked.
So what is Taxol and how is this different? Both chemo's act like an exterminator would. The cancer is gone from my surgery, but when an exterminator comes they often spray a ring around your house to make sure no critters come into the home. Chemo is similar in that is kills off all dividing cells with the hope that if any single cancer cell got loose in my body before my surgery, the chemo will nip it in the bud. The two types of chemos attack different types of cells. So just as an exterminator would have a different spray for ants and bees, by doing both chemicals we hope to cover all the bases.
Taxol's side effects are usually much more mild. I will have some basic anti-nausea meds, but many people don't have to take them at all. With Taxol I will be dealing more with muscle & joint aches/pains, hand & feet numbness and tingling and a more general achiness. It is said to be easier then AC, yet given the cummulative effects of the AC and then several rounds of Taxol, it tends to get slightly worse each round as your body just continues its battle to recover. The biggest danger with Taxol is allergic reaction, so I will be on a large amount of steroids for the next 8 weeks to prevent this reaction. I am hoping I don't suddenly become puffy and gain a bunch of weight, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did happen.
Jeff is still plugging away at getting contract work. He has had no firm leads for a permanant job locally. (He has had some offers if we are willing to move back to NoVA, but we are not.) He is on the cusp of a whole bunch of contracts that if they all worked out could get us through the next 6 months pretty O.K., but in sales mode, it is all about waiting for the proposals to get through to all the right people and through all the red tape. So we just don't know what will close or not. For now we are ok and he tries to piece together enough work to get us through a few weeks at a time. We both feel that God is opening doors with this contract route, especially since we clearly aren't getting leads for jobs outside the home or local permanant stuff, but the uncertainty is making me admittedly anxious (please note I said me, not him, he has been quite firm in his faith that God will work this out.) I try not to think about it most days, because I know I just don't have the strength to worry about it, but when I do think about it, I wonder what God has in store. For now, I focus on us getting enough work to get me through chemo and into our new house (likely within the same 2 weeks with current schedules.) I am thankful that this contract work continues to allow Jeff to be home and take care of me and the kids, I don't know how we would do it without him. We have settled into more of a routine now with each of my chemo cycles, but he still is working the job of at least 3 people right now with contracts, kids, cooking and cleaning. We just focus on one day at a time, one week at a time.
I can't wait to feel like I am contributing again, playing with the kids, cleaning up the house, cooking. Each of these things requires so much energy, it makes me enter each day with such high hopes of what I will accomplish. Last night I wiped down the kitchen floor, after Liam had totally trashed it at dinner, and by the time I was done, I was exhausted. You would have thought I would have been running or something.
Lastly, please pray for my sleep. I have had terrible bouts of insomnia and even though I am exhausted when I lay down at night, I toss and turn and lay awake for hours on end. It is a common side effect of chemo and is usually related to the steroids that run through my blood stream so much. I have sleeping pills, but try only to take them when I really need to sleep solid, like the night before I work. I don't want to grow dependent on them. It is rough on Jeff because I toss and turn so much and then I am so exhausted, even with the best of intentions the night before, I can't hardly get up to help out with the kids, get Bethany ready for school and just give him a chance to recover sleep himself.
Many blessings to you all,
Kat
We had a special treat this week in that Jeff's Dad and Mom were able to visit us for two days as they were driving down the east coast from New Jersey. We didn't tell the kids and they were able to surprise Bethany as she got off the bus. It was a great sight to see her so excited. The day before she had come home kind of bummed saying she had had a "bad day, where some of her friends wouldn't play with her." I insisted we pray that she would have a better day the next day. I told her I had a feeling it was going to be better. When she got off the bus, she said, "Mommy, you are right, today is a better day!" I was out of commission the whole first day they were here, but I was able to visit with them the second day and even felt well enough to go out to dinner. The kids enjoyed their visit. Both Walt and Sue look well and are actively changing their lifestyles and diets to make themselves the most healthy they can be. Walt has indicated no side effects yet from his hormone treatment. They will not know for several months how his body is responding to it, but a big praise for no side effects.
I had my usual plastic surgeon's appointment before my chemo and I got a scheduled date for my "swap out" surgery. This is when he will remove my saline filled tissue expanders and insert my permanant silicone implants. It is scheduled for December 19th, so Merry Christmas to me (and Jeff) I am getting boobies for Christmas this year! I joked last year that I am getting to a point in life where it is hard to come up with things to ask for for Christmas anymore, but this year, I know exactly what I want. If you had told me last year, that this is what I would be asking for this year, I would have laughed in your face. Funny what a difference a year makes, eh? It will be a much simplier surgery then my mastectomy, but I will still likely have an overnight stay in the hospital. I have about 100cc more of "fill-ups" to do with my tissue expanders, right now I would guess I am at about a small "B" cup, for those of you who have asked.
So what is Taxol and how is this different? Both chemo's act like an exterminator would. The cancer is gone from my surgery, but when an exterminator comes they often spray a ring around your house to make sure no critters come into the home. Chemo is similar in that is kills off all dividing cells with the hope that if any single cancer cell got loose in my body before my surgery, the chemo will nip it in the bud. The two types of chemos attack different types of cells. So just as an exterminator would have a different spray for ants and bees, by doing both chemicals we hope to cover all the bases.
Taxol's side effects are usually much more mild. I will have some basic anti-nausea meds, but many people don't have to take them at all. With Taxol I will be dealing more with muscle & joint aches/pains, hand & feet numbness and tingling and a more general achiness. It is said to be easier then AC, yet given the cummulative effects of the AC and then several rounds of Taxol, it tends to get slightly worse each round as your body just continues its battle to recover. The biggest danger with Taxol is allergic reaction, so I will be on a large amount of steroids for the next 8 weeks to prevent this reaction. I am hoping I don't suddenly become puffy and gain a bunch of weight, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did happen.
Jeff is still plugging away at getting contract work. He has had no firm leads for a permanant job locally. (He has had some offers if we are willing to move back to NoVA, but we are not.) He is on the cusp of a whole bunch of contracts that if they all worked out could get us through the next 6 months pretty O.K., but in sales mode, it is all about waiting for the proposals to get through to all the right people and through all the red tape. So we just don't know what will close or not. For now we are ok and he tries to piece together enough work to get us through a few weeks at a time. We both feel that God is opening doors with this contract route, especially since we clearly aren't getting leads for jobs outside the home or local permanant stuff, but the uncertainty is making me admittedly anxious (please note I said me, not him, he has been quite firm in his faith that God will work this out.) I try not to think about it most days, because I know I just don't have the strength to worry about it, but when I do think about it, I wonder what God has in store. For now, I focus on us getting enough work to get me through chemo and into our new house (likely within the same 2 weeks with current schedules.) I am thankful that this contract work continues to allow Jeff to be home and take care of me and the kids, I don't know how we would do it without him. We have settled into more of a routine now with each of my chemo cycles, but he still is working the job of at least 3 people right now with contracts, kids, cooking and cleaning. We just focus on one day at a time, one week at a time.
I can't wait to feel like I am contributing again, playing with the kids, cleaning up the house, cooking. Each of these things requires so much energy, it makes me enter each day with such high hopes of what I will accomplish. Last night I wiped down the kitchen floor, after Liam had totally trashed it at dinner, and by the time I was done, I was exhausted. You would have thought I would have been running or something.
Lastly, please pray for my sleep. I have had terrible bouts of insomnia and even though I am exhausted when I lay down at night, I toss and turn and lay awake for hours on end. It is a common side effect of chemo and is usually related to the steroids that run through my blood stream so much. I have sleeping pills, but try only to take them when I really need to sleep solid, like the night before I work. I don't want to grow dependent on them. It is rough on Jeff because I toss and turn so much and then I am so exhausted, even with the best of intentions the night before, I can't hardly get up to help out with the kids, get Bethany ready for school and just give him a chance to recover sleep himself.
Many blessings to you all,
Kat
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Cancer sucks...
Boy, did I mention I hate cancer? In the last 24 hours I have found out that 2 close college friends are now waiting to hear if they have cancer. One is a male and one is a female. The female's husband called me to pray for her, and I hadn't talked to them in years. He didn't even know about my summer fun with cancer and I told him not to be burdened by not knowing, but since she is waiting on a diagnosis for a female related cancer I was able to give him so brief information on what he might be facing and reassurrance that her particular situation isn't as dire as he might fear given the specifics. I guess now I am beginning to see one of the reasons God had me do all that research on cancer this summer, not just for me, but hopefully to benefit others. Please pray for both of these people. They both have families and kids and I know first hand the waiting is one of the worst things in the world, because your mind fills with all the worst possible scenarios.
I have been feeling a little better the last two days. I had been in bed for 5 days in a row, so I am happy to be somewhat functional again. When I contacted the Dr. about my persistant cough and sinus issues, he finally said that it may be that this may be a side affect of chemo for me that I have to deal with each round. Since I have already been through two rounds of antibiotics and 3 1/2 weeks later I am still not "well" yet, I am beginning to think he may be right. He said it is a rare type of side effect, but it has happened in his experience.
Since the last two days may be the best I feel for the next several weeks I have tried to catch up on thank you notes, paperwork, house stuff and general house work, trying to find a balance between not over doing it and actually being productive. I actually got up and got Bethany ready for school and on the bus today for the first time in two weeks. Jeff really needed the sleep and I even had time to braid Bethany's hair. I am sure the teacher noticed it and realized that Mommy did Bethany's hair today. (not that Jeff does a bad job, but he is a simple hair clip kind of guy, and I don't blame him. He has come a long way in 5 years on the girl hair thing. I am proud of him.)
The highlight of the last few days was when we shared at church on Sunday at the morning and evening services. I was still feeling kind of sick, but it was worth the yucky feeling to get out of the house and share our story in the midst of the storm. We shared about my cancer, Jeff's dad's cancer, Jeff's job loss and the date order of all the major surgeries, events this summer. We started the talk by listing all the plans we had for ourselves this year, then we redirected to God's plans for us this year. I actually heard audible gasps when we said that Jeff had lost his job the day I started chemo. I wanted to scream, "yes, life does suck, you don't have to tell me, but guess what, I AM STILL HERE NOW!" We really wanted to convey to the church (keep in mind they are 95% college students) that even in the center of the fire God is standing in our midst with us. It doesn't mean we aren't mad or sad or angry. It doesn't mean we think its fair or like it, it just means he is weeping with us. It was a huge blessing to us to reflect on the last few months in a whole picture and to see how far God really has carried us (and I do mean carry, no walking with me here, he has been dragging me.) through the last few months. We were flooded by people coming up to us after wanting to help in any way they could. Three different girls came up to us with tears in their eyes asking to cook, clean, babysit, anything they could. We exchanged numbers and I am hearing from God (not a whisper anymore) that I need to swallow my pride and call these people when we need help. I have already lined up a meal and 2 babysitting needs, you guys would be so proud of me.
Its funny in "cancer circles" a lot of people complain that others are so insensitive about what they say or do when they hear you have cancer. However, I feel like I have really seen the best in people since my diagnosis. People I had frankly written off in my life have been my support, people I barely knew have become cheerleaders and strangers have begged to have the opportunity to help. Just as I watched the replay of the 9/11 tragedy this week and how it brought out the best in this country, I have seen my personal tragedy has really brought out the best in people in my life.
This Tuesday will be my last AC treatment and the official halfway point of my chemo treatment. I will then begin Taxol treatments which have their own set of issues which I will delve into later.
Please keep your cards, notes, emails, calls, and encouragement coming. It never gets old. When I can get this blog to let me post pictures again (for some reason it won't lately) I will post a picture of the wall I have hung all my cards on, it is awesome. I love you all.
Kat
I have been feeling a little better the last two days. I had been in bed for 5 days in a row, so I am happy to be somewhat functional again. When I contacted the Dr. about my persistant cough and sinus issues, he finally said that it may be that this may be a side affect of chemo for me that I have to deal with each round. Since I have already been through two rounds of antibiotics and 3 1/2 weeks later I am still not "well" yet, I am beginning to think he may be right. He said it is a rare type of side effect, but it has happened in his experience.
Since the last two days may be the best I feel for the next several weeks I have tried to catch up on thank you notes, paperwork, house stuff and general house work, trying to find a balance between not over doing it and actually being productive. I actually got up and got Bethany ready for school and on the bus today for the first time in two weeks. Jeff really needed the sleep and I even had time to braid Bethany's hair. I am sure the teacher noticed it and realized that Mommy did Bethany's hair today. (not that Jeff does a bad job, but he is a simple hair clip kind of guy, and I don't blame him. He has come a long way in 5 years on the girl hair thing. I am proud of him.)
The highlight of the last few days was when we shared at church on Sunday at the morning and evening services. I was still feeling kind of sick, but it was worth the yucky feeling to get out of the house and share our story in the midst of the storm. We shared about my cancer, Jeff's dad's cancer, Jeff's job loss and the date order of all the major surgeries, events this summer. We started the talk by listing all the plans we had for ourselves this year, then we redirected to God's plans for us this year. I actually heard audible gasps when we said that Jeff had lost his job the day I started chemo. I wanted to scream, "yes, life does suck, you don't have to tell me, but guess what, I AM STILL HERE NOW!" We really wanted to convey to the church (keep in mind they are 95% college students) that even in the center of the fire God is standing in our midst with us. It doesn't mean we aren't mad or sad or angry. It doesn't mean we think its fair or like it, it just means he is weeping with us. It was a huge blessing to us to reflect on the last few months in a whole picture and to see how far God really has carried us (and I do mean carry, no walking with me here, he has been dragging me.) through the last few months. We were flooded by people coming up to us after wanting to help in any way they could. Three different girls came up to us with tears in their eyes asking to cook, clean, babysit, anything they could. We exchanged numbers and I am hearing from God (not a whisper anymore) that I need to swallow my pride and call these people when we need help. I have already lined up a meal and 2 babysitting needs, you guys would be so proud of me.
Its funny in "cancer circles" a lot of people complain that others are so insensitive about what they say or do when they hear you have cancer. However, I feel like I have really seen the best in people since my diagnosis. People I had frankly written off in my life have been my support, people I barely knew have become cheerleaders and strangers have begged to have the opportunity to help. Just as I watched the replay of the 9/11 tragedy this week and how it brought out the best in this country, I have seen my personal tragedy has really brought out the best in people in my life.
This Tuesday will be my last AC treatment and the official halfway point of my chemo treatment. I will then begin Taxol treatments which have their own set of issues which I will delve into later.
Please keep your cards, notes, emails, calls, and encouragement coming. It never gets old. When I can get this blog to let me post pictures again (for some reason it won't lately) I will post a picture of the wall I have hung all my cards on, it is awesome. I love you all.
Kat
Friday, September 08, 2006
Prayer request
I have mentioned it before, but I spend a lot of time on a website called Young Survival. org. It is a site dedicated entirely to women under 40 with breast cancer. It is literally my group therapy and has been a tremendous encouragement to me as I correspond with women on a daily basis who are facing the same issues I am. I have grown quite close to several of the women on the boards.
Please pray for one of these women, Tracy, in the midst of battling Breast Cancer her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident last night. I cried reading her post. I can't imagine, I don't want to imagine and I ache to think of how she must be feeling.
I don't know where she lives, or a whole lot of details, except that her husband's name is Robert.
Please pray for Tracy today.
Kat
Please pray for one of these women, Tracy, in the midst of battling Breast Cancer her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident last night. I cried reading her post. I can't imagine, I don't want to imagine and I ache to think of how she must be feeling.
I don't know where she lives, or a whole lot of details, except that her husband's name is Robert.
Please pray for Tracy today.
Kat
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Round 3 down, 5 more to go...
I had my 3rd of 4 A/C treatments on Tuesday. At first I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to do it because of my bout with pneumonia last week. I wasn't sure if my blood counts would be high enough (especially my white blood cell count, that is the one that goes haywire when you are sick) My counts were fine and I "got to" proceed with chemo.
I still have a lingering cough, but in general it is much better than it was. I have officially settled into a chemo routine, though I don't ever want to find a comfort zone, as that would mean I have allowed myself to think of this time as more than temporary.
I had almost no nausea this time around, which I am very thankful for. I think the ironic thing is that one of the big reasons I didn't have nausea this time around is because I constantly had mucus in my throat from the cough, which helped with the nausea. Who knew?
I am definately feeling the "cumulative" affect of the chemo on my general strength. I get tired much more easily now. I can be doing something simple like dishes or writing this blog and suddenly feel like I need a nap. I have to be weary of how I plan my time so that I don't get stuck exhausted somewhere. I have limited my work shifts to 5 hours max to help prevent this.
I have one more A/C chemo and then I will begin the Taxol. Some people say the nausea is much better with Taxol, but the muscle aches are much worse. Some say the Taxol is just easier across the board. This is a prayer request, as I would obviously much rather have the easier side of things.
Chemo plays some funny games on your body. Some of them I had been warned about, others are so random to me. The hair loss thing is not absolute. I still have to shave my legs as regularly as I would have before chemo, almost all my head hair is gone (I have kind of a general prickly fuzz all over) and I have lost about half of the rest of my body hair. I still have all of my eyebrows and eyelashes, but no other facial hair. It is such a strange combination. My body is generally out of whack, alternating between constipation and diarrhea, afraid to take meds for either thinking that it will cause the other. I have hot flashes from chemo induced menopause, but yet still a light period here or there. I feel like each day is a giant wheel that gets spun by someone "what are Kat's symptoms, today?" ....looks like we are going with headache, mixed with dry mouth with a later development of hand numbness. Chemo is such a strange state of being, you never know what you will get from day to day.
I had my bi-weekly "fill up" at the plastic surgeon right before my chemo. I have experienced no pain from these fill ups until this point. My tissue expander and eventually my implant are placed behind my pec muscle. Normally, if a woman gets implants these are placed in front of the muscle, it is easier and allows for more expansion. However, in a reconstruction patient, a lot of drs. like to place the implant behind the muscle. They feel this gives another line of defense if future cancer is ever discovered along the incision line, or in the pec muscle. This gives them the chance to radiate this area without ruining the implant. At some point in your expansion process this pec muscle will expand to its max before it starts to get stretched. I am at that point now. So this expansion is the first where I am in quite a bit of pain in my pec muscles as a result of this stretching. I have been taking pain killers at night just to sleep. I will have to get less in each fill up from here on out to prevent this painful stretch. The good news is that the Plastic surgeon asked me if I would like to go ahead and schedule my "swap out" surgery (the surgery where they exchange your tissue expanders for your permanant implants and "pretty up" the breasts) I can have it as soon as 3 weeks after my last chemo. I told them I would like to have it before the end of the year because of our shakey health insurance situation. So I will likely have this surgery the 3rd or 4th week of December. Yah, Merry Christmas, here's some new boobs. :)
Jeff is still job hunting. Had some interviews, no official offers yet. He has gotten some more contract leads that we think will get us to December, so we are taking one day at a time.
We are sharing "our story" at church on Sunday. We wanted to share while we were in the midst of the storm. We often see people share in front of our churches that have come out of difficulty and can sing the praises of being lost and now found. We don't often see people who are in the midst of the storm and don't know how or if they will come out of it, share about where their faith is on all this. That's where we are, and that's what we will share about. Please pray that our words will be a blessing to others in the church. We don't want it to be a display for others to feel sorry for us, we want it to be a triumph of how Christ works in the midst of the chaos too.
Many blessings to you
Kat
I still have a lingering cough, but in general it is much better than it was. I have officially settled into a chemo routine, though I don't ever want to find a comfort zone, as that would mean I have allowed myself to think of this time as more than temporary.
I had almost no nausea this time around, which I am very thankful for. I think the ironic thing is that one of the big reasons I didn't have nausea this time around is because I constantly had mucus in my throat from the cough, which helped with the nausea. Who knew?
I am definately feeling the "cumulative" affect of the chemo on my general strength. I get tired much more easily now. I can be doing something simple like dishes or writing this blog and suddenly feel like I need a nap. I have to be weary of how I plan my time so that I don't get stuck exhausted somewhere. I have limited my work shifts to 5 hours max to help prevent this.
I have one more A/C chemo and then I will begin the Taxol. Some people say the nausea is much better with Taxol, but the muscle aches are much worse. Some say the Taxol is just easier across the board. This is a prayer request, as I would obviously much rather have the easier side of things.
Chemo plays some funny games on your body. Some of them I had been warned about, others are so random to me. The hair loss thing is not absolute. I still have to shave my legs as regularly as I would have before chemo, almost all my head hair is gone (I have kind of a general prickly fuzz all over) and I have lost about half of the rest of my body hair. I still have all of my eyebrows and eyelashes, but no other facial hair. It is such a strange combination. My body is generally out of whack, alternating between constipation and diarrhea, afraid to take meds for either thinking that it will cause the other. I have hot flashes from chemo induced menopause, but yet still a light period here or there. I feel like each day is a giant wheel that gets spun by someone "what are Kat's symptoms, today?" ....looks like we are going with headache, mixed with dry mouth with a later development of hand numbness. Chemo is such a strange state of being, you never know what you will get from day to day.
I had my bi-weekly "fill up" at the plastic surgeon right before my chemo. I have experienced no pain from these fill ups until this point. My tissue expander and eventually my implant are placed behind my pec muscle. Normally, if a woman gets implants these are placed in front of the muscle, it is easier and allows for more expansion. However, in a reconstruction patient, a lot of drs. like to place the implant behind the muscle. They feel this gives another line of defense if future cancer is ever discovered along the incision line, or in the pec muscle. This gives them the chance to radiate this area without ruining the implant. At some point in your expansion process this pec muscle will expand to its max before it starts to get stretched. I am at that point now. So this expansion is the first where I am in quite a bit of pain in my pec muscles as a result of this stretching. I have been taking pain killers at night just to sleep. I will have to get less in each fill up from here on out to prevent this painful stretch. The good news is that the Plastic surgeon asked me if I would like to go ahead and schedule my "swap out" surgery (the surgery where they exchange your tissue expanders for your permanant implants and "pretty up" the breasts) I can have it as soon as 3 weeks after my last chemo. I told them I would like to have it before the end of the year because of our shakey health insurance situation. So I will likely have this surgery the 3rd or 4th week of December. Yah, Merry Christmas, here's some new boobs. :)
Jeff is still job hunting. Had some interviews, no official offers yet. He has gotten some more contract leads that we think will get us to December, so we are taking one day at a time.
We are sharing "our story" at church on Sunday. We wanted to share while we were in the midst of the storm. We often see people share in front of our churches that have come out of difficulty and can sing the praises of being lost and now found. We don't often see people who are in the midst of the storm and don't know how or if they will come out of it, share about where their faith is on all this. That's where we are, and that's what we will share about. Please pray that our words will be a blessing to others in the church. We don't want it to be a display for others to feel sorry for us, we want it to be a triumph of how Christ works in the midst of the chaos too.
Many blessings to you
Kat
Friday, September 01, 2006
Antibioticked, again...
This will be a short post, because I am on bedrest. I have pneumonia. Yep, I was fine on Wednesday. I had a sore throat and a small cough, but I didn't think much of it. By Wed at midnight I had a nasty cough. After several calls back and forth to the oncologist he immediately put me on antibiotics (thank God for 24 hour pharmacies). We debated about whether I should go to the ER for a chest x-ray. He agreed to let me sleep it out since I did not have a fever, despite the coughing a wheezing, under the agreement that if I had a slight fever or got any worse during the night I would go to the hospital immediately.
The next morning I talked to the oncologist again and he put me on a narcotic cough medician and put me on strict bed rest for the next several days.
I am frustrated on many levels. First, I am frustrated that Jeff has so much more work to do now. At least even with chemo nausea I am functional to help with the family a least a couple hours a day. The last 2 days I have not been able to contribute ANYTHING to the house. So he is getting Bethany ready for school, caring for Liam all day, looking for a new job, doing phone interviews, cooking meals for all of us, cleaning the house, finishing his current job so he can get his severance, dealing with house building crap, and now caring for me and my needs. He has not complained, but I know he is exhausted physically and emotionally. I feel so useless to the family at this time. I know all the BS about how my job is "to heal", but that doesn't make me feel much better. Please pray for Jeff and his strength. Please continue to pray for his job situation, it is so stressful to be in limbo. He has some great leads, but still nothing concrete yet.
Please throw in a quick prayer for my healing, especially in time for my next chemo on tuesday so there would be no delays. (I know this seems funny to pray for healing so I can get sick again.)
This too shall pass...
Walt met with his oncologist yesterday and got his first hormone shot. I have not spoken to them about the details of the appt., and I know they have not received the lab work from their surgery yet. They have decided not to start radiation until they return from a trip to Israel in October. Again, I don't know the full details of all these timing decisions. That is the only update I have for now.
Kat
The next morning I talked to the oncologist again and he put me on a narcotic cough medician and put me on strict bed rest for the next several days.
I am frustrated on many levels. First, I am frustrated that Jeff has so much more work to do now. At least even with chemo nausea I am functional to help with the family a least a couple hours a day. The last 2 days I have not been able to contribute ANYTHING to the house. So he is getting Bethany ready for school, caring for Liam all day, looking for a new job, doing phone interviews, cooking meals for all of us, cleaning the house, finishing his current job so he can get his severance, dealing with house building crap, and now caring for me and my needs. He has not complained, but I know he is exhausted physically and emotionally. I feel so useless to the family at this time. I know all the BS about how my job is "to heal", but that doesn't make me feel much better. Please pray for Jeff and his strength. Please continue to pray for his job situation, it is so stressful to be in limbo. He has some great leads, but still nothing concrete yet.
Please throw in a quick prayer for my healing, especially in time for my next chemo on tuesday so there would be no delays. (I know this seems funny to pray for healing so I can get sick again.)
This too shall pass...
Walt met with his oncologist yesterday and got his first hormone shot. I have not spoken to them about the details of the appt., and I know they have not received the lab work from their surgery yet. They have decided not to start radiation until they return from a trip to Israel in October. Again, I don't know the full details of all these timing decisions. That is the only update I have for now.
Kat
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