I forgot to show...

the hair on the floor.  Good you can't see the rest of it on me and other places.

Today - Day 17 - my head hurts if I try to shift the scarf I'm wearing.  It seems to keep traveling around.  The scarf was more comfortable than the wig today and since I'm not trying to impress anyone with looking like I don't feel that's what I am wearing.  Yesterday I felt so well...

today, no energy.  I have reclined on the loveseat and dozed off and on all day.  I am hoping to go to church tomorrow and to our fellowship dinner,

but we will see.

WE DID IT!

Two days ago my hair started falling out.  Yesterday it started falling out IN EARNEST.  Today a whole handful would come out if I ran my fingers through it.  Soooo the writing was on the wall.  We borrowed a clipper and Paul went at it.  My hair is about 1 inch long (or short) all over.  This pic is not what it looks like.  This is the wig.

I was a little teary at the beginning but it didn't last long.  I was ready to get the job done.  It was  the thing to do and the time to do it.  I had been told that the hair would fall out from two to four weeks after the first treatment.  Yesterday was exactly two weeks.  The reason I am not putting a photo on of what it looks like, is not because of what it looks like.  It is because the photo was taken too close to me and you can see all sorts of wrinkles I didn't realize I had!  I actually look like Wes, our oldest grandson, sans the wrinkles.

I am really, really glad we did what we did because it is easier to go in stages, I think.  It is easier to go to one inch long (or short) than to totally bald all at once.  And it sure is the pits to have hair raining around you and floating everywhere.

 After the job was done, we went to the farm to plow the driveway.  We don't want that ridge along the side of the road to get out of hand.  It was a beautiful day.  I snowshoed in from the road and that was such a nice experience today.  It was nice to have the energy to do it.

However the tractor decided not to run, so the battery is staying in the house until next time.

The snow blower also decided not to run.  Oh well, it was a lovely drive.

My indoor garden is doing well.  It thrives on neglect and likes the coolness.  We keep enough heat on so that the pipes will not freeze.  The bed rooms are cooler.  The geraniums seem to like that.

I'm Clean!

This is Monday, Day 12.  Yesterday was the first, and I hope the only, day I did not get dressed.  I was making coffee when my legs turned to spaghetti and I couldn't stand up.  I stumbled back to my recliner perch and pounded on the floor to get Paul's attention.  (tried the phone intercom, but couldn't get it to work)  That is our attention gettter, only he pounds on the ceiling of his basement study.  He brought breakfast to me which he's done most days.  Usually on a Sunday morning I bring breakfast to him, have for most Sundays for almost 49 years.  I slept for two hours during the morning and again in the afternoon AND slept all night mostly.  This morning I was more than ready for a shower and hair wash.  It sure feels good!  Right now after all that exertion, I am ready to plop down on my recliner....

Saturday I was feeling pretty good and we drove out to the farm.  Because it has been cold with some wind, Paul wanted to make sure things were okay.  We ate a can of soup and some German chocolate cake which Paul bought me after my birthday, I watered my plants and we came back to town.  It was nice to get out of the house and go somewhere other than the hospital.

When Paul went over to the church, I had him lock the door and said I was not getting up if anybody came.  Usually someone does come with flowers or food.  Nice!  Before the evening service, the bell rang two times.  I didn't move.  Soon I heard someone come in and rummage around.  It was Joy who is really a gourmet cook, very kind and also persistent.  I am glad she persisted in getting the keys and bringing the food because I had some fish, veggies, Greek salad and a brownie.  Yum!  She also brought some of her delicious blueberry french toast for breakfast and some other goodies we have not eaten yet.  As you can tell my appetite has not suffered.  I don't eat lots, but I do eat.  Funny thing tho:  this morning I told Paul how good the tea was.  He told me the reason why it was good was because he put 1% milk in it.  Now I like at least 2% milk in tea and when he brought 1% home, we decided that was his, the 2% was for my tea.  That is the only reason I use milk.  This morning he could not find the 2%, but after much searching, I found it on the door of the fridge.  Obviously Joy did some rearranging to fit everything in.

It happened in Toronto

Look at this.  I got goose bumps when I watched this.  Way to go Canada!  The U.S. has some work to do.

Charlie Browne said...

Elaine's aunt was a fair blonde headed Finn before chemo when she came out with BLACK HAIR!  I tried to put black hair on me with PicMonkey, however I only succeeded in turning it purple.  Hee, hee.  I  really hope not to become a little old lady with pitch black hair!

I received notification today that I am to report for JURY DUTY on December 17!!!  I am exempted because I am #1 too old and #2 I am a person who suffers from a physical, mental or other infirmity that is incompatible with the discharge of the duties of a juror. In other words I will be experiencing the effects of chemotherapy at least until the end of January.  #3 Also I am not bilingual which you must be for this case.  So much for my one chance of discharging my civic duty as a juror.

I am finding that I am foggy brained today.  I realized today that I am supposed to check my blood sugar daily and have not done it since last Saturday.  Somehow I have to get with it.  It is a lovely, sunny day.  I am warm, well-fed, able to eat, loved and waited on.  I'll just hunker down and hope for more energy sometime soon.  I also need to work on my Bible memory verse and review the previous ones.  I hope something goes into this thick head.

"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:"  Colossians 1:12

Days 5 & 6

I guess I have been making up for the first two days after treatment.  I can't say that I am really sick, just not feeling well and I am experiencing that overwhelming fatigue they talk about.  Yesterday I had an appointment which I did make.  Then I did basically nothing for the rest of the day except watch Andy Griffith and a dumb, really dumb Steve Martin.  But what else do you do if you don't even feel like reading?  That is UNUSUAL, really, really unusual!  I also talked to a friend.

Today I had an appointment which I did not get to because my legs would not carry me there.  A friend stopped by with some nice craft magazines for me to see.  I sat right down on the steps inside the back door and talked with her.  I decided that is a good idea.  People don't intend to stay.  I don't necessarily feel like asking them to come and sit down or the visit might become longer.  So the best thing to do is to sit right there.  I do love to see or talk to friends, but I have my limits right now.  It will get better...

Also Charlie Browne told me about his wife's aunt who started out with platinum blond hair and after chemo is grew in BLACK!  The blond must have come out of a bottle!?

Boom!

Not feeling real great today. I felt fine when I got up but as I was cutting veggies to go with the roast, I suddenly felt very nauseated and weak. So I took an anti-nausea pill and a piece of toast and went back to bed. Along about 11 AM I did climb into the shower (Look Good Feel Better remember?) and got dressed. Paul finished cutting up the veggies for me. That has to be a first on a Sunday morning in our almost 49 years. He is always up at 6 AM on Sunday. He showers to wake up and then saturates until time to get himself ready. That was very sweet of him. I did have dinner pretty much ready when he came home from church, as he also had a 2:30 service this afternoon at a seniors' center...along with teaching S.S., preaching AM & evening services and a counseling session afterward. He'll be one tired guy tonight!

 Thursday when I had the chemo treatment I was given some plastic sleeves with elastic at the top and bottom for covering that PICC line when showering. Works great! I still needed some tape at the top and bottom, but it pulls right on instead of needing to be wrapped around. I'm thinking it would be easier to wash my hair in the sink - while it lasts, the hair that is, not the sink - than the backwards, one sided job it is now. ;) Sorry if you think this is TMI. I am kind of keeping a journal for myself. We tend to forget things easily and it is good to be able to look back if I have a question. Maybe I should start out with a day rating system, so you can read GOOD DAY, BLAH DAY or whatever. Actually I didn't include one side effect that plagued me yesterday. It is OK today.

Oh, and I am SO GRATEFUL that our kitchen reno was done last January!!! I don't know what I would do without a dishwasher and that old difficult floor among other things! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Jones Lake Baptist Church family!

Plastic sleeve - simple but effective!

DAY 3

I am so, so thankful for God's goodness to me! It has been a good day. We got home at midnight from our trip to the hospital. I didn't sleep well...something kept me fidgety so I slept until 9:30. Since then I have done some laundry, changed the bed, swiffered the living room wood floor, talked on the phone, taken a 35 minute walk, made some cookies plus regular meals, read my Bible, wrote a thank you note. I am about to swiffer the bathroom floor and then call it a day. My walking friend went to the open house of the new oncology unit at the hospital. She had such glowing reports about it that I am, #1 sorry I missed it and, #2 can't wait until it is open. Originally I was told that my second chemo treatment would be in the new unit. But as all projects go, that is not going to happen. Maybe at least I'll get there for the last treatment. It sounds wonderful! I am so pleased for those kind people who work there. It will make everything more pleasant and easier for them.

Too Good to Pass Up

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation for the LORD."  Lamentations 3:22-26

Hospital Run

Last night before we ate supper, my face became very flushed.  I thought it was just a little hot in here since we have been having furnace troubles.  After supper I was talking on the phone with a friend, telling how blessed I have been and how well I am doing.  As I talked, my face became sore.  Then I realized that it was puffy and red.  So I flipped through all the possible side effects and found that the anti-nausea drugs could cause those effects.  When  experiencing this sort of thing you should seek medical attention.  I called the extra-mural nurse who wanted to send an ambulance.  I thought that was over-killed, said we are 5 minutes from the hospital and would take ourselves.  I guess she was covering her back in case my air ways started to block.  However she doesn't know the Lord is here with us at all times.  After consulting with an oncologist, they decided it was the chemo treatment itself that caused the problem, not the anti-nausea pills.  They gave me Benadryl, waited until my face looked better and we came home.  Something bothered me so that I could not sleep and for the first time in my memory, I had that restless leg syndrome.  I did finally sleep, woke up at 9:30 AM and am feeling a little drugged. 

There are some pretty side effects out side today.

Please continue to pray for Carol who had surgery yesterday.  They sent her to a hotel in town since she lives an hour away from the hospital.  I guess this is cheaper or maybe they don't have the extra beds.  At 11 PM she was back in the hospital with trouble with the drains backing up.

NEW SHOWER ROUTINE

I never gave much thought to my shower routine until I had to change it.  That is since the PICC line was put in.  I was told that I had to keep the area dry which means wrapping it with plastic wrap and taping that in place, then taking the shower with my back to it.  So I had to rearrange all the equipment to the wrong end of the tub and try to wrap and tape myself up.  I am very thankful that I can take a shower because this may be in place for a fairly long time, maybe even for a while after the treatment is over.  At the hospital they gave me some plastic sleeves to pull on.  They have elastic at the top and bottom, will still have to be taped, but will be lots easier.

I made the photo smaller in case it looked too gross.  I doesn't hurt any more.  I'm fine with it, in fact it is a big, big help to be hooked up to it and not constantly poked.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

 My birthday is on Remembrance Day.  How can we forget?  We started the day with blueberry heart shaped pancakes with pure maple sugar.  Yum!  I made them for my sweetie and me!

 Then he bought something for me - a plow.  When he came home with it, I said, "Happy Birthday, Gail!"  He has been wanting to find a plow for his 1955 Massey Harris tractor so he can plow up a veggie garden for me.  I was pleased.  I know it doesn't look so pretty, but it will do the job we've been assured.

 Here are some goodies I received from my sister, Cheryl.  The tea bag holder is from the Norskie Nook and we have been there.  Twice.  But don't order the Norwegian pancakes.  Come to my house and I will make you some good Swedish pancakes!  Anyway...I love, love, love the pretty dish cloths she makes and actually, Cheryl, I like these smaller ones better too.  There was a nice kitchen hand towel, at least that is what I use it for.  And her lovely greeting cards she makes.  There was one special one with a mountie, a maple leaf and it says "gratitude."  Right now it is on the bulletin board at the church.  It was too nice not to share and it is so Moncton right now with the three mounties who died in June protecting the rest of the city.  I plan to find out the address of the Christian mountie and send it to his wife.  His funeral was a wonderful testimony of his life and of his wonderful Saviour.                                                                                                                    

 

Then from my dear Sara, such a cute tea cup which she stitched herself.  I can tell her style!  The card, of course, is made by her.  The thank you notes would make anyone want to do something worthy of a thank you from me.  Not hinting, I've been overwhelmed with kindnesses.  And the adorable Spode Christmas Tree straws.  Sara will have to give me an idea for using them other than just drinking with them.  They are too cute for that.

This card is from Skye.  Whose daughter is she?  Such an artistic girl!

Wes worked hard on this one and he also wrote a blog comment to me.  These kids are real sweethearts.

This card is from Wil.  Do you see what that is?  A half of a heart (which was not part of the candle) but with a note "look at back" and on the back it said "me without you."  How sweet is that?

And we went out for supper.  A very nice day.  Paul thinks I have caught up with him.  I will never do that, he is a year + older.

I DID IT!

I was hoping you would still be able to see the snow on my jacket.

I couldn't get my walking friend, who was disappointed that we didn't connect, so I walked alone.  I planned on only a 10-15 minute walk, but it was so nice that I did the 35 minute around-the-lake walk.  I took the phone so that I could call Paul just in case, but I did not have an in case situation.  I was in winter mode: long janes, boots, jacket, gloves and hat.  I have never been much of a hat person since they do such a job on my hair.  However this one came from the oncology unit donated by some kind person who knitted it.  It looks great with my wig which I can finger comb after the hat...it the wig doesn't come off with the hat!  The only down side to the walk was that I forgot #1 supply - 5 to 6 kleenexes.  I did make it to the Irving Station without mishap.  Reminds me of how the Queen Mum trained young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to not go to the loo during long ceremonies.  They were rewarded with biscuits (cookies) for not going.  That would be a good plan for some mums today.

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST

Since you are all so good at praying for me, can I ask you to pray for Carol who is right now being readied for surgery?  She has breast cancer and a much more traumatic situation than mine in every way.  My heart goes out to Carol, her husband, Keith, and daughter, Katie.  I am praying for wisdom for the doctors, for peace for Carol and her family and His special work in their hearts and lives.  Carol's parents are very dear friends of ours and live near our farm.

A NICE COZY DAY

Thank you to all who have been praying for me.  The Lord is answering your prayers.  I did not have any more stomach problems and slept well which always helps.  Speaking of praying, I know of people from one end of the country to the other (British Columbia to Nova Scotia, Washington to North Carolina, New Brunswick to Florida) and many places between who are praying.  If we don't have connections one way or another, Charlie Browne does and has contacted everyone he knows.  Thanks Charlie!

Today it is snowing lightly.  I didn't think I would ever want to see snow after that "long winter" last year.  However today we do not have any hospital visits planned after first thing in the morning appointments on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Sitting around in the hospital is tiring for anyone.  I know this because Paul usually has a nap when we get home.  So it is a cozy morning to stay home.  I am thinking of calling my walking friend to see if she is up for a walk before the snow starts sticking on the sidewalks.  Yes, I am feeling that well.  There is not a lot of snow predicted but our parking lot has been partly staked for whenever it comes.  Right now we are having furnace issues.  It sounded like it might be hard to get someone here to look at it.  I told Paul he should try the "my wife is in chemo therapy routine."  Ha, ha!  Actually we are warm because he started it manually, but we need someone to check it out because it has been a problem for a while.

Sara sent a sweet package for my birthday.  More on that later, but here are the verses she included:

Treatment #1

This is the afghan I tell about

My treatment started at 9AM today and went very well.  I had been told that it would take 90 minutes.  Then yesterday when visiting the oncologist, I was told to plan on 3 hours.  I actually was there for close to 4 1/2 hours.  Some of that was giving me anti-nausea meds through the PICC line.  That probably took 1/2 hour.  Next time I will have taken that by pill before the treatment.  Also the PICC was cleaned and flushed after the treatment.  I am sure that took another 1/2 hour.  That won't be part of the treatment next time because it should be looked after by the extra mural nurse.  I guess everyone is so busy that they pass things off to the next guy it they can.

I do have a few pics to share, but I am currently having blogger/picture woes.  There is a picture of me sitting in the big chair before the treatment and I am not hooked up yet.  The other picture is of the afghan I was given.  I was asked if I wanted a throw, but said I was plenty warm and didn't need one.  I was eying the heater when they warm those cozy blankets and wishing I was chilly.  Then I heard the volunteer offer a throw to another lady and told her she could keep it and bring it back for her treatments if she wanted.  She also said that they were knitted in a doctor's office by patients who came in, and I perked up my ears.  It was a pretty red and other colors knitted in large squares and put together with white crocheting between.  I was interested in the doctor office project.  When I asked about it, she offered me one.  And I took it.  Mine is blues and greens.  The doctor's wife works in his office and she is the one who spear heads the project.  Some day I will go over there to see about it and maybe sit and knit awhile.  I would love to spear head the same project in my doctor's office.  However I never get to the end of my projects here.

Oh, yes, how am I feeling?  Obviously I am upright.  At 3:30 I took another anti-nausea pill which you can take every 6 hours if you need it.  I was feeling queasy at that time and then I had some mild stomach problems.  I ate a normal supper.

A pharmacist spent quite a bit of time with me talking about all the meds and possible side effects.  Everyone there was very kind and helpful.  Praise the Lord for His help thus far.  Praise the Lord for those who have showed kindnesses to me: cards, e-mails, calls, presents, food.

Stage III

This little girl tells about her cancer experience.  She had a Wilms' tumor, a childhood cancer which I had when I was about a year old.  I am calling my present cancer "Stage III."  It is my third cancer, it is stage III cancer and also grade III.

Today I saw the oncologist and had blood work done before the first treatment tomorrow morning.  All the tests I've had came back with good results.  Praise the Lord!  We were told earlier that a treatment takes 90 minutes.  Today we were told to plan on three hours!  I guess that is all the getting set up, etc.  Good news!  They bring us treats, lunch if we need it TEA!  So I will take my knitting, books, and Sudoku book.

I have to take my temperature daily.  It is a good thing I tested our thermometer because, according to it, I was dead.  We have a new one now and I am, once again, alive.  I will say that all these appointments are very tiring.  After tomorrow morning, I do not have another appointment until Monday morning.  I will enjoy the breather...or I hope I will.

The Wig

Me as of November 9

The wig

The cute bag for carrying the wig home
I went to the Canadian Cancer Society for the wig.  They had a big cupboard full of new wigs in boxes.  I was able to pick a style and color that I wanted and to try some on.  She called me a week later to tell me my wig was in.  It was FREE, thanks to the Cancer Society!

The Schedule

November 5 - Bone scan  (9:45 AM)
Look Good Feel Better workshop  (1:30 - 3:30 PM)

November 6 - PICC line put in (7:30 AM)

November 7 - Dressing changed and PICC line drained & cleaned (2:00 PM)

November 10- Ultra sound of the liver (8:30 AM)   (12 hour fast & fat free supper)

November 12- Blood work (8:00 AM) & appointment with the oncologist (10:30 AM)

November 13- First chemo treatment  (9:00 AM)

Don't know what will happen in the days after that...

November 17- Bone density (10:30 AM)