Current Status Report

I had my first chemo on March 10th.  I had to give myself a shot in the stomach for 5 days after the chemo to build my white blood cell count back up.  Not as bad as I thought it would be.  Some days were better than others.  Some days I had more energy and some I was shaky.  I notice that my mind wavers a bit between being all there and being kind of foggy.  Little by little my fever has gone up and my sinus infection problems sky rocketed for a day or two.  I usually struggle with sinus problems and the chemo drastically increased those problems.  The allergy doctor gave me stronger antibiotics.  I'm still fighting off those problems, but they've lessened some.  I have really bad sores in my mouth from the chemo and it makes eating very unpleasant. I had my weekly checkup and blood work done the first Thursday after the chemo and found out that, even with the shots, my white blood cell count is practically non-existent.  Which is why I've been getting sicker and weaker.  So they told me to give myself the remaining 5 shots I have over the next 5 days, and we may have to schedule my 7 remaining chemos to every 3 weeks instead of every other week.

The bright side is that I feel very cared for by my family.  I know I'm in the Lord's hands and I've had a very peaceful time.  The only time I really panicked was when I felt like there was fluid in my lungs and it was extremely hard to breathe.  But the Lord used that to show me that it was time for me to concentrate on me and to rest my body.  I had asked Him to make it really clear to me if I should try to work or not.  I'm glad I serve a God who directs my paths and answers my prayers.  I've notified my work that I am taking a medical leave of absence and I'm in the process of applying for disability.  This takes a big weight off my shoulders and now I'm all set to rest up, do what I need to do to take care of myself, and let my family take care of me.  Blessings on you.