One More to Go & The New Normal

Only one more chemo treatment to go! I survived the second to last chemo treatment, but not without a little bit of drama. My veins have decided to roll over and play dead so it took three different IV's to get the chemo going. My fabulous nurse(Ann who got me on the first try last time) could not get two of the veins to stay put. She had to call in Elmer-who I like to call the vein whisperer-although they don't laugh when I say that, to magically get the IV in. So I was sitting there when all of a sudden I felt as though my face was on fire. I thought to myself is this a hot flash? Am I already getting those? Then I started to itch. First it was the ears, then my throat, then the chest, and then all over. My face and chest turned red like a tomato. Finally the breathing got to be a bit tricky and my chest kept getting tighter and tighter. Luckily Christian was there and he got the nurse. In the back of my mind I was thinking if Sally or my mom were there it would have been the scene from Terms of Endearment when Shirley Mclaine was screaming that her daughter needed her medicine. I don't know if I would have laughed or cried at that point. So the nurse stopped my IV and gave me a big push of Benadryl. That made me so loopy I was content to stay all night. Alas, it meant the chemo was going to take much longer than anticipated. My mom came to get me so Christian could go coach soccer. As we were sitting there the lights started going out, the janitor was emptying the trash cans, and all the doors were being locked. That song "Closing Time" came to mind, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." You know the nurses were bummed that I had the reaction and someone had to stay late to watch over me-it was Jenny and she was really kind.
So I have many new "normals" in my life, some good, some bad, some just weird...
I used to work...now I watch cooking shows and make new recipes everyday.
I used to run...now I am a walker, sometimes with a friend or my dog.
I used to take 20 minute showers...now I am down to 3 minutes.
I used to think Facebook was a waste of time...now it is a great way to connect with my family and friends
I used to not have time for anything...now I have time to play Memory with Italia, Yahtzee with the kids, and go to all Chase's games at 3:15 in the afternoon
Cancer isn't so bad when I think about some of my great new normals.

ChChChChia

The good news is my hair has started to grow back. Of course it is not growing back exactly as I had hoped. It appears to be growing on my face-yuck and like a gray Chia pet on my head. The upside is it is soft and downy, but the downside side is it is the color of steel wool. My lovely husband referred to me as Gandalf the Grey. My mother-in-law was much more kind. She said that my hair was platinum like Marilyn Monroe. I would be happy anywhere in the middle of those two analogies. As soon as possible I am going to have Darryl color these little hairs into submission. The hair on my face just needs to go away.
A week and a half ago we did the Race for the Cure. Thank you again to all those who participated. It was amazing. I felt so blessed and I know my family did too. Next year I hope to be running it with many of you-and by then I should feel the breeze through my hair, not skimming off of my scalp.
I finished my sixth round of chemo on September 27th and I am happy to report that there are only two more sessions to go. Things are starting to move quickly again-time to ask questions and make some choices. I go see the surgeon on October 11th, the oncologist on October 14th, and then back to chemo on October 18th. It will be time to discuss surgery, reconstruction, follow-up treatment, and everything in between.