Truckin Right Along

Well it finally hit me yesterday... My body was NOT happy and finally retaliated.  I am still voiceless (going on two weeks, seriously I have never had allergies affect me like this!) and my cough has been increasing.  Yup, it has finally become pity party time!  I had a lot going on in the past few days, and my body let me know I needed to chill out!  It all started on Wednesday... 

The week before there was a water issue in the condo above ours and needless to say, gravity made sure all of the water found it's way into our home. So on Wednesday morning the carpeting was ripped up (woo hoo for new carpet!) and sections of the walls and ceiling were removed.  That meant I packed up life and moved into my sisters where I currently reside until this mess is resolved.  My lungs are not too happy with the dry wall dust, mold, and industrial fans blowing about in the condo.  Unfortunately we have yet to see a light at the end of a tunnel for when the source of the problem will be fixed, but I know the light will show up sooner or later.  Until then, lots of Krissy and Melissa time!  

So back to Wednesday.... I woke up an hour early to pack and organize my belongings as best I could before school.  I'm pretty sure starting my day with one less hour of sleep was not helpful.  When I got to school (with extra ROWDY children might I add), I received a conference phone call between my health insurance agent and an agent from the physician billing department about a big mess-up in claims (seriously, chemo is the easy part about having cancer, it's the insurance that is the headache!).  After that 30 minute convo of frustration, I think every kid decided to throw a fit.  Now maybe they really didn't, and usually I'm good at handling their mood swings, but I was needing to finish up their developmental reports and I was not quite seeing clearly at this point.  I love my kiddos, and I was truly sad it was the end of the school year, but the end of school = lots and lots to do with no brain space available for annoying things like health insurance.  I left school early to have my labs taken at the hospital.  Believe it or not, but I finally felt some tranquility in my day.  Being at the Siteman Cancer Center can be calming (possibly because I see how bad I've had it before and how good I actually have it now).  Even my tech noticed I wasn't my chipper self.  I learned about her friend who past away in the Joplin tornado and left behind her husband and 3 children under the age of 7.  That put my crappy day into perspective.  I got in the elevator lost in my thoughts when I realized the elevator wasn't moving.  I still have awful vertigo on elevators (who knows what this drug is doing to cause that?!) and realized I wasn't feeling the sensation of floating.  I was alone in a non-moving elevator.  I pushed every button possible, but nothing.  Yup, I was trapped in the elevator.  I rang the emergency button, but of course the woman could not understand me with my non-existent voice.  I finally just started laughing from exhaustion and looked around for Aston Kutcher to jump out from behind a wall because of what a joke my day had become.  After all of the money my family and I have invested in this hospital, couldn't they at least provide me with a working elevator?!  Help finally came and I was good to go.  I luckily made it to my sister's in time before the storm.  I hid out while funnel clouds developed just 5 minutes from her house.  When the rush of the storm ended, I checked my email only to find that the Kirkwood PD were not on their game and the police report for my hit-and-run from two weeks ago wasn't accessible for my lawyer friend.  Seriously?!  I could tell my body was crashing so a nap became a priority.   My day, though, did end on a good note with Krissy returning home and making me dinner.  Then nap number two after dinner pretty much turned into a really early bed time.  Oh well, sleep feels good!  I woke up Thursday ready for a new day... but unfortunately feeling awful.  I struggled at school and decided to leave early.  I felt like crap.  No specific symptom, just crap.  I stopped by the condo to fix the chaos the work guys created in my bedroom (2 hours later my whole life is beautifully organized in my bathroom), and headed to my sister's to throw myself a pity party.  I do have to admit, I am rather impressed and proud of myself for how positive I have been during the past 2 months, but yesterday I decided to just let it all crash.  And crash I did... at my sister's.  My pity party consisted of me laying on the couch, waiting for my sister to come home and make me dinner.  Dinner turned out to be delish, but before we enjoyed her good cooking, we enjoyed a staple in the Durant household: Moose Tracks ice cream.  My mother taught us that Moose Tracks will solve all problems.  And all problems were solved.  I woke up today feeling 100% better.  I have no explanation as to why, but I credit the Moose Tracks... as well as being waited on by my sister.


On a happy side note: It has been learned that the person who hit my car was driving a rental car and lives out of state (and apparently that state has higher priority cases over my mini Missouri misdemeanor). The rental car company is also after her, so they are most likely going to cover all damages to my car!  WOOO HOOO!


Today turned out to be one of the best days I've had in awhile, a complete 180 from yesterday.  It just goes to show how much of an influence my health has on my day.  Now, time to celebrate with a big bowl of Moose Tracks :).  

Half Way There!

This week marked the half way point with my first cycle of the clinical trial!  I am becoming very eager to know if it is working or not!  In four weeks I will have another PET scan.  The goal is for my tumors to discontinue growth.  If the tumors have decreased in size, that is a bonus!  But if the tumors are not reacting to the drug and have continued to grow, then we are going to try a new clinical trial.  The good news is that the next potential drug will also have very few side effects, very similar to what I am on now.  Unfortunately it will have to be administered through an IV, but it will also be only once a week.  Depending on how toxic the drug is on my veins and how long I will be on it, there has been talk about re-implanting my port.  But that is potential talk, so for now it's just a waiting game.

I met with the doctor this week and she is very happy with my blood counts!  My white blood counts are very good for a chemo patient; they have barely decreased.  I have labs taken weekly since I am new to the trial.  She was concerned, though, to hear of how lethargic I have been.  I either need a daily nap or a bed time of 8:00 is necessary for a feel-good kind of day.  I do best with ten hours of sleep at night - but that only leaves me 14 hours in my day, over half of which are consumed with work!  I have only been on the drug for 4 weeks, and I do feel as though I adjust more and more each day.  The only other annoyance I have is a VERY irregular diet.  Some days I feel insanely full and can't keep much down.  Other days I can't get enough food in me.  Needless to say, I'm still on the weight gain train.  My goal is to restart yoga tomorrow.  It's going to be baby steps!

Other than my constant need for food and sleep, I've been doing pretty well!  I have been voiceless for the past week, I'm assuming due to allergies.  My throat is still sensitive since the surgery, so it's not too happy with the drainage.  Hopefully new meds will take care of that soon... as well as a more predictable weather pattern!
 

Week 4, Here I Come!

I'm happy to say that I am wrapping up my third week and I'm still handling the side effects quite well!  Last week I was hit with nausea, but it wasn't too bad (at least nothing compared to chemo the first time around!).  I've decided that non-stop eating covers up the sensation in my mouth so snacking has become a full time hobby... unfortunately so has gaining weight!  I'm slowing working up the energy to return to yoga and the gym.  Although I've been lacking energy, I'm learning how to listen to my body.  I'm very fortunate to have a casual job environment - if I need to sit, sit I shall!  And my kiddos have been very good to me, always checking to make sure my "ouchie" isn't hurting anymore.  They might be the reason I am losing so much energy during the day, but they are also the best medicine I can ask for!