Monday, October 13, 2008

One down, five to go...

Well, I made it- round 1 checked off the calendar! We arrived at 9am and left a little after 2pm. It really wasn't that bad. I decided to get a "private room" rather than to sit in the open infusion room. I had a TV and my mother-in-law's laptop w/ Internet connection! Yeah! That passed the time for sure. (I even looked on e-bay for some cute scarves or "do rags" as they call them!) The nurse did about 30 minutes of teaching me the ins and outs on the 3 chemo drugs- and all the side effects! Wow! There was a tons of possible side effects- of course, since these drugs are poisonous! My nurse, Cassie- who I adore, started me off with some heavy anti-nausea meds called Emend, followed by Benedryl (in case of an allergic reaction). She then had to push the bright red Adrimyican through the IV, and watch that it didn't leak from the vein causing serious damage. You know I had to laugh when she walked in to give me this one. Cassie had on full body armor and gloves to protect herself! It was quite a sight I must say- and to know something that dangerous is going into my body. Well, I hope it does a great job of killing those bad cancer cells! Then she gave me the Taxotere- which she watched for a little bit for allergic reactions, and the last one was the Cytoxin. During all of these meds, they kept saline going in as well. This will be the same plan for each of my chemo visits. Greg was there with me today and that helped. Right now I still feel pretty good- although I have a terrible "dirty penny" taste in my mouth- and no I've never tasted one, but that's what I imagine it would taste like! I go back in the morning for the Neulasta injection- which can be painful the days following. Thanks so much for the prayers! I wasn't the bit nervous today- I had Perfect Peace! I pray this continues through it all! And with the support of family and friends like you, I'm sure it will! Oh, and I picked up my wig today and got Greg's approval! :) Graham has a PTA performance tonight that I hope I feel well enough to go! I'm going to take a quick nap so I can be there!

Here are some pics I took when we were out in the yard playing at the end of last week. As you can see, Graham loves to climb trees! (And he scares the heck out of me doing it!) But boys will be boys! And for Mallory Kate, well...she's ALL girl! We also took Graham and his buddy to Fall for Greenville- they had a blast! Enjoy!

Grahm loves to climb!

Mallory Kate loves her babies!

Graham and Conner at Fall for Greenville

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lori, I think we have met before but I don't know if you remember. My name is Christie, I cut your mom's hair. I am amazed at how well you are doing with all this. I share the same faith in god as you. My husband is the youth pastor at riverside baptist church. I am so glad to here your news! I bet you almost ran off the road! We will add you to our prayer list at church as well as our prayers! You are amazing! To God be the glory!!!

Anonymous said...

Lori, I am so glad to hear things went well today. You are truly an inspiration to me. I just don't know that I could handle all that you have with such grace and courage. Please, don't hesitate to ask if you EVER need help with anything or just want to talk. I love ya, girl! - Jennifer Teague

justlovinmesomestowes said...

thank goodness - 1st & down! - i've been thinking of you all day - call me in the next day or so, when you have a chance/feel like it & fill me in. I'll fill you in on the 'blackmail' situation - just to cheer you up...always there for you-heeheehee! as you know, love you all more than ever - ps - loved the pics, keep them coming.

McDonald 5 said...

Hey girl! I have been thinking of you all day and you have been in my thoughts and prayers. My entire team has been praying for you as well. Keep up your positive attitude and belief in God. You have amazing strenth and I love you more than you will ever know. Can't wait til this weekend!! - Kristen

Kelly said...

Yippeeee...one treatment down! It was so good to see you tonight. You could have worn the wig just for fun!!!

Kelly

Anonymous said...

Maybe now you have super powers like a fire breathing dragon or something after that suited up woman gave you those drugs! Graham would want to take you for show and tell....look my mom can breathe fire-ha! Sorry I missed ya tonight, hopefully we'll catch each other soon. God Bless, Beth

Anonymous said...

Hi There Lori! I have had you on my mind all day and am so glad to hear things went as well as they did for you today. You are such a witness for everyone, and are such an amazing lady. I'm proud of you!
On another note...I love the pics of the kids. Graham just needs to grow a tail so that he can hang by a limb!!! Love ya...hang in there!

Anonymous said...

Okay...forgot to leave my name on the last post like you told me to...love ya,
Tracy W.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you were feeling well enough to come tonight. It was good to see you. I'm sorry I had to take Mallory Kate's toy back. She cried! :( I'm also so glad that you had "Perfect Peace." :)
Chap

Anonymous said...

Lori,I hope I can get this posted correctly, computer twit that I am! It was great to see you tonight. I appreciate how open you are with all of this. It helps all of us understand everything that is going on with you. I think you're like me, you want all the info up front. I think knowing what to expect helps to you plow through a situation. Stay strong! And Mallory Kate is a sweetheart!

Paige O'Shields said...

Hey Lori. This is Julie's friend Paige. I have been waiting for my husband to fix my computer so I could comment on your blog. I am so happy your first tx went well today. I can honestly say I have been there and it is very scary. However I can promise you that several months from now you will be saying wow that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Please feel free to call me or e-mail me anytime if you have any questions or just need a shoulder to cry on. I am keeping up with you progress and am praying for you.

Paige

Anonymous said...

Woohoo! Glad you have one down! Hang in there and I loved the pictures. I can't believe how the children have grown!
You were in my prayers today and will continue to be.
Love and prayers,
Jean

Anonymous said...

Lori, You are amazing. You are on our prayer list at church. We don't understand these things but we know God doesn't make mistakes and we will understand it all one day. Love you.