Feeling a little better . . .

First, thanks to my sister for her sweet comments.  I am sooo blessed to have the family I have.  I just haven't felt well enough to post anything until today.  Barb, I appreciate your seeing a need and just taking care of it.  Love you bunches!

Unfortunately, the side effects for this treatment were not as advertised.  I have struggled mainly with severe headaches, nausea and vomiting during and after each of the last two treatments.  The headache was so bad during the last treatment, they sent me to have a CT scan of my head to make sure the cancer hadn't spread to my brain.  Everything checked out OK, but they have me scheduled for an MRI this Monday just to be sure.  In the meantime, my main goal is to manage the pain and nausea.  The discomfort lessens as the days go on.  Today, I'm just dealing with the remnants of the headache which is managed pretty well with just Tylenol. Ken and I actually went out and took a walk even though it was a bit brisk.  It was so nice to be out in the sunshine and fresh air.

I will say without any semblance of pride or embarrassment, I am not looking forward to next Tuesday.  My hope and prayer is that I will feel decent enough to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family.  On the positive side, there is no treatment the next Tuesday.  Yay!

There is one other possible positive to all of this.  For several months now, I've been dealing with light to moderate back pain on my left side.  None of the doctors seemed to be too concerned about it, and ibuprofen usually took care of the pain. During the first treatment, the pain in my back became unbearable.  They had to use some pretty heavy duty pain killers to alleviate it. My thoracic doctor happened to stop by as we had an appointment with him that afternoon to remove the catheter.  Unfortunately, I was feeling way too yucky to have him do that.  But he did take a quick look at my last CT scan while he was there. He concluded that the reason I was having the back pain, is because one of the larger masses in my lung was pressing up against my diaphragm.  The best counsel he had for me at that point was pain management.  The good news?  That pain is practically gone now.  I'm hoping against hope that the reason it has dissipated is because the chemo is shrinking the tumors.  Keeping a positive thought.

Many, many thanks for your prayers, calls, cards, and meals.  Please forgive me for not returning calls right away.  I will call soon.  Please know your love and friendship mean more than I can say.

My faith in my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ remains constant - my joy on my good days, and my strength and comfort on my bad days.

Proverbs 3:5-6   Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.