Home After Chemo #4 - December 10-29

As usual, immediately after chemo I felt good, though this was not to last. And once again the Neulasta On Body (to boost my white blood cells) worked just fine the day after chemo. Thankfully!

The first couple of days after chemo, I had trouble with nausea. Even though the medicine that they gave me to counteract it helps, I am usually not feeling 100% with it. I was glad that the nausea cleared up before day 4, because in the past it has lasted longer.

Since this is the fourth time around, I am fairly used to the cycle, and even though every time is not identical, there is a general pattern. The first 7-10 days following chemo I feel somewhat lousy (varying degrees) and normally around day 10 I am getting back to more "normal". Then by day 14 I am pretty much feeling "normal". Not my "normal" before I got sick this past summer, but "normal" for a chemo patient.

On day 6, the 17th, one week following chemo, we went in for labs, to flush my PICC line, and to change my PICC line dressing. My labs showed no surprises - the things that we expected to be low, like white blood cell count and neutrophils, were low and other things, like lower hemoglobin, were acceptable.

And that evening I had NO fever. Praise God! During rounds 1, 2, and 3, each and every time we had to go to the ER the evening of day 6 because I had a fever. But this time we got to stay home. What a blessing! It makes me wonder if my nephrostomy tube had more to do with my fevers than anyone at the hospital wanted to believe. (My nurse thinks that was the case!)

On day 7, the 18th, we "attended" an online wedding of friends in Texas. Here is the picture that Denise took of us - to share with them as a memory of our "attendance".

Here we are - all dressed for the wedding.

I especially enjoyed the time home days 7-11, as it was the first time I had been able to experience that. And being right before Christmas, we were grateful to be together for more than just two hours every day.

On Saturday the 19th, I discovered that someone had deleted my appointment on Monday the 21st (without me getting notified) to have my nephrostomy stent removed (previously it was just capped). I called my nurse on Monday, but did not hear back from her.

On Wednesday the 23rd, we again went in for labs, to flush my PICC line, and to change my PICC line dressing. Once again, my labs showed no surprises - my white blood cell count and neutrophils were back up, and my hemoglobin was improved over six days ago. Those numbers just show why I was feeling better than one week earlier.

My nurse asked if I had heard from anyone in Radiology. No, I had not. So she called after drawing my blood and, when she brought me the lab results, told me that they could pull the stent out today. Hurray!

Just like when they capped the tube, we headed to Radiology. They brought me back to the room for the procedure, checked my vitals, verified that my right kidney was still functioning properly, received approval from the doctor, and removed the stent. No pain. A quick procedure. And I was thrilled. As I wrote on Facebook, Merry Christmas to me!

Thursday was Christmas Eve, and Denise and I went to Dubuque, Iowa to pick up Hope. We were excited that she was able to spend Christmas with us this year! Unfortunately, Laura was unable to come.

After we returned home in Iowa City, Denise's sister and her husband came over to celebrate. Normally Denise's family has potato soup and chili for supper Christmas Eve, but this year it was beans and ham (no, thanks!) and chicken and rice soup (chowder) - yum! It was the first time that I ate upstairs with the family, though I ate at the breakfast bar because the table was a little crowded.

There were plenty of desserts - because Denise had been busy baking. Cookies - soft molasses, Russian tea cakes, and oatmeal raisin. Apple crisp, heavy on the crisp! And cinnamon rolls. Yummy!

Strangely enough, because of chemo, my taste buds are not consistent, and some days sweets do not taste good. (Honestly, some days nothing tastes good, even if it tasted fine the day before.) That is not normal for me. I have rarely met a dessert that I thought was too sweet. But now, many things are too sweet for me, depending on the day.

We opened presents, which was very different and quiet with just adults and no kids, but still very nice. What a bonus for Denise and I - to be able to spend Christmas with family. After it was all over, Denise, Hope, and I watched "A Christmas Carol" from 1999 starring Patrick Stewart. It is one of our favorite renditions.

Christmas Day we gathered without Denise's sister and her husband, as they drove to western Iowa to spend with her kids and grandkids. So the five of us had a quiet dinner - ham, cheesy potatoes, and the fixings. This time I ate at the table, which was a first for me. Everything was delicious. I had been asking for ham since we got back in September (they do not process hams like we do), so I enjoyed it very much (as well as the leftover ham!).

The three of us on Christmas Day

On Saturday the 26th, Denise and Hope went shopping for a while (because Hope wanted to go to a couple of stores at the mall). That is normal for Denise's family, though normally they shop for most of the day. Not much is normal anymore.

Otherwise, we simply hung out with Hope and watched movies. It was such an enjoyable time. I thank God for the opportunity we had to spend together!

Denise and her Mom took Hope home on Sunday, which was not quite as nice a trip as Christmas Eve. It snowed a couple of inches and that meant a longer trip than normal, but they got there and back safely.

Monday the 28th I had a chest CT scan. My doctor wanted to get a better image than an x-ray to see what things look like now. When we saw him on Wednesday, he said that things looked good - except that there is still some fluid on the left lung. We may (or may not) decide to draw this fluid out at some point. He will decide later.

I realized that going into chemo day, Wednesday the 30th, that I felt the strongest and the best that I had felt since July. That is not to say that I felt strong, because I am still weak, but I am seeing a gradual improvement in my condition before the next chemo treatment. From some things that I have heard, I am not entirely sure that this is normal, but I am thankful that this has been my experience.

God has been so faithful to me. Three weeks AT HOME have been enjoyable - especially before and during Christmas. Thank you, God!

And we are so grateful that Jesus left heaven to be born as a baby and ultimately to die on the cross - all because of His great love for us!