Well, usually if I wake at this hour it means I am having a problem with anxiety, and I’ve found the only way to get it out and return to lullaby-land is to write bedside until the issue is resolved. This time though, the image/thought that I have circling ’round my brain is Pie and images from the movie “Field of Dreams”. You know, the Kevin Costner movie, where he hears the whispers that begin with, If you build it, he will come…………….” So, what is that supposed to mean? If you bake it, they will come?
Now, before this whole cancer carnival became my “new normal” I never-ever woke up in the middle of the night. Honestly. Never understood insomnia. But I did used to wake up early in the morning with plans and visions of the perfect lesson plan for school, a fabulous art concept, big design dilemmas resolved neatly, etc. So I understand sleep as the opportunity for my brain to relax, and come up with great concepts without the “conscious-me” meddling with the subconscious brains’ much better plan.
So yesterday was day nine, post chemo, and was about as good of a day as I am gonna’ get all summer. I began with meeting Tahree at the Toledo Farmers’ Market at 9:00 and she was so thoughtful to get there early enough to buy me some beautiful fresh spinach before the “greens guy” was all sold out. Yea! I had been craving spinach for weeks now, more later on how it landed on my table. We talked for more than an hour while eating some kind of really great fresh raspberry pastry from Ackerman’s raspberry stand. I came home, and had to rest for an hour for my next big adventure.
At noon, I pulled a “cancer-card” and utilized one free salon service at a nice little place in Toledo. For the next two hours I had a manicure and “spa-pedicure” while in a kind of aggressive massage chair. I mean it…..the massage rollers were so insistent that I thought they were going to push me out of the chair at first!! Eventually, I figured out how to position my spine to kind-of enjoy the pedicure. During my manicure (since I had a captive audience I was actually paying to sit across from me) I had the opportunity to practice my spiel of breast-health-my-story-importance-of-digital-mammograms. That was good. She seemed to hang on every word, and thanked me three times for educating her on the importance of digital imaging. (one down, thousands to go)
Came back home, and of course, had to kick back again from all the activity, this time in my fabulous new “zero gravity chair” on the back deck, in the shade, listening to birds and watching Lou attack the overgrown flower bed. Good job there! Kids were even still gone (at the pool with coolPaula ) so it was completely relaxing. Eventually, the kids came home, I got up and pruned a few more of the Tropicana rose bushes that had been horribly neglected all spring with new clippers in one hand and an ice cold Negro Modela in the other. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Soon I began dinner, a combination of donated food, and a little bit of original cooking. The donated food came from my new friends, Linda and Helen, both have had Breast Cancer. (I think I am going to adopt them as sisters.) On Friday, they went miles above the normal realms of friendship and brought easily more than a weeks worth of food for my refrigerator and freezer. One of the things they made for us was this fabulous lasagna. So dinner was this sausage lasagna, garlic bread and my favorite Spinach/onion/bellpepper/Calamata Olive/and Feta Cheese saute** with fresh corn, cut off the cob on the side. Lou pulled out a great Cabernet, and we had a terrific meal together. Kids didn’t whine too much, and ran off to play video games as soon as they were done eating and we had some time alone. Priceless!
After dinner, I took Charlie to a sleepover at coolPaula’s house with Henry, and got to see her sister, Kathy, too. So, the day ended with a bottle of wine, comfortable seating outside, conversation with coolPaula and Kathy, and as a bonus….their mom, Martha joined us for a while. It was a trinity of fabulous women, and I got to be there. We talked and laughed until quite late and I had to get back home, lest Lou think something happened to me in the three blocks between our houses.
So. There it is. I’ve written all about my wonderful day yesterday, and I still don’t know why Pie+Field of Dreams woke me up. If it makes any sense to you, please let me know. I am going to try to sleep now so I can go hang with the Unitarians again later this morning.
**if anyone would like the recipe, just ask, I’d be thrilled to post it!
Nine Days after chemo and all’s well…………
June 27, 2009Well,….all’s well physically anyways. I am out of the achy and shaky part of the experience for this round of chemotherapy, and all I have is still a bit of fatigue and a yucky taste in my mouth. As long as I don’t try to do much, I am pretty good for about 5 hours of light activity before I have to lay down and chill-out. I seem to be past the “be careful to monitor every stinkin’ little physical symptom” state of mind, thank goodness.
On Friday afternoon, Joan, my U of M nurse practitioner called to see how I was doing and explained a few things. The reason the achiness was so intense is because you begin chemotherapy with nice and healthy bone marrow. The action of chemo destroys some of your dividing cells of the bone marrow and to go from healthy to “compromised” is dramatic and significant for your body. Typically, in subsequent infusions the severity of the achiness should be slightly less, but may last for a few hours or days longer. The fatigue, however, is just what it is. It will probably get worse, last longer with each infusion.
It has been challenging to find a place to remain “grounded”. I mean, to constantly be focused upon your every physical sensation, monitor it, evaluate it and act…..whether the action be stop activity and lay down, feel discomfort and decide if it warrants medication, or take a run through the Internet to ferret out an answer. At the same time, try to be a “mom”. Of course, something will suffer, and I know that I am pretty weak on fulfilling the mom duties. :^( I seem to have zero patience for whining and fighting and fussing. I mean it. I wish I could ignore it better. In fact, I probably make it worse, by my actions I’m sure. Nothing to be proud of, that’s for sure.
Of course, the whole uncomfortable, tight, lopsided, short of skin and not too attractive chest is still part of my life. The area under both arms is still really uncomfortable by the middle to end of each day, and I have to try to put it out of my mind at times. I think I need to do more research on the “neuropathy” issue. If I understand it on a cellular level, I seem to deal with it better. But damn, it can get so annoying on some nights………I get agitated quickly and go straight to the meds. I don’t think this is the best way to deal with it though. Fortunately, on July 9th (my next chemo day) I have an appointment with a Physical Therapist who works with a lot of Breast Cancer and Lymphadema patients. Maybe she will have some great exercises for me to relieve this kind of chronic discomfort. I wish I had learned Transcendental Meditation years ago when I tried so desparately to incorporate that into my life. I wish I could just mentally take my brain to a higher level where physical discomfort…….isn’t so annoying. I’m sure it is possible, I just don’t know how to do it. Plus, I am impatient. I want physical enlightenment now.
Now that I have done all this whining, my mind jumps to really how lucky I am. Really. I could have it so much worse. I seem to be holding up under this gradual poisoning pretty well (so far). I’m so grateful for not having any nausea. I’ve made deals with my body to promise to rest when I am tired if we can skip the whole puking part of chemo. So far, that has been a successful strategy.
I am also incredibly grateful for my friends who I have come to think of as my “new family”. I couldn’t do this without all of the people who have brought food, called, helped with the kids, sent e-mails and snail mail and little “care packages”. Both Lou and I are so grateful for all of the support. I wish I could come up with the words that adequately express my gratitude. I appreciate you and love you all so much.
Tags:breast cancer, cancer, cancer comments, chemotherapy, children, food, gratitude
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