good times :)

If you remember, last Wednesday I had my PET scan. It sort of took longer than expected because the nurses sat for an hour searching for a vein to put my IV in. Apparently I have really small veins. They poked me a few times in my hand but weren't able to get it in. They finally found one in my left elbow after an hour of searching. Thursday evening we received good news. Praise God! The results of the PET scan came back quite positive, meaning that the doctors were extremely pleased with the results. Everything is within the normal range and they feel that this first month of treatment was very successful.

Wednesday night I fell flat on my face. Literally. Rachel and I were at the library and after we were done there we walked over to my sister's place across the street. One mistake was made though...we decided to jaywalk. The street wasn't very busy and we waited until the light farther down the street turned red. Little did I know that I did not have the strength or the stamina to run across the street. I barely ran two steps across before I did a face plant right across the road. I could hear Rachel freaking out telling me to get back on to the side walk. I tried to pull my self up but I didn't have the strength and I stumbled forward and fell again. By that time a car was coming and Rachel bravely stopped the car, pulled me up and helped me hobble across to the other side of the street. By now Rachel and I were both laughing hysterically at ourselves for being so stupid. I got a few scrapes on my knees and ankles now and I'm pretty sure I learned my lesson. I also know now not to run.

some random bits of news...

I want to thank everyone for their prayers, gifts, visits, and concern. I'm greatly blessed and amazed by how many people are praying and thinking of me. I'm thanking God for the fact that I haven't had any more nightmares, but when one problem goes away another problem always seems to come up in its place. I've been getting really bad knee problems. :( It gets pretty bad. Almost to the point where I can barely walk.  For the past few nights the pain has been so bad I haven't been able to sleep.  I did say that I lost a lot weight but I have slowly but surely been gaining it back. Which is good.
Some of you may have heard already but I am now bald. Totally bald.

me and my pastor :)

We're bald buddies now. I will be receiving my wig on Sept. 2. It is a little far away but making wigs are very intricate things and it's the time of year where all the kids want their wigs before school starts. I have scarves and hats so I don't really care that I'm not getting it right away. Anyways, it is easy being bald and it doesn't take much work.
I don't start Phase 2 of chemo till next week Tuesday. On Tuesdays I will have to be in the hospital all day from 8 till 5 and then on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I will hopefully just have to go into Abbotsford for quick 10 minute chemo sessions. I'm not entirely sure if this is how it is going to be for the next month and a half but I guess I will just have to take it as it comes. It's going to be hectic. That is all I know.
I've been greatly blessed by the girls in my church. They have had so many prayer meetings with me and for me over the past month and half. It has been a great blessing and encouragement and I want to thank them for doing this for me.

Prayer requests:
- thanksgiving that I haven't had anymore nightmares.
-that my knees would heal.
-I have a PET Scan tomorrow morning and I would really like prayer that no cancer would show up on the scan.

You know, I have so much time in my day and yet I still never seem to get anything done. I do have some excuses for that though. My body has slowed down so much and everything takes double the amount of time. This past week has been especially hard. I won't say that it has been easy. Mom and I have been trying to go for a walk every day around Mill Lake Park in Abbotsford. Before I was on chemo we were able to go twice around in about 40 min. and now takes it me 40 min. to get once around having to stop at least 3 times. :( That is how slow I am. It's pathetic. 

This past week has actually probably been the hardest. Having my hair fall out. Crazy dizziness. I had two really bad nightmares that freaked the bejeebees out of me. My blood counts were lower than normal which made me really weak. On top of that I'm now a bunch of skin and bones and the dietitians are worried about me. 

Now to try and look on the bright side. :) Hallelujah!! Phase 1 of chemo is done. Phase 2 starts in 2 weeks. I get to slowly wean myself off that horrible drug called prednisone which makes me have chubby cheeks and last but I'm sure it is not least, I get to have a bit of a break before the intenseness of phase 2 starts.

 my new pixie haircut.

This picture was taken a week ago already but it gives a bit of an idea of what I now look like. Today it is quite a bit thinner though. 

I do have some prayer requests: 

-that I would have restful sleep and that I would sleep straight through the night. 

-that I would gain weight. I am eating a lot but not gaining anything.

-that God would give me the strength I need to go through phase 2 which is going to be quite a bit more intense than phase 1 was. 

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

busy. busy. busy.

I have learnt that in my kind of situation taking it one day at a time is always the best the way. 
Tuesday: chemo day is tuesday. I drive (well..I don't drive, Mom drives) to Children's Hospital. 9:30 a.m. is usually the time I have to be there in the mornings. I get there and they "access" me. Accessing is where they stick needles with tubes attached into my "port". A port is just a catheter under a thin layer of skin. They do this to make it easier for cancer patients so that they don't have to poked with a needle every time. I still have to be poked but it doesn't actually hurt. I'm then attached to my most devoted and faithful boyfriend "Polski". He never leaves my side. It's very touching. They give my chemo and it takes about 30 min for it to go through the line. I'm then de-accessed and get to leave. Everything went smooth sailing on tuesday so I was out of there by 11:30. Afterwards is when the party started. Sushi here we come!! Every now and then I get these mad sushi cravings and they have to be satisfied...especially when I'm on this drug that makes me want to eat and eat and eat. Alright so enough about food. Wig time!!! I went to the wig store. They took my measurements and I decided what style and color looked best. I'm getting brown, long and curly. Alright. fine. I'm not. I'm getting blonde, short, and straight. Something that looks like me. Nothing drastic. The best part is, is that they cost over $2000 and I don't pay for any of it. Zip. Zero. It's all paid for.  Now to wait for my hair to fall out. :) It's being custom made and it won't be ready for me to pick up for a couple weeks. After dinner the chemo started kicking in and I started feeling a bit blah. Sleep is always the best medicine. 


Wednesday: wednesday decided to be bad side effect day. No nausea but definitely lots of blurred vision, numbness in my face, and dizziness. It didn't really help that it was hot out and and I wasn't drinking very much. Well, because of these weird happenings in my head we decided the right thing to do was to inform my doctor of these things. Well. Little did we guess that I would have to go into Vancouver again today to get a glucose test done. This is where you realize that taking it one day at a time is always best. 


Today: For this glucose/blood test I had to fast. That was EXTREMELY hard. I almost died. :) What I thought would be a quick visit to the hospital turned into an all day ordeal of sitting around waiting for test results, going to the opthamology clinic to get an eye test, sitting around and waiting some more. and some more. And finally we get out of there at 3:00. It is crazy how sitting around and then walking from one end of the hospital to the other and then sitting around some more can tire you out. Blah. Major headache. Like I said. Sleep is the best medicine. 


p.s. I've been a bit scatterbrained...please excuse some of my randomness. :)