I know there are those who follow my blog and are not on
facebook, so to those, I apologize that I’ve been so long in updating
here. There have been lots of ups and
down since I last wrote. If you get into
this and get bored, please scroll to near the bottom, where I ask for specific
prayer requests. I’ll also put some
pictures at the very very end, for those who wish to see or not see. (I have no idea where the white background comes from about halfway through here - can't seem to fix it!)
We had a really nice Christmas. Our daughter had not planned to come home for
Christmas. She had just started a new
job and had no time off. But when she
heard what Dr. Powers had said about needing to enjoy this holiday, she decided
to just take the time off without pay and come home. Maya (12) was sick with the flu, so in order
not to expose me to anything, she left both girls with their dad. Mark’s oldest, Dylan (16) was involved in a
soccer tournament in Florida, and Chris (14) went to his mom’s for
Christmas. Mark and Amy came, and we had
a “very adult” Christmas. We missed the
grandkids, but we all really enjoyed being together and visiting and laughing.
Dec. 28 I went in for labs and to get some fluid. My blood counts were down a good bit, so I
had to go in for the next 5 days to get a shot that would kick start my bone
marrow to put out neutrophils. A side
effect was bone pain. I got that the
first night – in my lower back and hips, but got through the rest of the shots
with a heating pad. By Jan. 11,
Thursday, I was ready for my 3rd chemo treatment. The treatments themselves are not bad. The day after I had to go back in for a
Neulasta shot. The previous 5 shots each
only lasted 24 hours. Neulasta lasts 2
weeks and helps to stimulate neutrophils (the infection fighting white
cells).
Saturday, my sister-in-law, Karen, my niece, Carla, and
her husband, Brian, came from Bartlesville, OK to visit. Thankfully, I was feeling good, and we had
the nicest visit! It really lifted my
spirits. One of the things Karen really
felt impressed was that I should be anointed with oil and prayed for divine
healing. I said that I had actually been
thinking about that. I decided to ask my
pastor if he did that, and he said he did.
In the meantime, Sunday, I started running a fever and
the back of my head, where I had had my surgery hurt like crazy, causing me to
have to take some pain medication. Monday, I had a terrible weak spell, so I
went to the infusion center to get fluids and asked about getting on a schedule
to get fluids each week. The Dr. said
the pain and fevers were caused by the Neulasta. It’s called neutropenic fever and is common.
After going home, the infusion nurse called and told me due
to the fevers, I should go into the ER to be checked thoroughly for any
infection going on, so we did. All my
tests turned out to show no infection, but the dr. gave the option of going
into the hospital or going home. Since I
was infection free, even with the fevers, I decided to go home. Chilled all night long – miserable.
Thursday it was back to the lab. After we got home, the nurse called and told
me that all my counts had bottomed out, and I could no longer stay out of the
hospital. She said she would have everything
arranged for me as soon as I could get there. I would be put on reverse isolation, since the
flu was lurking around every corner. Everyone that came into my room for any
reason had to wear a mask and gloves – even Guy. I was still having the fevers, but the pain in
my head had let up a bit. I was a bit
concerned about going into this small hospital, but I didn’t really have a
choice. So, I was admitted that evening. Lots of blood work was drawn, CBC, blood
cultures, etc. My port was accessed for
IV antibiotics prophylactically. I
readily took the Tylenol to keep my fever in check. As a side note, here, the admitting
nurse said for some reason I looked familiar.
As it turned out, I had her in nursing school 30 years earlier! And I had also taught her sister. What a small world!
Friday morning, the 19th, I had a real weak
spell, and my BP dropped to 88/33 and pulse 44.
That sent everyone scurrying to get IV fluids going. I was given an EKG (normal), and put on
continuous heart monitoring. I was due to have an ECHO of my heart done on that
day to check the pumping action of my heart, since Adriamycin can cause
heart damage. It’s a rare side effect.
The initial result of that was unremarkable. My hemoglobin had dropped to 6.2, (normal
12-14) so the dr. ordered two units of blood.
I didn’t get that until late in the afternoon, because it had to be irradiated
and come from Wichita. It wasn’t long
after I got the blood that I began to feel better – stronger. My BP had come up
to 102/53. Everybody celebrated! But temp spiked to 101.5 – miserable again,
until Tylenol took it down.
That night I slept nearly 4 hours. I had to change my
gown 3 times due to temp up and then down (sweaty!). By now, my BP and pulse
were beginning to stabilize. When it was
so low, it was also irregular and throwing a PVC here and there. Another side
note – if you need rest, do not come into the hospital!! VS every 4 hours around the clock, blood
drawn early every morning, weight taken every morning about 5, etc.
Saturday my pastor had made arrangements to bring Bruce, my
SS teacher, an elder in the church and anoint me with oil for healing at 2:00
pm. James 5:14 says “Is anyone
among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and
anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.”
I had groups of people and individuals in several states praying at same
time. We had a glorious time of
prayer!
It was shortly after that time that my blood counts began
to turn around and head upward. My 1st
white count was 0.1 and the next was 0.2.
After prayer, the next morning my WBC was 1000!!! Still no infections had shown up.
Sunday, had more blood drawn, and my WBC was 2000. My hgb was up to 8.4. I sat in the chair some. Temp is low grade fever now. VS have stabilized. In the afternoon, 5 dear friends of old came
to visit me from my old home church, 1st Nazarene in
Hutchinson. Johnny Spellman, now a
minister, anointed me with oil again, and we prayed heaven down into that
room. I don’t know when I have cried so
much and laughed so much, all in the same day.
By now the back of my head had started draining a bit and
forming quite a scab. It was becoming uncomfortable. I took a warm wash cloth to try to clean it
up a bit. I couldn’t see back there to
know what was going on. In the night I
had to take a pain pill since my head hurt so bad. I had shown it to 3 different doctors, and no
one really thought to much about it. The
hospitalist ordered me some moisturizing cream from the pharmacy because she
said it was very dry.
Monday, my WBC was 3400 and hgb 8.8. My platelets were 45 (up from 13). Dr. Page came by to see me since Tuesdays are
his day in the McPherson office. I asked
him if I was going to have to take that Neulasta after every treatment. He said I would. Otherwise, we would have to wait for my own
bone marrow to kick into gear, and my WBC would remain low for a longer period
of time. He said that I might not have
to deal with these fevers every time.
Boy, I hope not!!!! That day they
discontinued my IV antibiotics and removed my continuous heart monitoring. I began to get up more in my room, sitting
in the chair, and doing some leg exercises.
Tuesday, my WBC was 3500, hgb 9.4 (woohoo!!) and platelets
145. So I got the order for dismissal!!! I didn’t get out until midafternoon, but
thankfully, the weather was just a bit warmer outside. I do want to say that I had the BEST care the
whole time I was in that hospital. Every
nurse and every nursing assistant was just great. The doctors were great. You know, when you are a nurse, you tend to
watch every move everyone makes, but I didn’t feel that need there – I could
tell every nurse I had was competent and very caring.
Since dismissal, my biggest problem has been this area on
the back of my head, making it hard to get a decent night’s sleep. At first, I was taking pain pills. Then I decided by chance to take an ibuprofen,
an anti-inflammatory. I’m not really
supposed to take NSAIDS because they are hard on the kidneys, but I was
desperate!! Amazingly, within a short
time, the pain eased. Since then, I’ve
decided that for this short period of time, a couple ibuprofen every 6 hours is
not going to kill me right now – but the PAIN from this thing MIGHT!!
I am due to see Dr. Powers next Tuesday after I’ve had a CT
scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis. (I’ve
also made an appointment with my plastic surgeon to have him look at the
surgical area on the back of my head.)
This has been the one scan that I have dreaded ever since the last one I
had. I know it is going to “tell the big
story”! Either the three tiny spots in
my right lung from the last time will be gone, and we’ll know what I’ve been
doing is working, or I’ll have many more spots and the outlook grim. I can tell that it is working on my face, but
my face is a lot darker than it has been.
At one time I saw that Adriamcyin is likely to cause darkening of the
areas where you’ve had radiation, but that does not account for darkening in my
cheek. Since I’ve been anointed and
prayed for, I’m not as anxious about the results as I was.
I don’t know if it is God’s will for me to healed here on earth or there in heaven. I pray
every day that He would see fit to heal me here. I have a lot of living I would like to do. I always want to give God the glory for
whatever He chooses to do and has done.
I always am eager to share my story and witness to God’s wonderful grace,
mercy and blessings. But the human in me just wants complete healing here.
I can never thank all of you enough for your calls, MANY
birthday cards and get well cards – from people I don’t even know! But most of all for your prayers – there is
SO much power in prayer, and they continue to pull me through (especially) the
rough times!!
I would like to ask you to pray specifically for this week
to come as I go to see Dr. Powers. First
of all, pray for my peace of mind as I await the results of the scan. 2nd, pray that my liver and lungs
will be clear. 3rd, pray that
whatever the results will be, God will give direction to Dr. Powers as to where
to go from here. 4th, that if the results are less than desirable,
God will give me a peace that passes all understanding, and I’ll feel His arms
just carrying me for a while. My faith
is strong, but I cannot just stick my head in the sand, and deny the possible
reality of a less than desirable outcome, especially since the last two visits
to him have not been particularly pleasant.
My complete trust is in Him….
And as always…..I remain in His care…..
This is the purple coloring over this shelf of my face. But the raised spots on my forehead and two on my cheek are nearly done.
My little Annie missed me so much while I was gone. She would sit baby the door for hours just sure I was going to come in.
Those two spots at the top were just little tiny things when this chemo started.
I was putting Bacitracin on it, and I think it kind of burned the skin. I'm just leaving it dry now.
