When I go in on Mondays I get about three hours worth of different chemo drugs. My oncologist has changed some of the way I receive the drugs and it has limited and in some cases eliminated the side effects I struggled with the first few rounds. At the end of my treatment they set me up with a pump that continues to give me chemo for thirty six to forty eight hours. I carry the pump everywhere I go and it continually runs giving me the additional treatments. A nurse comes to my home on Wednesday and “sets me free” from the pump and gets me all set for a week and a half chemo free. In past chemo rounds I have felt a burst of energy as soon as the pump comes off and I have felt better each and every day after that. It was almost like there was nothing wrong once they took the pump off and I slowly regained strength and energy each day.
This round has felt different. My pump came off on Wednesday and I jumped into the shower and immediately felt much better. Later during the day I was tired so I took a nap. Thursday I woke up and felt like I could go right back to sleep. I did a little work, went to the office for a while but my body was clearly not bouncing back the way it had previous weeks. I took another long nap on Thursday. Friday I slept late and went about my day and then came home and took a long nap. This morning I woke up early but still felt run down and very “low energy”. I am sure the weather, very hot and humid, is not helping things but there is something else going on here. I am starting to believe that the more chemo I have the harder it will be for me to bounce back with energy and strength.
Saturday was much the same as earlier days this week. I awoke early, felt tired all day. Nancy and I went outside at one point to move our birdbath and after ten minutes I was done and headed into the house. I took a nap in our sun room, a place I love to nap in. Owen came in and just stood at the side of our couch and looked at me until I woke up. He does this often when I sleep on the couch. At first it was kind of amusing…now it is annoying. It is extra annoying when Nancy and Rayann stand in the kitchen laughing as they watch Owen stand looking at me and panting in my face. The rest of the day was spent in my chair. I drifted in and out of sleep and worked on a few things throughout the day.
I am looking forward to tomorrow and to spending time with the people of First Baptist. I am hopeful that my energy level will slowly increase as we head into this new week.
I have counted up to six treatments…now it is time to start counting down till my last one!
Praying for you dear brother.
You are in my thoughts and prayers. And also for Nancy and kids.