Tomorrow will mark three weeks post-surgery. I am ever so slowly starting to feel more like myself. Resting to recover is not a strength of mine.
Recovering
I have spent the better part of the past two weeks resting. I move from my bed to a chair and watch mind-numbing hours of television. I am increasingly convinced that the downfall of the western world will come through what we are led to believe is “must-see tv.”
Today (Monday, December 2nd) is the first day I have truly felt like doing anything more than simply trying to make it through the day till bedtime. Resting to recover is not a strength of mine.
A big part of my struggle has been the “bug” that I picked up during my last night in the hospital. Throughout the years, I have heard the phrase, “sharing is caring” …but honestly, my roommate could have cared just a little less, and I would have been fine.
Miscommunication
Nancy and I received word that my next appointments would come the Monday after Thanksgiving, so we made a quick run to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. I wanted to see Joseph. I also wanted Nancy to have an opportunity to see her family before my treatment began. I know she will not leave me to go visit once I enter treatment. We arrived the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
On the Monday of Thanksgiving week, I got a text and phone message setting up an appointment for the next day in Philadelphia. After a few calls it was determined that I did indeed need to be seen before Thanksgiving. We left late Monday and arrived home Tuesday evening.
While not the trip we planned we did get to see Joseph and spend time with our family down south. The travel was very smooth and I felt well enough to drive part of the way.
Pump Access
Wednesday morning, I was up in Philadelphia so that the nurses could access my pump. After accessing the pump, we removed residual saline solution and then filled the pump with fresh saline solution. In two weeks (Tuesday, December 10th) I will receive my first FUDR treatment via the pump. [If you follow the link…I find the section “How this drug works” fascinating. The rest is either too technical or too scary to read.] The treatment will run for two weeks. The following week (Tuesday, December 24th) I will receive a pump flush and two weeks of saline. We will run like this for a while. There is no end date set.
While I am receiving chemotherapy via the pump, I will also be receiving systemic chemotherapy via my port. This treatment will occur on the Wednesday following treatment via the pump. I have elected to have this done by Dr. Saroha right in Kennett Square. This way, if I need to have fluids or other issues looked at during treatment, I can travel local instead of making the trip into Philadelphia.
Glimmers of Good
Thanksgiving
While our plans of a North Carolina Thanksgiving did not work out, we did have a wonderful day with mom and dad. Nancy had an excuse to get the fine china out and to lay out a beautiful holiday table. Mom, Dad, Nancy, Rayann, and I all enjoyed our Dutch-way meals together.
There was lots of laughter, stories, football, and even some knitting later in the afternoon.
It was not the Thanksgiving we had planned, but God is Good All the Time…All the Time, God is Good.
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