My previous blog was about my appointment with my oncologist on Monday, so I won’t go over that again, except to say that I shared the news over the phone with my daughter later that day and my son in person. Joseph had been hoping against all hope that this cancer thing would turn out to be nothing much at all, so the reality hit him hard.
Tuesday evening, September 30, was the day my daughter
Dana, son-in-law Shawn, and I planned to tell the kids about my cancer recurrence.
The conversation was directed to the two, Joelle (12) and Ava (7), who could
understand. Benjamin, who needs extra sleep, put himself to bed. We had to send
Josiah to bed because he was in one of his happy, wild, and LOUD moods
(remember, he has autism). We couldn’t hear each other while he was jumping
around and laughing. That left Joelle, Ava, Elijah, and Annabelle. Naturally,
at 6 ½ months old, Annabelle would not understand a thing and was content in
Dana’s arms. Elijah, who is going on four, walked around the whole time. Dana
told me the next day he asked her “Grandma sick?”) so evidently, he picked that
much up.
We told them everything in simple terms, even that I might
die within the next few years. And we listened to their questions and answered
them the best we could. Their tears flowed, Joelle’s silently and Ava’s at top
volume. It is hard to understand what she says while sobbing at the same time. Dana
had to interpret for me the very unexpected outburst: “I’m in the pit of
despair!” Not exactly what you expect from a 7-year-old! Dana has been reading
the Anne of Green Gables books to them, and that was something Anne said.
It was pure relief on October 1st to meet for
the first time with Kinder Shamhart, Attorney-at-law to get my will started. I
hadn’t realized how heavily not having a current will has been weighing me
down.
Yesterday, my first treatment went well. I wished out
loud that I had a port so my left arm would not have to endure so many IV
sticks. One of the nurses picked right up on that and called my oncologist to
request an order. Now we are waiting for insurance approval before scheduling
that at Ascension St. John in Tulsa.
Treatment days are 5-6 hours, with various medications
given in a certain order. I may have part of the order mixed up, but here goes:
steroids, anti-nausea medication, Benadryl, and Trodelvy (the immunotherapy
drug). About 20 minutes after receiving the Benadryl, I got very sleepy and
slept in spurts during the final couple hours.
After Bev brought me home and I had a small snack, I
fell fast asleep in my recliner around 4 pm. It was such a deep sleep that when
I woke up and the clock read 7, I thought it was 7 am! Even though I wondered
why I had slept in my recliner instead of my bed and had not changed into
pajamas, I went ahead and ate breakfast and took my morning meds. I was still
under the delusion it was morning when my daughter called at 7:30. I was
surprised she was calling so early in the morning! She reminded me that I had
asked her to call after the girls’ Thursday dance class. Oops!
The problem with taking my morning meds in the evening
is that they include a decongestant that wakes me up instead of putting me to
sleep. Thus, I did not sleep very much last night. It’s a good thing I have no
plans today except for staying at home and hopefully napping! The good news is
that I am feeling fine so far. My prayer is that the Trodelvy works exactly
like it is intended to work, giving me a quality of life and more time.
P.S. I took a nap after lunch and woke up at 2 pm not
feeling so fine anymore, but now it is 8 pm and I’m doing well. Thank you, Jesus!
