An Update

Sometimes, like this past week, I just don’t know what to write.

But I can start here: thankfully, the sensory overload I experienced a week ago Thursday faded out during the evening. And then I had a good week with a bit more energy than usual.

Yesterday was treatment day, and the nurses tried something different: giving the Trudolvy infusion in one hour rather than two. The day was one of delays, but finally the pre-meds IVs started in late morning: Pepcid, anti-nausea, steroids, Benadryl, and then the Trudolvy (the chemo) at the end.

It turns out that the one-hour version was not a good choice. Once I got home. I was hit with intense upper back muscle pain. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to immediately take one Tylenol #3, which wiped out the pain in 20 minutes or so. I was thankful for that!

I used up all my energy this morning, though. Feeling rather good, I spent an hour doing little bits of this and that (none of it strenuous) around the house. Then, all at once, my body said, “no more! It’s time to rest! So, I did. Early this afternoon I went in for the injection to boost my white blood cell count and then spent the afternoon resting but unable to sleep, probably due to yesterday’s steroids.  Unfortunately, I was still too fatigued to go hang out with the Hemmingers (you know, my daughter, son-in-law, and the six young-uns) as I do a few evenings a week.

I have a good break before my next medical appointments. On December 23, I will have a PET scan. January 7 will be my labs and visit with my oncologist in Tulsa, and January 8 will be my next treatment day.

On a perhaps unrelated note, each day I wake up early (sometime between 4 and 6 am), have a light breakfast, and spend some time in the Scriptures. I have a set of the New Testament (ESV) with journaling space. My practice is haphazard: so far, I’ve gone through several of Paul’s epistles, and now am almost through 1^st and 2^nd Peter. Normally, I cover just a few verses, ponder them, and write. And then, I go back to bed and usually can sleep for an hour or more.

It is a lovely way to start the day. But I have discovered that I need to spend more time in the Word, which I’m currently doing by reading Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. He quotes the Bible throughout each chapter. When I leave out that longer reading time, I feel bereft! I much rather end each day with God’s peace within.