Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Road to Radiation...HALF WAY DONE!!!!

Thought I would give you an update since I am HALF WAY DONE with radiation!! :) All I can say is… side effects have definitely kicked in! Once again, just like my hair falling out, they said two weeks and it was two weeks! I am a one track mind with this radiation right now. I am so tired I can’t begin to think past the next minute it seems. I am now half way through radiation and I feel like a fried egg…both physically and mentally. My chest is beat red from the radiation. I look as red as the first day in the Caribbean without any suntan lotion on. And what’s weird is that the skin doesn’t hurt, it’s the tissue underneath that is sore. Andrew said it’s because those muscles are pretty burned too. The inside of my chest feels like it would if you would touch a sunburn…know that feeling? Not comfortable…but my vitamin E lotion and hydrocortisone is doing wonders to keep my skin as good as it can be right now.
And my brain feels like a fried egg too because I am so tired. I feel like ‘chemo brain’ has set in again at times. I’m so forgetful that I have to write a schedule of my lessons to teach on the white board to remind me what I’m doing…because if I didn't, I would get up there and forget what I was going to do! And then yesterday, I was at Wal-Mart after work, dead tired and the check out line was so long, so I sort of leaned on my cart with my arms and chin…and literally my eyes were so heavy I was about out! Thankfully a coworker was there to ‘wake me up’. Can you imagine how funny it would have been if I DID fall asleep?! Imagine...I fall asleep with my head resting on my arms, close my eyes and fall asleep. Next thing I know, the cart flies forward and I fall face down on the ground!And I’m so tired, I may have just laid there and not even waken up! Haha :) What a laugh...Gotta have humor during this time! I got home that night by eating a Snickers bar to keep me awake…oh did that feel like golf balls going down my sore throat! That’s not getting any better either…bummer, really another two weeks of this?!

On a better note, I hear from so many that I look so much better because of the color I have back in my face…I’m serious, chemotherapy really does drain all of you…even your color! And I am a pro at wearing hospital gowns modestly without tying them in the back ( I just can’t seem to get the hang of how you tie behind your back), and since my hair has grown back, it now parts on the OTHER side. Totally weird! I went to school without my hat on this week and one student said, ‘Hey Miss Laura, you’re wearing a wig!’ Too funny how preschoolers think! And I have the sweetest little boys in my room. I wore my new pink hat as I walked into the building and this little boy said, ‘I like your new hat Miss Laura.’ And right before Christmas break I had another little boy tell me I looked pretty in my white hat. Gotta love those little ones.
So lets just say we will see where this Road to Radiation will take us…once again it could be very interesting! I’m willing once again to be opened up and used through our sufferings to gain new insight. It really just amazes me how things are put into perspective when you are sick…and that's something else other people keep reminding me of and I have to do better at reminding myself...I'm still sick. That's why I'm still getting treatment. I have to remember that I can't do some of the things I used to do yet... especially at school. But I did ask Dena for a little break today! I really try my hardest, but it takes a lot of energy to do my job, and I just don't want to let the kids down or make them suffer from me being sick. But I have learned that I need to speak up when I need something and I'm proud that I did today instead of trying to keep going when there was just no more gas in the energy tank left. :) Thank you to Dena for letting me take my 5 minute breaks when I need it so that I can rest and regain some strength. Preschoolers can be intense man! And thanks to all of you for the continued prayers of healing :)

And...Paislyn's Benefit 'Playing for Paislyn' has been reschedule for Saturday, January 14th at 7:00 at Lima Community Church of the Nazarene - 'The Axis' building (2945 N. Cole St. Lima, OH 45801). There will still be live music and a silent auction with GREAT stuff. ALL of the proceeds go to the family to help with medical bills, and trust me...they aren't cheap. Thank you for supporting this awesome family and I'll SEE YOU THERE!! I'll be at the Silent Auction booth...this time without my white hat :)

1 comment:

  1. hi laura im glad to hear that everything is going good for you

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