(from Cathi)
It's hard to believe, but I just had my fifth round of chemo yesterday. One more to go! If I can just survive the side effects during the next few weeks (which will involve a lot of patience) I know I'll be a lot stronger when it's all over. Some days I'm just tired of being tired! But life moves forward, and I'm being blessed all along the way. This whole chemo experience has actually been positive in many ways, and I hope I never forget all the good things I'm learning. I'd like to share some thoughts and feelings about my chemo treatments today.
I have to admit that I actually LIKE chemo days. Is that weird or what? For me, it's kind of a goal thing, that I'm moving forward with a challenging process, but that process is helping me in the long run. (Granted, I don't like the side effects which follow the treatment, but those don't hit me hard until a couple of days later.) Every chemo day reminds me that I've survived the past three weeks and I'm getting closer to the end. It also reminds me that I'm tougher than I thought I was.
I must also admit that I love the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center. It is a great place! Months ago, when I walked past that building, I remember thinking, "Oh, how depressing. I hope I never have to go inside there someday." Well, here I am, and I've been inside the RMCC many times now, and I'm grateful for that place. It's filled with skilled, kind, compassionate people, and I'm grateful for every one of them. The office staff are wonderful and have great senses of humor. They're a fun bunch to joke around with, but they're also very good at what they do. The nurses in the lab and in the chemo (infusion) room are amazing! They are so kind and so caring, and they make me feel like the most important patient in the place. (But I know they treat everyone with that same respect.) They are smart and skilled, and I feel like I'm in good hands when they're helping me. That's a pretty nice feeling. My oncologist, Dr. Basche, is a very compassionate doctor, and I've grown to respect her more and more as the months have gone by. I've appreciated her knowledge and the way she's treated me since I first met her. Once again, I feel like I'm in good hands with her expertise.
Chemo days are long days, and I'm a bit worn out when I go home in the afternoons. But it's a good kind of tired, and I feel like I've accomplished something important. I arrive at the center, get my port accessed (which always scares me just a bit every time) and then get my blood taken from the port. Thank heavens for that weird but wonderful port! I also get my vital signs checked, just to make sure that I'm doing okay during all of this process. Then I meet with Dr. Basche, who examines me and talks with me about how I'm doing. She's been very positive about how I'm handling things and makes me feel energized and ready for the next go-round. After all of that, it's time to go to the infusion room.
During the infusion process, I'm filled with all sorts of "goodies." I get a bag full of anti-nausea meds and a steroid, to help me handle things well for the first day. Then I get the "red devil" drug, which comes in a big syringe, like the ones that vets use to inject farm animals. Seeing that bright red drug has to be seen to be believed, kind of like an intense Kool Aid. It's injected very gradually, and it takes about five minutes. Then I receive two bags full of my other two chemo drugs. It's a long process, being hooked up to an IV for several hours, but the time actually passes rather quickly.
The reason the time passes quickly is because I've been blessed with wonderful friends who have taken me to my chemo appointments. Jerry took me for my first treatment, and I'm so grateful that he was there for me for my whole first round. He was a great nurse and "mother hen" when I needed to be observed and helped during something that was very new and scary. Since then, I've had some dear friends who have volunteered to spend my chemo days with me. They have patiently waited while I've been poked and prodded, and we've had fun conversations and lots of laughs while the chemicals have dripped into my system. It's been a joy to spend time with them! So thanks Tiff, Cindy, and Mindy. You are terrific! And as for the other wonderful friends who have taken me for shots following chemo, they've made this whole process fun and enjoyable. Thanks, Karen and Carol (and Tiff, too). You're great!
There is a motto at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center, which states: LOVE HEALS. I really like that, because it's so true. It's much more than just medicine and technical skill; it's also about love and compassion. And in the infusion room, there is a little plaque which says: MIRACLES HAPPEN. It's all because of faith and love, and I see it in my life every single day!
Cathi
In the Book of Mormon, there is a record of a family who traveled from the Tower of Babel to the American continent. The family of Jared soon received their first glimpse of a vast, stormy ocean, having been required of the Lord to crawl into some mysterious air-tight vessels they were promised would carry them safely to a better place. As they gazed into the deep, moving water, they breathed the unfamiliar sea salt and felt the ice cold water lap at their feet. "What will become of our family?" "Can we do this thing that God requires of us?"
These were the questions we asked as our family stood on the edge of a new journey in February 2011. Before Cathi was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, we saw the waves of an unfamiliar storm brewing and felt the fear of anticipation. When the cancer was certain, our family was required to wade into the cold water, crawl into a mysterious vessel and trust the Lord would be in charge.
The family of Jared was given stones touched by the finger of the Lord that provided light inside their vessels "that they might not cross the great waters in darkness......and it came to pass that...(they) set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God. And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind. And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters. And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind. And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord. And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water." Read the rest: http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/6?lang=eng
This blog is the captain's log of our family's journey. It will serve to keep all of you updated on Cathi's condition but also be a place where I can express the lessons we are learning so that it might be a source of strength for others who are going through difficult challenges. We are certainly not unique in this regard. I hope to continue trusting in the light we have been given and to lead our family when we are encompassed by the dark ocean or tossed by its waves. We sincerely seek for your faith in asking the Lord to calm the water, give strength beyond our own and lead all of us of us to a better place.
These were the questions we asked as our family stood on the edge of a new journey in February 2011. Before Cathi was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, we saw the waves of an unfamiliar storm brewing and felt the fear of anticipation. When the cancer was certain, our family was required to wade into the cold water, crawl into a mysterious vessel and trust the Lord would be in charge.
The family of Jared was given stones touched by the finger of the Lord that provided light inside their vessels "that they might not cross the great waters in darkness......and it came to pass that...(they) set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God. And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind. And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters. And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind. And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord. And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water." Read the rest: http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/6?lang=eng
This blog is the captain's log of our family's journey. It will serve to keep all of you updated on Cathi's condition but also be a place where I can express the lessons we are learning so that it might be a source of strength for others who are going through difficult challenges. We are certainly not unique in this regard. I hope to continue trusting in the light we have been given and to lead our family when we are encompassed by the dark ocean or tossed by its waves. We sincerely seek for your faith in asking the Lord to calm the water, give strength beyond our own and lead all of us of us to a better place.
