For the first time since last summer, Susanne was able to leave me alone for the weekend. She went to a women’s spiritual retreat in Michigan. I managed my food, rides, and got some home and yard projects done, too.
I ‘ve now completed the third (of six) rounds of chemotherapy. I went to work Monday through Thursday. I’ve pretty well established a routine for the weeks that I take the chemotherapy pills. I lay down for a nap after lunch, take the anti-nausea drug about 1-1/2 hours later, then listen to one of the guided imagery/hypnosis tapes, and then take the pills about 2 hours after eating.
The surgeon did a head check on me on Wednesday…all stable at the moment.
My energy level was pretty good until Friday morning, when I woke up very tired. I didn’t go in to work. Chemo now seems to be messing with the speed of my digestive system…like slowing it way down. Food and pills weren’t helping, so the oncologist prescribed Lactulose. I took one dose and within 2 hours the speed had reversed and was then in high gear. It kind of went back and forth for most of the weekend…boy was that fun.
We are checking out health insurance options for Susanne now that we are on our own for premiums (my part-time hours won’t let the company pay for our coverage). For now, we will just pay the company directly for coverage and it will normalize when I’m back on full-time hours by this fall. It’s a hit to our monthly expenses, but we are figuring out how to make it work. It may be cheaper for Susanne to be on her own policy.
Backtracking a bit in time…We were at the Gathering Place for a memorial service for our dear friend Stephanie Dornbrook on April 27, which was very sad to be at. We also attended both the Cancer Support Group and Spirituality groups this week and found both to be very nourishing and nurturing.
Also backtracking a bit, on the 28th I saw holistic practitioner Ken Koles for an appointment. The primary areas of focus were releasing old emotions from childhood stored in the muscles and mind that appeared to be interfering with healing, and cranio-sacral work to help with the flow of energy from my brain to my body. The sadness from the memorial lifted and my mood generally since the session with Ken has been much uplifted. My balance improved, too.
I was pretty tired through most of the weekend but I did muster enough energy for Susanne and I to celebrate Mother’s Day and go to a local theatre production, on Sunday, of a 1940’s era play called “Born Yesterday” (Garson Kanin). It was fun.We were overdue for a date!
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The rest of the story….
It was a bit of heaven to go to Louhelen Baha’i Retreat Center for the weekend with dear women friends and some new ones, too. The location was beautiful, and I went for a number of walks around the grounds. Prayer, music, companionship, dancing, journaling, artwork…it was all great.
Craig’s fatigue level from the chemo didn’t seem quite as bad this time…which hopefully means all these leafy green vegys, iron, and vitamin c are helping his hemoglobin to rebound a bit. It feels a bit intrusive for me to be checking on his bathroom activity…but it’s just one more piece of this journey. Prunes, bran, fiber…just one more piece of the diet puzzle! The chemo decreases Craig’s appetite somewhat, but the anti-nausea medication seems to help keep his diet somewhat normal. So, there was only 1 or 2 days this time where he ate less and some food didn’t quite hit him right.
We spent time this weekend consulting through whether to go to the annual Smart Marriages and Happy Families Conference that we usually attend. It’s in San Francisco this year in early July, and we planned to have a booth. By the time we added up the time off work and the $3,000+ in expense with business income down this year…well, it looks like we will be skipping this year and seeing what next year brings instead. We’ll lose our booth deposit, but that’s minor in comparison. So, I’m feeling bit sad about the choice, but energy-wise, time-wise, and money-wise, it just seems like the best thing to do.
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