Rough Road Ahead

Sorry I haven’t posted lately but I lost four days after my first round of Chemo and have been playing catch-up ever since. What I mean by ‘lost four days’ is that a week ago I slept from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday night. Basically, I sedated myself to avoid the nausea that I was experiencing. Sad to say but by Saturday morning I told Greg that I wouldn't be able to do this for five months and just sobbed. This was the first time since my diagnoses that I realized how hard the treatment was going to be. For some reason I thought the Chemo would be the easier part and that the surgeries would be the tough part. Since I did so well with my first surgery I thought I had it made. The good news is that when I went this past Wednesday to get my blood work checked (which was all excellent) Melissa, my nurse, told me that I only have three more rounds of the bad stuff. Then when I start my weekly treatment it will be a different medicine that won’t make me nauseated. Melissa then lectured me on ‘that now is not the time to diet and try to loose weight’. I was down 7 pounds in a week due to the fact that I couldn't eat four out of the seven days. I just laughed at her and said that Chemo is the best diet plan I have ever been on and that if anything good was to come out of this I would be smaller in the end. So this Wednesday I will be going for round two and with that behind me I will be half way through the worst of the Chemo. I can manage that.

More good news, I still have hair!!!! I was told that most people loose their hair by day ten after their first round of Chemo and today marks my tenth day. I know it won’t last but I still feel better today for the hair on my head. A few weeks ago I went out and bought a wig. Originally I thought it would be a huge production where I would be prancing all my girl friends from one wig store to the next surveying my best option. But it turns out that one day I am at a specialty store buying other items needed after my surgery and they happen to also sell wigs. Because of the other items I was buying they had to call my insurance company to find out what items would be covered under our plan. Turns out they covered all the items I needed including a wig. So I asked the lady helping me if I could try a few wigs on just to see how they looked. It only took three tries and I was sold on the third wig. It was very close to the color and cut I was sporting last year. I know my prep time in the morning will be much shorter once my hair is gone because all I will have to do is slip on my wig after my shower and go. And if I tire of the wig I also have many other options thanks to Aunt Judy who has supplied me with a years worth of temporary tattoos I can put on my head. So don’t be surprise to see me this summer wearing a bunch of dolphins swimming around my head.

One last note is a BIG thank you to all my girl friends that jumped in to help me out this next month. I put out an email Monday night with a schedule attached with all the times I need help picking up, dropping off and looking after Annierae and Ja for the month of April. By 10:30 the next day the schedule was filled and I had many notes from all of you sad that you didn't have a chance to fill a slot. There will be plenty of opportunities to help out so don’t worry. I am overwhelmed by all of you and the kindness you have shown me and my family. God bless you all.

Love, Kristine

One Down - Fifteen to Go!

Kristine celebrated her birthday today by spending most of the day at the Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion. This was her first chemo treatment and things went pretty well. She began at 10:00am in the morning, but didn't get any of the heavy-duty concoctions until after noon. She wrapped up and was home by early evening. She said she felt great during the treatment. Once she came home she was pretty tired, so she took a nap. When she woke up, she was feeling a bit nauseous and drained. Had a couple bites of Chinese take-out (Annierae's choice for birthday dinner) then she and I went for a little walk to see if that helped her feel better. Indeed, the cool air and movement seemed to settle her stomach and re energize her. So now she's planning on taking some good drugs to help her tummy and knock her out. So our party girl will likely be in bed by the time I get done with this post. Thank you to everyone that stopped up to see her during her chemo, called, or sent cards - Kristine really appreciated it!

More later this week.

-- Greg

Feeling good again!!!

I am hoping the worst of my journey is over with because Wednesday has to be close to one of my worst days ever. The surgery to install my port went fine and I am feeling good, but I highly recommend never having surgery when you already have a migraine. I am sending out a BIG thank you to my friends Julie and Pam who tag teamed watching Annierae for me for the day and my friend and neighbor Kim who kindly fed my family a fabulous dinner Wednesday night.

Friday was a great day. It started out with Lindsey (Annierae's sitter) giving both Annierae and I a haircut at home. Then she helped us do our shopping at Meijers and then after lunch we spent the rest of the day outside. At 3:15 my friend Liz showed up at my door to take Harley and me for a walk through the woods. The best part is when we got to the woods Doris and Karen were there and Karen brought a bottle of Chardonnay that we all enjoyed as we walked and chatted. The evening ended with Ja's friend Seng coming over to spend the weekend and ordering Chinese food for dinner. A very simple, ordinary day, but one that I cherish of late.

Now I'm enjoying a little relaxation with my hubby as we listen to Feats at Five.

Thanks once again for all the love and support.

Love,

Kristine

Slow Recovery

Hi All,

Kristine did great with the procedure to install the port in her chest this morning. The surgery lasted about an hour and she was in recovery for about an hour as well.

The only problem is that she had developed a migraine before going in this morning, and the procedure seems to have made it worse. She's been down most of the afternoon trying to get rid of the headache and nausea. Hopefully she'll feel better this evening.

We'll keep you all posted on her progress.

-- Greg

Praise God - the drains came out today!!!

I feel like a whole new woman, or at least part of a new woman :) (that's my lame attempt at humor).

In any case, tomorrow morning I am scheduled for surgery to have my port put in to administer the chemotherapy. I have been told that I won't like it at first, but will be grateful in the end because they won't have to poke a vein every week. The procedure begins at 9:00am and I should be home a little after noon.

Currently the plan is to start my chemotherapy on March 18th (my 42nd Birthday). The first two months I will receive the chemo every other week followed by three months of chemo every week. Ja and I counted the days on the calendar and we expect all my hair to be gone by March 28th. I think this will truly be the hardest part; after all, my big hair has always been my trademark. So I just keep chanting my new mantra "bald is beautiful"! We'll see how well that works.

Good news is that I may not need radiation. Dr. Lange said she was surprised that only two of my lymph nodes were positive, and since my margins were clean I am in a grey area that could push me either way with the radiation. I will meet with the radiologist next week to discuss my options.

Once again, thank you all for your love, support and prayers. I am so blessed to have all of you in my life!!!

Love,

Kristine

Overdue Update

Sorry for the gap in posts. I was in Chicago most of this week for work and Kristine is still on the mend. She continues to do very well, however she is really eager to get her drains out. They have now officially become annoying, and are keeping her from being more active. We head to the doctor on Tuesday for her post-op check up and Kristine hopes the drains will come out at that time. We should also learn more about the course of treatment at that appointment. It's possible her chemo could begin as early as next week.

Good news came last week with the results of the pathology from Kristine's surgery. Seven lymph nodes were removed and only two tested positive for cancer. All the tests on tissue samples from around the surgical area came back negative, so we're really happy that no other indications of cancer were found anywhere.

So all-in-all Kristine is doing well, just anxious to speed up the recovery and get out of the house more often. We'll do a post later this week after her appointment.

Thanks all!

-- Greg