Well, I am back "home" this week in Phoenix to help out at Mary and Rick's. I haven't been able to be here for a few weeks so I am glad to be back.
Her fifth treatment was on May 6th. This started a four week plan of a different type of Chemo called Taxol. As we mentioned in previous posts, this drug's side effects were not supposed to be as bad as the Adriamycin. Well, lets just say....they're different.
She received her treatment on Monday 5/6 and other than being a bit tired that afternoon, she was feeling okay. Tuesday came, and I called her that afternoon to check in because she goes in for her Neulasta (boosts her white blood cells) shots on Tuesdays. She was actually feeling pretty good and was on her way to WalMart to do some grocery shopping. I didn't talk to her until Wednesday morning, but found out she only made it for about 20 minutes in WalMart before needing to head back home. It hit her like a rock fell on her! Her body started hurting so badly and she got so tired, she just couldn't finish. Wednesday when I was talking to her, she said she felt a little better, so I thought the pain was going to be manageable. Thursday morning when I called she said she was still "sore" but it sounded like she was doing okay. Well, Rick called me that evening and asked if I had spoken to Mary. I said I had and asked what was up? He told me she had been hurting so bad the last couple of days that getting up off the couch was almost impossible without help, and that even walking down the hall was painful for her. I was so mad that she had downplayed how she was feeling and that I wasn't able to be here to help out that week! I think it was finally Saturday or Sunday when she started feeling a bit better.
So, I knew I needed to be here for this next treatment. I flew in early Monday morning 5/20. Amber picked me up from the Airport and drove me straight to Mary's Chemo appointment. I got there around 8:30am and Mary and Rick had been there since 8am. They were waiting for her lab results. Every Chemo day they have to check her bloodwork to make sure her numbers are good enough for her to receive her treatment that day. They had a delay with another patient so Mary's treatment started late, and by the time she got the "go ahead" I think it was around 9:30. Before the Taxol actually goes in, she receives doses of a couple other meds. (anti-nausea, and a heavy does of Benedryl) The Benedryl makes her very sleepy, and she does fall in and out of a kind of hazy sleep during her treatment. Imagine sleeping in a huge room, with bright fluorescent lights on, 10 other patients, and beeping and alarms going off every 20-30 minutes? (explains her "hazy" sleep) I think we got out of there around 1:30. The good news she received before leaving was that because her white blood count looked so good, she will be able to skip the Neulasta shot she would normally have on Tuesday. (We were hoping this would cut down on her bone/joint pain.) Monday afternoon Mary felt pretty good. She was a bit tired but fought taking a little snooze so she could sleep that night, but other than that, was able to enjoy having Amber and Bentley over for the afternoon.
Tuesday, started out as a good day. Amber came over with Bentley and Mary was feeling pretty good. She felt stiff here and there and did need a nap in the afternoon. A very good friend (SHAUNA) brought over a very much appreciated and a very good meal for dinner. Before bed she did start feeling more stiff and sore but made it to bed without any meds. About 3:30am Rick knocked on my door and said Mary was up sick and so was Roxy. (Roxy is their dog. She had been not feeling good for the last week.) He was needing to take Roxy to the 24Hour Vet and needed me to listen and take care of Mary. She was up and down a couple more times before Rick got back home around 5:30. Mary was back in bed finally in and out of sleep. Roxy was tuckered out from her Vet visit and the shots she got there. Rick and I were wide awake. :) Mary got up (very slowly) around 8:45 with pretty bad stomach issues and very bad bone pains in her knees, hips, and back.
We are thinking it is going to be a hard day, but hopeful this will be the worst and then start getting better. (for both her and Roxy) If you are following this, please keep her in your prayers this week as it's not only hard physically but also mentally on her. Also for Rick. We forget about the caregiver so often, and he has been amazing here for Mary. It's very stressful on both of them, but for Rick who loves her and can do nothing but what he thinks will help, and do it when he still has to work and do everything else that needs to be done, it's pretty tough.
Thanks everyone for caring, loving, and praying. (and for the occasional meal)
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