Not too bad

Ok I finished round 3 of chemo. It was better than the prior round but still not a walk in the park! The last post to the blog I had shared that I was feeling remarkably well at the end of wk 2. It did start backsliding again for wk 3 and 4 but definitely did not get as bad as the prior month. Saw Dr Flaherty at Penn and he said to expect that this is now the level of side effects that will remain, he doubts it will improve much. He was surprised at that mid-cycle improvement. I told him it must have been the yummy, healthy birthday meal that my kids made for me, from a "chemotherapy foods" cookbook. The carrot ginger soup was delicious as was everything else. I had carrot soup leftovers for several days - my theory is that is was "healing food!" But, by the end of wk 4 I was exhausted by 7 pm each evening and my feet were calloused and peeling in several spots but not painful like they had been the prior cycle. So I consider that an improvement! My joints ached a bit but were not as incapacitating as the prior cycle - I was able to drive the kids to activities, cook, etc till the very end.

As the chemo ended I was thrust into high gear because Charles injured his lower back pretty badly and began to have a lot of pain down his leg and in this thigh and hip, numbness down his leg, difficulty walking etc. He has not had a good night sleep in about 2 weeks as he is up and down all night, trying to walk, sit, toss or turn. He has seen the doctor twice now and tried 2 different courses of meds - the first round last week did nothing and he just got worse. This round seems to be helping a little and he starts Physical Therapy this evening.

Our attorney sent a new letter to our insurance company with all the clarifications of the policy and basically TOLD them they don't have a leg to stand on. We are waiting for a reply which I am SURE will be at least 30 days away as they always stall as long as they possibly can. We also appealed the trucking company verdict as we feel it is totally unfair but mostly because this is the only way to get the judge to put her reasons in writing so that we know how to proceed. Please pray that we soon see action on both this issues.

We are entering this Christmas season trying to keep our "chins up". Please pray with us that we could continue to do and be all that God would want of us in spite of the ongoing trials of life. We are so so TIRED. Our kids need us and we have to keep going no matter how we feel. We are trying to prep for Christmas as much as we can in advance. We got the tree up last weekend - maybe the earliest ever!

I start my next round of chemo on Dec 10th and so will be in the "lousy" weeks for Christmas Week and New Years Week, when we have to do our store inventory and the fiscal year bookkeeping corrections and balancing which is always an exhausting process. Please pray I will manage my time well and protect my health by getting enough rest etc during this very busy time. I am feeling pretty pressured right now with Charles not feeling well and so much to do before the chemo hits me over the head again!

My rib area which I injured in mid November is finally getting a lot better. I can move and breath deeply again without pain, although the area is still tender. My oncologist was not concerned but I will still be relieved to get the "all clear" on my next CAT scan, which will be around January 8th or 9th. I still do have waves of fear that the cancer is coming back and that is why I had the rib pain... or that I might not be here for next Christmas..... :-( Please pray that I can allow myself to trust the Lord completely with my life. After all, my worrying isn't going to change anything!

Thank you all so much,
Karen