Hey everyone, just wanted to give you all an update on post chemotherapy. This past weekend was quite rough. I was very nauseated and fatigued from my third round of chemo that I had on Thursday. This was expected because it has happened the last two times. Thankfully I had the weekend to recover. Yesterday I woke up and felt great! No joint pain, No Nausea, No Fatigue. I put in a full day in the office and was actually productive so I am definately thankful. My doctor says that the intent of this chemo is to get me into a full remission and I confident that it will do so. Thank you everyone who called, texted, emailed during the last few days offering enouragement. It truely helps even though I rarely respond with much. (sorry, when Im sick I dont have alot of energy to respond to texts, emails, and calls). But I still enjoy and appreciate getting them.
Thinking back on my experience so far with chemotherapy, I would be remiss to not mention a great influence in my treatment. There is a Markey Cancer Center nurse named Deborah who has been my primary infusion nurse during my treatments. Let me tell you, she is awesome. From giving the I.V. to explaining chemo side effects, she is an exceptional health care provider. My last treatment, she wasn't actually the nurse who did the infusion but she knew I was in the unit that day. She took the time to come in my room and talk to me for roughly 30 minutes about how I was doing and to go over some lab results. I wasn't even her case but she came in anyway to just to see how I was and offer support. I learned something in addition that day, she is also a cancer survivor who has gone through the same cytoxan treatment. Come to think about it, every side effect she told me about came true, even the timing of the side effects. I guess she would know. Now in my course of treatment, I have seen alot of nurses, but she is by far the most caring individual I have come into contact with. The very first treatment, she took the time to sit with me and go over in detail everything about the chemo. This took about an hour even though she had other patients in the unit. During treatment, she always makes sure I am comfortable with plenty of drinks, blankets, etc. Plus, she treats my family as important and attends to their needs as well. I will be writing a letter to the Markey Cancer Center commending Deborah and even though I am going through a tough chemo process, she makes things alot easier.
Sorry to ramble but its been on my mind to mention her in my blog. I am so thankful for her and for every person who is a nurse. They deal with so much and when it comes to patient care, they are at the forefront. I saw this day in and day out with Amber and how she attended to the preemie babies in the UK NICU. Im not sure how she gathered the strength each day to help these babies live in their earliest days while keeping it together emotionally. If you have a nurse in your life, please thank them and let them know that what they do doesn't go unnoticed. In my opinion, the real thanks goes to nurses, not doctors.
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