Day 11

I haven't had my Neupogen shot yet today.  Should get it in the next half hour.  I woke up nauseas with a sore throat and thought fever.  

Got nausea med, went and did some mouth care and the fever was really just false feeling.  Had Morphine for first time in my life, for the bone pain yesterday.  We'll see what happens today.

My buzz cut is scheduled for 3 today.  My hair is finally falling out, so it's time.

Not much else, just praying for my counts to start climbing!

HUGS

Day 10

I am fighting through the pain to type this.  The Neupogen shots are making my arm bones sore.  It's normal and means it's working, but it hurts!

I should start to lose my hair at shot 4, which is in two days.  I'll let you know.  I'm unhooked from my pole for awhile, so I'm going to take a walk!


HUGS

Day 9

Day 9 I am at ZERO!!! No WBCs in me! Just got my first shot of Neupogen and now we wait for the rebound! I'm excited! This is also where I can get mouth sores and my hair will fall out.


No biggy, my mouth is great so far and the whole hair thing is just going to be cold! Brrrrrrrrrrr.

Iate a doughnut for breakfast with an ensure plus. My arms are sore from typing and sleeping on them...HAHA.

Will write anything new later. Pray for healing! Here it comes!

HUGS

still day 8

Still day 8, but I just found out because I bumped my head last night....no mark....they're cat scanning my brain tonight at 8:30.

Aurgh! I will NOT be taking Ambien again!

Just had some left over won-ton soup for snack! Yummy!

Hugs  

Day 8

Day 8 has my WBC at .14, pretty low huh?   Well, it will be zero sometime before midnight.

RBC And platelets are still good and my electrolyte numbers are good, so we'll just have to deal with the WBC and be done!  I hope!

Still tired, fell twice last night, had nurses with me just got limp legs.  Everyone's okay.  Just took a shower and need to rest.  Talk to you soon.

HUGS

Day 7

Hello again,

Oh, I ordered Chinese food last night from a delivery service!  It was awesome!

I am at .8 WBC and so, I will become neutropenic over the next 24 hours.  I should start the shots to reboot on Saturday.

I am lathargic, tired, shaky and sick feeling, so fun!  I can't wait for it to start reversing!  My Ms symptoms are full blown because, that's what they do before the growth hormone.

Just keep praying the lights coming at the end of the tunnel!

HUGS

Day 6

Thought I'd never wake up. Took an Ambien and it knocked me out. My counts are WB=2.5 RB=9.5 and plateletes 95. Just gotta wait for the WB to drop to zero!

I'm kind of tired, grumpy, weak, but what did I expect? I got to go through the bottom to pop back up!

The staff is awesome and would do almost anything for the patients. They see people like this all the time so, they know how to help.

Phillippians 4:6,7

HUGS

Day 5

I have to get a blood transfusion today.  Which I knew was coming.  No biggy.  My RB count is 7.5 so that is to low!   I'll get the other counts.  WB gotta be going down, and that's what we're watching.

I totally wrapped myself turning in bed last night!  Had a horrible night trying to get comfortable.  But today my catheter comes out!  YAY and I hope to go PT a bit later.  I'm weak and tired, but fighting on.  I can do all things thru Christ.  Just watch!

HUGS

Done with chemo!  Now the counts drop.  Today WB = 5.1

RB = 8.1 and Platelets =120, will watch RB count because below 8 I will get a transfusion.

Have had major nausea drugs, finally got a patch that seems to help!  Getting sick is the worst!

Walked around a bit for PT.  They'll take me down to the gym tomorrow for strengthening.  That was fast.  Not sick yet, so I can do it.  We'll see.

Tired now.  Will talk later

HUGS

Ate a bit more for breakfast this morning.  Hate breakfast and I'm not really hungry, but I tried.

DAY 3

So, I didn't take an Ambien last night. Turns out the Ativan for nausea makes me sleepy enough! I'm still out of it most the day, just managing to eat a little and brush my teeth. Hope all is well with everyone.

My doctor says there's a lot of dead cells swimming around now, just gotta get rid of them! 2 more doses and then wait for the drop to nuetropenic. Here's to getting well,quickly. Haha.

HUGS

DAY 2

Today I slept most of it while my family worked on their computers. real ambien wipes me out! The chemo made me sick,but I thought it might. They gave me 3 or 4 nausea meds, to no avail... we'll see how tonight goes. I get number 2 in an hour.

Will write again tommorow.

Hugs

DAY 1

In my hospital room. I'm on the 10th floor with a great view of Chicago. I was admitted after noon so, I wont get my PICC line until tomorrow, but I will get my first chemo later tonight.

I will get some medications to fight nausea before the chemo. Tonight I'll take an ambien to sleep, and I have my catheter.

Jessie is getting nervous about leaving me. She wanted to stay the night in my room! I told her I'd be fine and she gets the nice comfortable hotel bed to herself! They will leave in 30 minutes and I'll be alone until tomorrow...ahhh... some peace and quiet. LOL

Just kidding, I'll be looking forward to seeing them tomorrow! Just have to let them know where the cafeteria is so they can get food here.

I'm in for a long ride, but I will be okay. I have my scriptures on my bulletin board that keep me focused and give me strength.

Foods pretty good here. Being a Medical University, they have chefs here to feed patients and staff. Hopefully I wont loss any weight. I weighed in at a whopping 104.4! I really need to gain some!

Will try to post tomorrow to let you know how the first dose of chemo went.

Here we go!

http://rebootingsteph.blogspot.com

We have spent 5 hours at Rush today, meeting all the Doctors, going over treatment, and giving me tests.

There are cognitive tests and they are hard for MS patients. The peg in the hole test was deceiving because those little pegs are hard to grasp! The math part was head spinning! This tape says a number every 3 seconds and doesn't stop while you add the last number he said to the next number he says and then say the answer....60 in a row....is your head spinning?

Tomorrow we begin. They will call sometime in the morning and we will wheel my two suitcases and backpack to admitting, and get me in a room. Will get set up with a Picc line and catheter! WooHoo! TMI...not really, this is an important option that reduces the chance of chemo staying in the bladder and destroying the lining. Good info for sure!

Then I'll get tons of saline and the chemo will begin. I will be getting some meds that will keep me sleepy most the time. Doctor Balabanov said this is a great way to get through the chemo part and let your body rest instead of trying to fight to stay awake and function. I will blog when I can and play catch up later when I'm up to it.

Please comment when you can. Gives me some extra reading and lets me feel the love...I will be alone for most of this, but all of you make it easier!

Thanks for the support, you're all awesome!

Going to Chicago!

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I'm leaving for Chicago and pretty well packed! I have been wanting to blog because I got the most...MOST...exciting news on Friday! I will not be getting a central line! They don't use them anymore for this, they now do a picc line! Which is creepy if you don't know what they are, but way less prone to infection and they do it bed side with local anasthetic.

I have been buying things to wear in the hospital that have an open neck for the central line...jokes on me! Picc goes in my arm! So, now what? I packed some T-shirts and can hopefully put on sweatshirts over the line, if not, I'll cut of the sleeve of a couple! No worries! One sleeve up, one sleeve down...trendy!


Trying to keep a positive attitude and give all my fear to God. Gets hard sometimes, but I know he can handle it...I can't! Fear can consume people...I do NOT want to be consumed! Sounds like you've been eaten...kinda like the saying "it's eating you alive"...no thanks! LOL

You can tell I'm nervous, but I am going in knowing a great deal about what's going to happen and what to expect, so I will adjust as I go through it.

Pray for Jessica...she will be without her Mommie and I don't think she realizes how tough it will be. There are so many everyday things Mom's do for their children. I have friends to help, I just pray she's patient with herself and others. She can be such a great person.

Pray for Bob, he'll be without his best friend and the person that runs the home. He needs patients and guidance too, and has to deal with a pre-teen, home, and work!

I'll update in 3 days, when I'm doing all my cognative tests and paper work! HUGS to you all!

One Week!

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One week to go! Exciting and busy! Packing, making lists and making sure I have everything for a long stay over. It's going to be a long, hard trip...but I am ready! The worse I feel, the more I can't wait for it to be gone!

I will keep you all informed the best I can. Might have to skip a day or two in the first week, then I should be able to update while my counts come back. I pray it goes that way, but we will see.

Thank you everyone that's praying for me, and my family. It's nice to have such a great support system!

Will write when I get there.

God is sooo... in this!

http://rebootingsteph.blogspot.com

Okay, here's another God moment.  Jessica has been playing softball for 6 years, on a team named the HUSKIES.  I'm the team mom.  Last night, we're throwing gear into my Trailblazer and leaving the house in a hurry to make her 5:00 warm-up time for the Championship game!

Ready to go, I turn the key and nothing!  Good ole' Arizona and the two year battery melt down!  I was so frustrated and mad!  Bob said to take his truck, which means he doesn't get to go.  (He goes at game time and was not ready to leave.)  Another frustration.  So, I left angry and tried to calm down.

By the time we got to the ballpark I was better.  Just felt bad because I yelled at Bob because I was frustrated, (took it out on him!)  You may of been there before...LOL

I called him and apologized, and he explained he was charging my battery to get it to start, so I could take it to the dealers for a new battery.  Our plan....not God's.  Hee Hee

This morning...turn the key...epic fail!  Called triple A and they came and did it all in 10 minutes for $40 less than the dealers!  Sweet!  But that's not the God moment....if this had  happened after my chemo....on a short trip to drop Jessica or something...It would of been a HUGE thing!  He made sure I took care of this before it could be a REAL problem.

I love the Lord, he is sneaky and can mess with you...I think he's having fun!  You may think it's at your expense...but beware of the bigger picture!  Sometimes you have to look back to move forward with Him.  He's the best!

13 days until chemo...yea!!