Cody Updates by Mom

Everything in life is relative to our own experiences.  It is a little odd trying to mark the levels of ickyness (yes, this is a word in my world) on a scale but it seems appropriate.  This week hasn’t been great but it also hasn’t bee horrible.  I would put it somewhere between my 1st and 2nd rounds of chemo as a measure of how I have felt.  I do not feel well and have been sleeping a lot of the week but I haven’t been in extreme pain or discomfort.  To sum up…”It’s been a long week”.

So, the trickle down effect.  We are all exposed to this from time to time but sometimes it is very clear as it is actually happening.  Last week was my good week.  I felt really good, went to work, we played the gig and even camped.  It was beautiful where we were on Saturday and we were able to be outside a lot of the day.  The trickle down actually started with my infection in my arm.  As written last time, I ended up being put on an antibiotic for the infection in my arm.  This has cleared up however it is the beginning of what happened this week.

When you are getting chemo they tell you to stay out of the sun or at least make sure you have sunscreen on.  Since it was 70, I was feeling really good and having fun, I kind of forgot about the sunscreen.  Enter Mister Sunburn on my neck.  It wasn’t a really bad one however the fact that I was on antibiotics also contributed to it getting worse but as you will see this continues to cause my week to be not so great.  Sunday was my “day before chemo” day.  This is where I start taking the steroids that will help my body counteract some of the really negative side effects of the chemo.  This is something I have done each time I have had chemo and have not had an issue so far.  (Yep, so far until now)  One side effect of the steroid is it will make you flush and areas that are already hot will potentially become enflamed.  We’ll come back to that because there is one other item that happens in the middle of all this.

If you are female you will understand what can happen with your body when you are on an antibiotic.  You can actually get infections in other parts of your body because the antibiotic is breaking down the good yeast while it is fixing the infection.  Well, this is what happened to me.  By Monday morning I was not having a good morning and needed to fix the new problem that was going on.  Luckily the Dr. was able to give me a prescription for the yeast infection and I went on for chemo.  I take my steroid through Tuesday and did so with no interruption.   The antibiotic, steroids and yeast infection meds all messed with my stomach.  Ugh.  “Insert, annoyance of not feeling well groan here.”  By last night, Mister Sunburn (who really wasn’t an issue) was completely hot to the touch and very uncomfortable.  Double Ugh!

So, I call the nurse line last night.  Luckily she was very nice and extremely helpful.  No trips to urgent care or ER.  She said that pretty much I had hit the perfect storm.  Not as good as the movie but I am sure someday I will look back and think it was entertaining.  Probably not.

Anyway, so now I get to put cold compresses on my neck, which helps a lot.  They said it will reduce now that the steroid should be getting out of my body.  With all of the stomach issues exasperated by new meds I have slept a lot this week.  Unfortunately that did effect my hydration so I am up and drinking as much as possible to get back on track.  This also helps the meds get out of my body so I have a really good motivation for keeping it up.

Other side effects have been there too.  I have had additional numbness in my hands but they tell me I am doing well and have me exercising them to keep them active.  I have had some joint pain but nothing that has taken me out.  My eyesight is not great close up but they also tell me that this is typically temporary and to just get cheaters until a good six months after chemo.  If it is still an issue then they recommend seeing an eye doc.

I have my appointment with the Dr. of Radiation on the 25th so I should finally know the answer to the “if” on the radiation question.  Let’s hope for no. 🙂

On the good notes of the week.  I was able to work from home a bit so I won’t be depleting all of my sick time right away.  I really didn’t start going downhill until Tuesday so Monday and part of Tuesday were good.  I hope my involvement in the meetings later in the week were at least beneficial.

Through all of this life goes on and I believe with all my heart that hope prevails.  My dear friend Trish gave me a cancer necklace that just says hope.  As I have been down it is a good reminder to me to continue the hope of the future.  Someone new to my life is dealing with a very hard journey of her own and I was very happy to be able to get the hope necklaces for her.

Hope.  It is such a small word but yet so powerful.  When we hope for a better future we can truly make change in our own lives.  Having hope against all odds can give you inner strength and help you make it one more day.  I do hope for a cure however right now I hope for something a little more real.  I hope that everyone that is facing anything that can take away their strength of hope can find their hope and continue on.  As I said at the beginning.  Everything is relative.  What I am going through is no worse than what others have faced.  It is my journey that I am intended to be on at this time in my life.  Even though some times I feel I cannot stand up against the odds around me I will.  I have had people ask me how I can remain so strong again something so overwhelming.  I tell them that when I look inside at my inner strength I see all of you there with me holding on to that one word that helps me walk on.  Hope.

Caring Bridge Comments

Love and prayers..from mom|Jun 13, 2014 5:16pm
Sometimes I can’t spell either. i pray you don’t need radiation when you are done with chemo. if an aloe plant will help with any burning we have many here. that helped Lavonne with the burning from radiation.
Love mom