Chillin' in the recliner.

5/30
Dear Family and Friends,

I’ve gone back and forth about keeping a blog or some such means to communicate, and finally decided to put up a blog.  About 10 days ago I had surgery to get the mediport installed and it all went well.  I was scheduled for a morning surgery, but got bumped to 12:00, then 2:00, and finally 4:00 due to an emergency.  I finally got into the OR at 4:30.  Things went well and I was home quickly, the only drawback was that I hadn’t eaten since the day before, probably ate a little too much, and then threw-up all over the bathroom which James kindly cleaned up for me.  Note to self – always check for anti-nausea medications on board before a surgery!

Mediport entrance area.

Over the past week, I’ve been able to resume most of my activities and have had pretty good strength.  I’ve been walking or running daily – no P90X or TurboFire….yet. I tried a new app today called Map My Run.  It mapped my route, mph, and time.

Last week I also went to see a naturopathic doctor who was amazing.  He prescribed supplements like:  Acetyl L Carnatine, CoQ10, Tumeric Force, Astra 8, B Complex, B6, and then things like flax, chia, and super greens.  I’ve started all of those up as well as tested my ph, which has become more neutral around 7.  We also watched the movie “Forks over Knives” which was very enlightening.  Although we’re not going vegan, there are many things we’re changing that have been relatively easy.  I highly recommend the movie.

Yesterday we had a blood draw and office visit with the Oncologist.  It went well and they were very thorough going over all of the medications and side effects.  The Oncologist was also very supportive of the supplements I’m going to be taking – which was great news.

Today we showed up to the Infusion room, picked a nice recliner in the corner, and got down to business.  The nurse’s kids happen to play hockey and will attend Sand Lake, so that was kind of cool connection.  He was also very competent and other nurses spoke of him in high regard.  I did remember to apply the numbing cream 1 hour prior to the visit.  So it was only a poke when getting hooked up tot he IV.  I was hooked up to a bag of saline and a bag of anti-nausea medicine, which took about 45 minutes.  Then I was given about 7 pills to prevent nausea.  I think that brings my pill count up to about 25 today.  

The nurse then hooked me up to adriamyacin, which had a red color to it, and then when that was finished in thirty minutes, they hooked me up to cytoxin for an hour.  I ended up crashing so James and I never did get to play cribbage.  Next time.   Whatever medicine they game me, kind of made me sleepy the remainder of the day – I slept all the way home and then slept and rested on the couch.  Good thing I ran this morning, because I wasn’t moving much this evening - except to eat the delicious and fresh halibut James cooked up.

The plan is to have a great week with the family.  Try to get to Homer, Seward or Whittier for a family fishing trip.  Back to Anchorage for blood draw on the 11^th and interviews that I have to conduct for 2 classroom teaching positions.  Then squeeze in a trip to Fairbanks prior to the next chemo on 6/20.

I’ve been so blessed by family and friends.  It truly is amazing that I can feel at peace and comforted throughout this process.  I can only attribute it to God hearing everyone’s prays!  Thank you!

Much love,

Lisa