Burning cold, painful chewing, general bad feeling and nausea – it’s all showing up. But she got a good weekend in despite being hooked up to her Chemo Buddy. She enjoyed a wonderful night out with the spouses of my classmates at Clay Pit and last night she partied down* at Amy, Trey, Leslee and Pete’s Halloween Bash! I even wrapped up my studies around 11:30PM so I made a late surprise appearance which made her smile. I just love to see her smile.
* By “party down” I mean “one glass of wine” – all she’s allowed with this new regime.
One of the side effects of oxaliplatin is sensitivity to cold and it’s definitely here. Touching anything fairly cold is causing sharp, burning pains in her fingers followed by numbness. She cursed loudly today after grabbing a frozen meat package from the freezer. Grocery shopping today was tough, too. Even picking vegetables proved to be a painful challenge.
She’s also developed an odd side effect such that when she tears up she develops an instant, splitting headache that lasts just as long as the tears. Some of her favorite TV shows are all about touching moments. Now they are even more touching, but not in a way she’d prefer.
She’s having difficulties chewing because it’s painful in her jaw area. Apparently, that, too, is a side-effect of the oxaliplatin. This is some nasty stuff.
Most of this weekend and today day she felt ok. Some general nausea and tiredness but ok. Today, however, just before supper she crashed. She’s having a tough time. It’s nothing major – she just feels icky. But that’s enough to make days unpleasant.
She got her pump removed today, the one dripping out the 5-FU over 48 hours. Nurse Jolie came by to help. By the time I got home from school they were just finishing up. Easy cheesy, apparently. Tomorrow she heads to The Spa to return the pump and get her $6,900 Neulasta shot. I figure about Wednesday she’ll be down for most of the day with the flu-like symptoms we’ve become so accustomed to.
There seems to be a small hint of hair growth today although we aren’t headed to the store to buy shampoo just yet.
Hang on, Maggie … you’re contantly in our thoughts and always in our prayers. How I wish I could help more than that!
Stay tough as always Maggie … you were SUCH a trooper to make it out to the party on Saturday and I just LOVED the costumes you guys had! So awesome. My thoughts are with you both this week! Huge Hugs!
Here are the pictures from the party: http://tinyurl.com/244e3e – or click on my name above.
Keep your smile on Maggie!
I’m so glad you made it out to see us all the other night, I love you and hope your ickiness is gone by now.
Brooke the pictures are fabulous!!
Know that we are thinking and praying for you every day, and hope you’re feeling much better by now. I know it’s hard, but you’re doing so well, please keep on keeping on, and we’ll continue sending good, positive thoughts your way. Love you both very much. Meme
Chris and Maggie, I know you don’t know me except for our brief encounters at various social occasions shared with mutual friends, but I have been following your family ordeal for some time and I just wanted to tell you how remarkable I think both of you are. Much to my surprise, through your journey I have grown. I look at things in a new light, and I thank you for that. You have given me, and undoubtedly many others, a gift by sharing your plight. Your courageousness in an inspiration, your outlook is a lesson. The depth of your obvious love and support for one another is an enviable rarity. I applaud you. You two have lived more, loved more, battled more than people who have lived twice your years, and you have done so with grace and courage. I have a great deal of admiration for the type of people that you are. Sharing this journey is an amazing gift to give to the world, and the world is a better place with people such as you in it. I’m rooting for you every step of the way.