Round 2 = Tom & Jerry, Mother’s Day and being bald

Chemo #2 infusion was both familiar and uneventful – two good things to feel while tackling this type of adventure. I was in the shared space instead of a private room which was good and bad. Bad because you had to hear a million other convos and it was less private, but good since you felt like you were in the express lane because they knew you could power through it. I decided to do acupuncture during the infusion which was wonderful – though my neighbor opted to pull the curtain so she didn’t have to see the needles (I don’t blame her). After acupuncture, I tried using these frozen mits on my hands to help with neuropathy, but aborted a few minutes in. Envision feeling totally calm and peaceful from a 30 min acupuncture treatment, then slapping on mittens made of ice and feeling extreme cold pain. Terrible. It was then when I felt grateful I had accepted (and sorta loved) being bald because there was no way I would have wanted to deal with cold cap therapy before/during/after each chemo session. For all those who have endured, I applaud you!

I was feeling a lot better by day 7 this round than I was at day 7 after the first infusion. Bone pain wasn’t as intense, perhaps because I started taking the Claritin a few days before chemo or perhaps because I was able to get 2 acupuncture sessions in that week. It’s hard to know what helped and what didn’t, so choosing to believe both these things contributed 🙂 This time, however, the hot flashes at night are much more intense (chemo throws you into menopause), and days 4-5 still felt like I was hit by a Mack truck. Or maybe a better description is something out of a Tom & Jerry cartoon… my brother and I watched a lot of Tom & Jerry when we were little (no judging). Imagine I am Tom. I was captured by Jerry and thrown into a knapsack, hit by a bunch of 2x4s and left in the alley. That’s kinda how you feel after chemo is pulsing through your system in full effect. I remember crawling out of bed feeling like I could barely open my eyes, stand up or talk above a whisper. Chris would ask WHAT feels bad and my response would simply be “everything”.

Despite all of these after effects, I have maintained my appetite – in fact, I have felt more hungry than normal. So much so that one night I proceeded to eat 2 bowls of pasta with spicy red sauce + a bowl of Chris’ homemade chicken/kale/orzo soup + a bunch of peanut butter and jelly crackers… all after 6pm. I woke up with an upset stomach, puked 🤮, showered, then went back to bed. #efficiency

I was lucky to feel pretty good on Mother’s Day, and enjoyed a walk with Dillon and Buddy, some chill time on the recliner, and an awesome dinner at one of our favorite places, Nico Osteria. The next day, Chris left for the week and my mom came in to help hold down the fort.

This week I noticed some redness near where my IV had been placed. I didn’t really think much of it until it started to look a little “angry” as the nurse so accurately described. Turns out, a little bit of the taxotere (one of the chemo drugs) leaked and caused a little havoc – not uncommon for those getting chemo via IV. The good news is it’s healing and should be healed by the next infusion.

Stuff in/with my mouth feels a little jacked up, too. There’s the constant feeling of making too much saliva – sort of like the feeling right before you puke… but I don’t puke. My mouth/tongue feels a little numb and it tastes like someone zapped all the flavor out of everything I eat. Fortunately, this hasn’t impacted my appetite (yet).

But enough about the bad. There are also some upsides that are definitely worth highlighting:

1. Being bald rocks because it feels totally liberating AND makes the hot flashes a lot easier to handle LOL
2. Getting ready is a breeze because I have no hair to wash/shave in the shower and no hair to dry/style. I literally slap some coconut oil on my head and I’m ready to go.
3. I’ve kept most of my top eyelashes (thanks to Lattise) and about 70% of my eyebrows thus far. Hoping they last another 2 rounds!
4. Waking up every morning NOT feeling like Tom in a knap sack feels amazing 😉#perspective

Chemo #3 is just around the corner on Tuesday 5/28. Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and keeping perspective ❤️

THANK YOU for the continued gifts, food, texts, emails, etc. It makes it feel like you are all on this adventure with us, and for that we are eternally grateful.

XO

Mother’s Day walk around Horner Park with Dillon and Buddy