Peace........

Well, the wedding came and went and it was beautiful! I don't think I have ever saw an ugly bride but Rachel really did shine that day!  AND it was nice to see long distance relatives that I hadn't seen for awhile.

Well, after my Neulasta shot on Tuesday, I started getting headaches that just nagged at my head...around the temples and sometimes just my head  ached. By Saturday morning, Pat and I made the decision to call Dr. Houston to see if he would order a CT scan of my head. He is such a teddy bear of a dr! He said he'd call me right back. He did within 3 minutes and told me to get to the hospital asap and he would have the reading in 15 minutes as he put a stat order on it. He texted me back and said there is no brain bleed and more than likely we think it was the Neulasta. It was better by the time chemo time came this past Monday.

I was of course, worried about my blood counts on Monday. The lab tech took 5 viles..the usual...and then I waited an hour and fifteen minutes before being called back to the scale. Then to a room. BP was perfect. Temp....good. So, Dr. Dy walks in and says my white count went from 2.0 to 5.7 (which is in the "preferred level between 3.0 to 11.0. My platelets went from 93,000 two weeks ago to 105,000 this past Monday. It is still low but crawling up. (it should be between 140,000 to 445, 000).
So, since I had the headaches, Dr. Dy changed the drug from Neulasta to Neupogen. I will self inject it three times over the next two weeks to keep my platelets in a safe level. We will see if this works...if not, I will have to travel to Effingham on Tuesays just for ten minutes to get a shot. The Neupogen was over $1,000 for three vials. Yowzer!!  Our part was $11. I am SO very thankful we have good insurance. Neupogen stimulates the blood system (bone marrow) to make white blood cells. This helps fight off infections. Dr. Dy is also hoping I will not have the severe headaches. BUT I could very well have flu side effects like achy bones, muscles, and even a fever. I had a 100.7 fever one night as I woke up shaking violently from being so cold. I took some meds, went back to bed, and woke up with a small fever but it soon dissipated.

I was able to "up" the amount of chemo I received this time so I was thrilled to be able to do that since I was suppose to up it at every chemo session. All went well and we were out of there by no later than 1. Sheila Stoltz (my sister in law) wanted to take me...our car just kinda coasted by "The Last Straw" so we decided to shop a bit in there. We also stopped at a consignment shop and found the cutest U of I cheerleader outfit for a 9 month old baby. Kinda saving it for Bartley...and Jenn too!!
After a stop at Solid Grounds for supper....YUM, it was on to Alco. I was tuckered by then but had a SWAN meeting at 6 so off I went to that. I was home by 7:30...I had to stop and see Braeda real quick :-)

So.....I believe life is about Faith, Inner Peace, Believing, and knowledge of just being a good person. It has been a goal of mine for quite some time. I had a couple older ladies walking up the hallway of my office
today, and I heard one say, oh, there's that lady you want to get. She's been here the longest and she's just the nicest young lady. I smiled....they did not get me (for their appointment) but I did go up and speak to them so I felt them at ease in our office. I have been at ERBA going on 17 years and have loved and treasured every year until this past year.  Days I haven't felt the best.....it just kinda takes the cherry off the top of an ice cream soda.

It's getting closer and closer  to my trip to Md Anderson. Since I haven't been able to UP the dosage each time at chemo in Effingham, it makes me wonder if it has let things worsen. No matter what Dr. Javle tells me, God is there....there are times when you shall walk in the valleys of death but God will ALWAYS be right beside you when you come out on the other side. I don't believe in saying why did this happen to me? It just happens....adjust, accept, and fight like a dog.

I thank each and every one of you who think of me, send me flowers, prayer groups who pray for me, my family, for God to make such an impact on my life. He knew when I needed him and I would be nothing without him.

I will keep you updated in about a week. HUGS and PRAYERS to ALL of you!!
Patty