So week four started off great, we got to attend a local church and enjoy the singing and preaching here. It was good to see that God's Word is preached all over the world, and that we can be fed spiritually even in a desert. :) We heard about how the Apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthians about he was gladly going to spend and be spent for them, and that he is a good example for all Christians in our acts of service to others, even if they are ungrateful or critical.
The clinic scheduled a shorter week, with Friday and Saturday off, but I'd soon find out why - some new chemo was coming my way which would be hard to handle. Monday's treatments were easy and I started to feel like a pro at being a patient here. All the nurses and staff are so kind, and they treat each patient like a friend. Once I got home I still had energy enough to shop with my daughter, and make dinner for the family.
Tuesday was my one and only chemo day this week, and it was pretty hard. They extracted some blood, separated out the platelets, then added the chemo to those platelets and gave them back via iv. Normally I do feel pretty weak and shaky during the treatment, but this time it felt even worse, and I felt like my heart was racing. The nurse kept a close eye on me, checking everything multiple times, and she got me through the 2 hours before I was finished and ready to leave. I'm hoping my body was responding to the medicine and fighting off this cancer! I went home and took a long nap, then felt a lot better.
We had an early meeting with my doctor the next morning, but we asked if I could just talk to her over the phone in order to save us a trip (It's about 20 minutes one way to the clinic from our condo). The doctor called right on schedule, and she started giving me updates. They were all amazing news! My brain MRI came back clear (there was a tiny chance the cancer had spread to my brain), the bloodwork was showing a big drop in cancer numbers, and overall I was responding very well to all the treatments! She wants to add in a few new medicines, and stop a few of the beginning ones, in order to keep attacking and seeing progress. I went on to my treatments on Wednesday and received a few new medicines, which did cause some sleepless nights, but hey, after such a good day, I'll take it!
On Thursday I had my final round of ivs for the week, which included some nutrition and iron to build my immune system up again. I also received a lymphatic massage to work any inflammation out of my lymph nodes. It felt very relaxing! Our family had a good dinner that evening, made by Connor, and then we relaxed and watched some tv shows and read books. I received "The Princess Bride" book for Christmas, and it's every bit as good as the movie! I just finished it on Friday.
Although I was suprised I didn't have anything scheduled for Friday, I ended up very thankful by Saturday. I felt fantastic all day Friday, so I cleaned our house top to bottom, got some bookkeeping done, and we all went to a state park and got to see some wild horses. By that evening I was starting to feel incredibly sore and tired. The next morning I slept in some, and then got up to go to a painting class I had seen for Camille and I, while Jason and Connor explored downtown. After the class I wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed. I think the medicines are working. I basically gave out for the rest of Saturday and half of Sunday, just feeling extremely weighed down and tired. Thankfully I didn't have much nausea, so I tried to eat several small meals each day. When I don't have the energy to cook, one of the others steps up and does an amazing job, the same with our household chores. My family is so sweet and supportive, I know this time isn't easy for them, but I'm so glad to have them here.
On Sunday I dragged myself out of bed about 10, and by then we had missed the chance to make a morning service (church starts early in Arizona!). We had a casual breakfast, and after a few hours, decided to take a hike in the sunshine. The weather has stayed wonderfully warm and sunny our entire stay so far, which has been a blessing I can't describe. The sun feels so healing when I sit or walk in its rays. We took our dogs, and had a wonderful time, with all of us having enough energy for about 1.5 miles of hiking and photographs. Then that evening we tuned in to a church service and heard a message about the widow woman who fed Elijah for an entire famine, and God provided for her. God continually increased her faith by providing just enough for her each day!
So that was our week, I feel like we're getting into a good groove, but also seeing real progress in the fight against cancer. Thank you all so much for your prayers and messages! Please pray as we pursue a few new treatments this coming week, and deal with insurance being slow to approve things at times. The next big treatment will be having chemo injected directly into my tumor, which will probably happen in a week or two.
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