I can hardly believe it was over a week ago that I wrote the last blog post but I am happy to say that Rob has 10 treatments of radiation done already and has 23 left to go. We find having a countdown going helps to make it all feel more doable. After Mondays treatment he will be 1/3 of the way done!! So far things are going pretty well and Rob is still able to do many things. Rob is starting to feel soreness in his mouth and spends a lot of time taking care of his mouth. That being said he does not have severe pain or sores in his mouth like they said he might by this time. Rob and I were talking the other night about how he is feeling and what the doctors and nurses have told us he might be feeling (they give you worst case scenarios) and we are convinced that because of the army of people praying, he is not feeling the terrible side effects. We know that you are all praying that the treatments get rid of the cancer and that Rob does not have awful side effects and so far they are manageable. We are so grateful to have so many people praying for Rob and ask that you continue to pray.
On November 11th Rob will have his second round of chemo. He was able to get through the first one by sleeping a lot and making sure he took all of his anti nausea pills. He was taking 4 different pills to keep the nausea away and for the most part they did their job. We will go into the second round with a little more knowledge of what to expect and praying that the side effects are no worse then the first time.
Rob has to be very careful not to lose weight while he is getting treatment and during recovery. For the most part (except for a few days around chemo) he has a very good appetite. This is partially to do with his body rapidly trying to build new healthy cells and also because he is taking some medicine that has a steroid in it. Right now he is able to eat soft food and cut it up but if it is too tough he purees it. He also has lots of shakes and smoothies packed with protein. Over the next few weeks as the radiation adds up he may have a tougher time but we continue to pray that he has minimum side effects and can continue to eat they was he is now.
I saw my family doctor last Thursday and will be heading back to work starting Monday on light duties. I am healing well, however if I push it too much I could cause some problems which would be a big setback. I am still not allowed to lift anything heavier then 10 lbs and I can't push or pull anything over 100 lbs. This is a big deal when you work at a nursing home and push wheelchairs all day. Even pushing a half full shopping cart hurt my stomach a little. I am able to know very quickly if something is too much for me and will be able to do modified duties at work. In 2 1/2 weeks I will go back and see my doctor and hopefully will get the ok to resume my normal job and life.
We get asked often "how are you doing?" and it is a hard question to answer. We have moments when things feel totally fine and we have other moments that we feel completely overwhelmed and that we can not handle it. That being said we are not in the depths of despair but instead we go forward each moment in faith. Would we change our situation if you could?...yes of course. However we don't have that choice so we continue to walk forward one small step at a time knowing that God is walking right beside us and will not leave us. That doesn't mean that life will be easy but it means we are not alone. God continues to use many things and people to encourage us and remind us of this. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Love Karen
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