It’s Monday, the day after Easter and my first Oncology appointment… I think they were a bit surprised when I arrived with 5 other people in tow, but it was good that Dave and all my kids could hear the news and plans. We left with muddled minds, appointments for tests, port placement and Chemo, and lots more unanswered questions. The following week I began my 8 chemo treatments to be done every other Thursday. I always had someone with me at each treatment, family and friends made the treatments much more tolerable! I was able to keep doing daycare throughout these treatments with the help of Dave, my sister, and great daycare families! I learned a lot about myself, my family, and my friends during the process, a support system is so very important and I had a great one!! They organized a benefit for us at our church which was so humbling and amazing!! I am forever grateful to all of them!!
I lost my hair at my 2nd treatment, it wasn’t as traumatic for me as I thought it might be, but I had my sister and rock, Deb shave it off. She may have been traumatized!! I made it through Chemo with only one delay, my kids and Grandbabies surprised me at my last treatment as did Deb and some lifelong friends, Who knew treatment day could be so much fun?!?!
After a short break I went on to have a double mastectomy, I had a bout with MRSA and another healing break, then my 33 radiation treatments began, every weekday until finished. I had to give up my daycare due to surgery and treatments, my heart was broken, 30 years spent with little ones was so hard to give up and I still miss them!! The joint pain, neuropathy, and fatigue I now experience keep me from going back.
My last radiation treatment was anti-climactic, with no bell ringing, no instructions, nothing! Deb and I went out for Mimosas, but I was expecting something at the Cancer Center. My life had been planned for the last 8 months - - now what?? It was so hard to just move on, I really didn’t know how to!! I had burns to heal, a body that wasn’t what I wanted, and a lot of healing!
I had received some awesome bags from Project Pink’d and had started to look into just what PP was. Little did I know, at that time, just how special Project Pink’d would become to me!!!
