It has been a long hard couple of weeks. Ron spent 4 days in the hospital 2 weeks ago which started the whole downhill slide for both of us. What started as a small bump on his butt manifested into a very large long seeping mound that went septic in a matter of days. He’s a diabetic but not someone who really pays attention to it. We’re not sure if his blood sugar accelerated the sepsis, or the sepsis accelerated the rise in blood sugar, either way by the time we got him to the emergency room his blood sugar was on the high side of 400, and the bump was beyond painful and difficult to look at as it was a seeping mess. He ended up requiring surgery 2 days after he was admitted but it made a major difference in how he was feeling and seemed to really help him turn a corner in the healing process. They released him home the day after surgery with instructions for me on how to pack and keep the wound clean.
Of course here I am – recovering from my 4th round of chemotherapy – stressed, fatigued, and trying to manage my normal side effects from the chemo. Not a good combination. We were a pair J
I have continued to work pretty much full time throughout my chemo treatments (although I try to work from home the week immediately following a treatment). I’ve got a client who is very demanding and needs a lot of attention and hand holding. I have to confess that I did not think I would be able to work, take care of Ron, and keep myself together, and certainly had more than a couple of crying jags the last couple of weeks. But we made it. Ron went back to work (despite still having a hole in his butt) on monday, I’m fully engaged in work again (which means I’m physically at the client location), my energy has returned and my side effects have dissipated – well most of them have. I developed a bad case of hives about a week ago that the Dr. is treating with a course of Prednisone. The hives have gone down, but I now have pain around my rib area, and the corresponding back area. Its been suggested to me that I might have shingles given the pain, location, and my compromised immune system. Will notify the Dr. on Monday. I’m also going to ask Judy if acupuncture might be able to help. I’m managing the pain with Tylenol but it does wear me down. I find I can’t stand for long periods of time and have to shift my position often at night while trying to sleep.
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he Dr tells me that I’m past the worst of it (meaning the combination of Adryamycin & Cytoxin) and that the next course of Chemotherapy - Taxol, which begins on Monday, should not have near the side effects. I can tell I’m feeling a lot better because I’m actually beginning to think about exercising again. I’ve lost most of my muscle tone and I’m not liking what I see. Not to mention my limited endurance. I can’t even walk up a few flights of stairs without huffing like a 90 year old woman. That will not do! I am hopeful that I’ll be able to begin to find some balance between work and health that gives me room to spend an hour or so a day going for a walk, or taking a yoga class, or even just going to the gym to walk on the treadmill. Ron’s unexpected health issue has really brought him around as far as eating healthy goes. So now we are both eating much healthier together – a nice change. He too is ready to start focusing on getting daily exercise so I’m hoping we can encourage each other.
he Dr tells me that I’m past the worst of it (meaning the combination of Adryamycin & Cytoxin) and that the next course of Chemotherapy - Taxol, which begins on Monday, should not have near the side effects. I can tell I’m feeling a lot better because I’m actually beginning to think about exercising again. I’ve lost most of my muscle tone and I’m not liking what I see. Not to mention my limited endurance. I can’t even walk up a few flights of stairs without huffing like a 90 year old woman. That will not do! I am hopeful that I’ll be able to begin to find some balance between work and health that gives me room to spend an hour or so a day going for a walk, or taking a yoga class, or even just going to the gym to walk on the treadmill. Ron’s unexpected health issue has really brought him around as far as eating healthy goes. So now we are both eating much healthier together – a nice change. He too is ready to start focusing on getting daily exercise so I’m hoping we can encourage each other.
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