I'm putting together a basket for a friend who had her last chemo....
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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A question for those who have had chemo
Comments (19)I'm O.K. Quite unhappy because I should be at the museum instead of sitting around the house. Not supposed to be where a lot of people are, was told to stay out of stores, don't go to church stay away from babies and rest homes as long as I have a compromised immune system. There are two jobs not done in my shop that I told people I'd have by May, now I'm wondering May what year. I'm not going to turn on a table saw while my balance isn't too good, that would really be dumb. Leone is working now at the museum and it will hurt to have her tell me about the people she met. Funny how a volunteer job can grab you as much as a paying one. Have a 7 hour chemo set up for next Wednesday hope it is the last long one for a while. Scan says we are making good progress whatever that means. No, I'm not depressed just kind of blue....See MoreShe died in her sleep and I'm living in a daze !
Comments (12)DTSKH, Wow you live in Ohio!!! I am moving up to Columbus, hopefully in June, but I will get back to that as I want to say something very important to you about being baptized.......open your bible and find where it says that you can not enter heaven unless you are baptized....it is not in there. Christ died on the cross for our sins so we can have eternal life with him, he finished the job on the cross, what he did for us on that day alone is what allows us to spend eternity with him. My ex mother -in-law who was raised Catholic was very upset and told my ex and I that if we had a child, the baby would need to be baptized in case it died so it could go to heaven. I respected her fear and would have baptized the baby (had we had one) so she would have peace but I also her that works do not save us. There is nothing we can do that will get us into heaven except accept Christ. He alone covers our sins, we are not saved by "works" but by faith. Also, the act of being baptized is a public profession of our accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior, it is just a public profession, it symbolizes dying to our sins and being re-born in Christ. If we were saved by works alone or with additional works, then where is it written which works will do the trick???? I do not know which denomination you belong to, I am non denominational as I just do not care for man made traditions and did quite a lot of research on the Catholic faith as I noticed there were a lot of man made traditions and understand now why there are so many. All we really need to remember is Jesus died for our sins, accepting him and having a relationship with him is all that is needed. I am quite positive your mom is in heaven with my mom and they are each looking down at us and praying for us. I too feel the exact same way you do about feeling that one day more is one day without mom but one more day closer to being with her. I look forward to seeing her again, hugging her, feeling her soft skin, hearing her laugh, seeing the sparkle in her eye. Satan is not only the father of lies, but the master of trickery and deceit. He will plan false notions in your head to make you think things , whisper ever softly if you are sure your mother is in heaven, when these thoughts enter just say out loud, "Christ died for our sins, my mom's sins and because of this she is with him for eternity" and she is. I also heard in the sermon on Sunday, and for some reason I thought of you and wanted to share this in case you were thinking it, but it was about Christ dying for our sins and there is no purgatory that some believe when you die you need to go to purgatory and this is wrong thinking. The pastor said, "Christ said when I die I go to prepare a place for you, not two places for you, but a place for you." Jesus never said he was going to prepare purgatory and we had to go there or some of us had to go there before they could enter heaven,,,,,,it is not written in the bible, there is no proof to support this. Jesus simply died on the cross to atone for our sins and he finished the work on the cross, his death alone sealed our fate to enter heaven. I could go on and on but I think I made my point. God is good and faithful, since 2005 I have endured many losses but God does not give us more than we can handle and he allowed all my pain and suffering to occur back to back like they did because they truly helped me deal with the loss of my mother. had I not had to mourn the loss of my baby, the loss of ever being able to be a mother, the loss of my husband through an affair on his part, I would not have been prepared to face the loss of my mom. And I see how he prepared me and walked with me and at times carried me and still is. The Lord does work in mysterious ways that is for sure, just look at us, we connected on this forum and we both lost mother's who we were so very close to, miss terribly, and you live in Ohio and soon I will be too. God ordains our paths in life, he leads us to a place in time that we find others who can help each other walk along the path he has chosen for us, and who will help us along the way, The Good Lord works through people, that is how we know he is still a living God. I think our paths crossed for a reason and I thank God for this. You are a blessing to me, and I pray I am one for you as well. Maybe one day we can meet and have lunch and share stories about our mothers. Do not worry about her, I am so sure she is in heaven. I will check back again and I am not sure if we can put our email add's in here but here is mine if you wish to contact me via email summerngreece@yahoo.com. Have a good and blessed day......See MoreGuess who I had dinner with last night!
Comments (29)Well, here I am! Late to this party, as I got home last night. First things being first, we cleared out the dog crate, food and treats by packing them up and walking them over to different neighbors who knew Luna. (She had a lot of friends in the neighborhood.) Delivering news like this is hard, but right this minute I think the hardest is having such a quiet house. Packing up her favorite toys choked me up, but it's done. Working my way backwards and starting with OKC, I regret we didn't get to meet David or Sally, but I'm anticipating there will be another opportunity. Having the extra time allowed us to blow on so I could visit my mother. We drove 4,603 miles in three weeks, so you might say it was a whirlwind (tornadic in places), and we were ready to get home. Meeting Donna and her friend Debbie was fun. We met for breakfast in Albuquerque and I really enjoyed it. It's so nice to have the CF in common, and there were no awkward moments in the conversation. In fact, I'm finding it's so easy to talk to the CF in person, it's kind of hard to leave! I enjoyed every moment, and hope that with Donna, David and Sally, we have an opportunity to meet again. I feel pretty certain we'll see Karen (and Tom) somewhere at some point! (I think it must be easy to form a certain bond with the first people you meet.) I've tried for five GT's, and have managed two so far...The best thing is my New Year's resolution of meeting some of you is up and running! I'm loving it and at this point have TWO GT's under my belt and COUNTING. Thank you for your generosity in wanting to meet; it's so nice to feel a part of the CF in real life. I'll upload a few pictures when I can......See MoreIdeas for helping by sister through her chemo
Comments (10)A friend gave me a little book called "No More Bad Hair Days" - basically little cartoons. Heather showed it around to those starting chemo and had the whole group in stitches (not good on bladders when everyone was given IV fluid overload.) One of the most useful hints, is to have your sister drink lots of very cold fluids such as iced water, popsicles etc. We froze water bottles. This will decrease the circulation to the mouth during the administration of chemo and lessen the mouth sores that can develop from the chemo by constricting blood flow to the mouth. Bring your own in case the fridge is empty at the clinic. There are drugs that can be given just prior to chemo that help with the nausea. Unfortunately, they cost about $20/dose here in Canada but well worth it. If hair loss is going to be an issue, your sister may find it easier to deal with it if she cuts or shaves her hair very short ahead of time. She will need to do this to get the best fit for a wig but it is less traumatic than watching it come out 4-5 days later by the handfuls. If she goes for a wig fitting ahead of time, make it into a little party with one or two of her closest friends. The first time I saw my sister without hair after chemo - just hit me like a brick. It made it "all real". I could no longer deny what was happening. I'll never forget that moment. Journal the experience and look for the humour in the situations. For instance - the anaethetist who told Heather that a mastectomy was "a simple procedure" - yeah.... for who? or the radiation oncologist who told her that it was "no-brainer radiation". We hope someone put their brain into it! These situations provided the humour, although warped, that carried us through. Bring a blanket in case they run short. You can get very chilly with large amounts of IV fluid being flushed with the chemo. Everyone's experience is different. Heather claims she sailed through the experience and in fact she was on a ladder painting the deck a week after. I was amazed at her spunk. I was no help with a broken foot. It hits some people with full force. I don't know how many courses your sister will need but the affects are accumulative. It doesn't get easier as you go along - so it just isn't a matter of "being used to it". Heather found small amounts of food frequently rather than a huge meal cut down on diarrhea. One thing I hated hearing was people telling me "if anyone can make it Heather can". I didn't want to blame her if it didn't work. Strange - our father fought cancer for ten years but I remember the "irrational anger at him" I felt when he lost the battle. Fortunately, Heather is now nine years past the most aggressive type of breast cancer. Remember not to get discouraged by "statistics". The only one that really applies is how you do. She had a 16% chance of making five years. Knowing that in itself caused major stress. She found that teaching as many people as she could about IBC helped. She did nursing inservices and spoke at a lactation conference etc. There are support groups both Internet and in the community that may be helpful for your family. Do the research for your sister to find them. One of the ways I was able to offer help was in dealing with disability insurance hassles. She will be tired and sometimes insurance companies use this to minimize their costs. Some insurance employees are given "paid by performance incentives" to encourage them to pressure you back to work before you are physically and emotionally ready. Chemo fatigue and chemo brain are very real. Concentration may be a real factor depending on your sister's career. A person without energy just gives up instead of mounting an appeal. Become your sister's advocate. Sending along wishes for success....See More- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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