Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Chemo #5, otherwise known as "prayers are answered!"

These are some happy faces from the Chemo room. This is my favorite lady ever! She comes in and volunteers her time massaging patient's feet. That's right!!! She massages my feet!!! You gotta love her! What a spirit of service she has!!!
These are some of the nurses in the Chemo Room. Since I was the last one there on Monday, (6pm), I took the opportunity to get a few extra photos! These nurses are the true life savers!
Again with the feet!!! I am pretty excited about this, can you tell?!!

If you are someone who is lucky enough to get chemo in your lifetime, you may get the opportunity to have a fridge like this in the chemo room. You are allowed to drink whatever you want, whenever!! See, there are some wonderful perks when you pay 55,000.00 for chemo!!
This week, on Monday, was chemo session #5...only 3 more sessions to go!!!! Hipp Hooray, I am on the downhill slide now!!!
Anyway, the first four chemo sessions were a combo of medicines that made me really nauseated and they were pretty yucky! I am glad to have them in my rear view mirrow now!
The last four sessions of chemo are going to be a medicine called Taxol, which is a "cousin" medicine to the Taxotere. If you remember from my first session of chemo, the Taxotere, made be stop breathing, which isn't a healthy side effect. They decided that my body wouldn't be able to tolerate the medicine (duh!) and had to change my chemo regimen.
The doctor told me that this medicine would be a lot better than the last four medicines, unless I had a life-threatening reaction like last time. So, I was a bit nervous going into chemo this week. I had a wonderful blessing before we headed down to Phoenix and a phone call from Bonnie and Mike up in Boise, telling me that they were fasting that everything would go smoothly. Even Sarah pulled me aside before I left and said that her Teacher's Aide in Kindergarten said she would be praying for me. I left feeling very blessed!!!

They started this medicine really slowly, just in case, and the nurses were watching me like a hawk. We got to 10 minutes.....11.....12....13 minutes... and right at 14 minutes, I felt my throat closing up and my face started to flush (this is exactly how it started last time). I croaked out a message to Morgan to get the nurses and they rushed over and stopped the medicine. I sat in my chair, and the air started to flow again through my esophogas, my face returning to it's normal shade. I sat for a minute, mentally going over all the prayers and blessings and fasting and I knew what I had to do.... I had to go on!

The nurses looked at me, wondering what to do with me and I said, "Let's do this!" and wouldn't you know, I din't have another reaction AT ALL!!!! That, my friends, is the power of prayer and fasting! I feel it so strongly in my life, a real, surging power! I have never had to depend on the Lord as much as I have in the last four months and I have never seen the answers and blessings so clearly in front of me! I am blessed, every step of the way! So, thank you all for your prayers in my behalf, I feel them everyday!!!

I am including a few pictures from the "chemo room" because my kids have never seen it and I am sure many of you will never be in one as well. So, now you can see what we do there.

5 comments:

runningfan said...

Wow! That's an amazing story. I'm glad this round went better, and that the worst of it is behind you. Thanks for the reminder that God hears and answers prayers!

Bonnie Hynes said...

Thanks for the honorable mention in your blog! I am so glad you are feeling better and you only have 3 to go! I am jealous you get my mom and dad though! I love your family and miss you all. Come to Boise soon!

Shelly said...

Where the heck was this "feet" lady when I was going through chemo?? Im still in that same room for Herceptin and I have never seen her. Rats!!
So glad your prayers were answered and that all went well with the 5th round. Hopefully you werent too sick this time and your starting to feel better.

Jeremy and Ruth said...

Christa i love you! and i love the woman that volenteers her time to massage your feet! :) WOW!! I hope to be so service oriented! We prayed for you all day many many times i'm glad that things went well!

Farr Family said...

All I can say is amen with tears in my eyes. Prayers, fasting, and faith is all you need sometimes!!!