Thursday, December 2, 2010

Life update: this week's cancer update


breast-cancer-fight-like-a-girl.pngI don't have a picture to go with this post. Just the 411 on my cancer this week.  Let me explain how this medicine works. i start taking the medicine the first week and I am not too sick that week and I can pretty much manage things around the house. Then comes week number two and the medicines have been accumulating in my body and now my body doesn't do too great....exhaustion, hand and foot syndrome, and nausea are all my constant companions.
  Every once in a while I get a "new" symptom and I have to assess its potential for harm. This week, about four days ago, I started having heart pain that wouldn't go away.  It feels a bit like someone is squeezing my heart in their fist. Well, last night i couldn't get to sleep because my heart was hurting and my breathing was really shallow. After talking to the on-call "Oncologist", they suggested that I definitely needed to go to the ER because it could very likely be a pulmonary embolism, which just means small blood clots in my lungs. 
   At the ER they ran lots of tests and nothing was conclusive.... they couldn't figure it out. So they told me that they could admit me to the hospital or I could opt to go home. Well, that is a no-brainer! I would rather be in my home... so here I be!
  The ward and the neighbors have been angels coming in and helping my kids get ready for school in the morning and helping around the house. Then my mom gets here and takes over for a bit. And to top it all off, we have been having meals coming in this week and it has been such an amazing blessing in the evening. Wow! We feel very, undeniably blessed by so many hands!!! I sure do love each and every one of you and hope to someday repay the services rendered for our family.

8 comments:

Krista said...

Wow you are brave for going home. I don't want to scare you but my grandma had a hysterectomy and 9 days later a blood clot went to her lungs and killed her pretty quickly. She was only in her 40's.
I'm so glad your ward is being so awesome. The church is great!

runningfan said...

Ah, good luck to you!

A friend referred me to a blog that I just adore. The author has cancer, too, and such an amazing, positive, Christ-centered perspective. I think of you every time I read it! Here's the link:
http://sherriejohnson.blogspot.com/

Jeremy and Ruth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeremy and Ruth said...

hhahaha, i deleted my last comment because I put "christ I love you".. and yes I do love Jesus Christ, I ment to say Christa I love you! :) ahahaha anyway.. home is where i would want to be also! we are always praying for you and know you are in good hands! :)

gwen said...

I bet every one of those people who are "doing" for you each day, love you and feel that YOU are payment enough. Your gratitude, your wisdom, your spirit, your humor, your tenacity, your genuineness, YOUR LOVE OF FAMILY AND HEAVENLY FATHER AND LIFE bless us all in a way that WE could never repay! Thank you Christa, for sharing you.

Bonnie Hynes said...

So what's the word on the heart pain? Are they going to run any more tests, or just wait for something to happen? You are a good girl to go home when the restful (albeit expensive) hospital is an option. I love you and wish you luck....next week will be better!

annebabe said...

Home sweet home. :) thanks for keeping everybody in the loop, even if its bad new, I still want to know about the life and times of Christa Johnson!

Wilson Winners said...

Wow Christa, I'll bet that was really scary. I am glad you are OK and were able to go home and be with those you love. You are amazing and I really appreciate all the support you sent my way these last couple of weeks. You are like a cancer ninja, a caninja!

Loves~

Heather