Chemo 2, Chemo 3...Chemo 2, Chemo 3

Shelley's World! Shelley's World! Party Time! Excellent!

Yes, that is my early 90's 'Wayne's World" pathetic attempt to distract you from the fact that it has taken me only 3 1/2 weeks to get to my next blog post...but who's counting? The reality is that this IS in fact my world and you have all chosen to read about it. So, for now you will just have to live on Shelley-time :)

So...when we last left the heroine (please do not confuse heroine with heroin-there will be none of that), she had just returned from Leadville and was heading into Chemo #2...

 In an attempt to catch up and get to the really good stuff, I'll just recap Chemo 2 and Chemo 3 since all-in-all, Chemo is really pretty boring stuff. I have been wanting to keep this updated to reassure you all  that I am, in fact, still alive and kicking AND (more importantly), to remind myself how it felt to go through these successive rounds.

Chemo 2...

The Red Devil...I'm staring you down!

So a few days after Leadville, my Dad (you are about to get to know him really well) flew back in from upstate NY to finish staining my deck, complete his 'honey do' list and to be by my side for this next round of chemo. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my Dad? Well, it's pretty astronomical. I have an amazing family and after all this is said and done, you will grow to love them too if you don't already :)   Chemo 2 was back on August 25 so this is a *little* outdated, but strangely enough, I remember it like it was yesterday. The funny thing about Chemo 2 is that when I had my blood drawn to check my counts, I was actually in BETTER shape than I was before Chemo 1. Really? Ok, so some of the counts went down as expected, but minimally and well within range. The reality is that I really did feel better. I attribute this to a few factors. First, I had just spent the weekend with several of the most inspirational people in my life in Colorado under a clear starry sky. Second, if you remember, the day before my first round of chemo, I had surgery and anesthesia to have my port 'installed'. I am assuming that the surgery, along with the lack of sleep from the diagnosis itself, put me in an immune system compromised state. Just a thought, but regardless, I felt SO much better heading into Round 2. So into Round 2 I went with my bag full of snacks, my iPad and my Dad :) It was super borrrrring. We hung out for about 5 hours, Dad got a little antsy and took a little walk. A couple friends stopped by to say hello and that was about it. Pretty uneventful. I did stare down the Red Devil again and this time it was no contest. See ya in two weeks Red Devil. I hope you're doing your job because you SUCK!

Those are strawberries and a balsamic reduction...walnuts...mmmm

Confetti soup...and a beer :)

So Dad and I took my ritual post-chemo trip to Trader Joe's and then headed home for a welcome visit/dinner with Kelly and the Keverns (no, they are not a band, but Kelly is a great singer...) Here is where I will ask again 'How do I deserve such amazing people in my life??' Sam made this amazing confetti soup, chocked full of nutrition and delicousness, John made an incredible salad and Kelly topped it off with healthy trifle that tasted SO good! (Who made it REALLY, Kelly?)

The trifle that Kelly must have bought and put in her own container. So good! 

What am I saying here? LUCKY!! 

I felt pretty amazing for the two weeks following Round 2. We had a big head shaving party (don't worry, that deserves its own post) on the Saturday following and otherwise, Dad left on Sunday, I did some running and the rest was pretty normal. In case some of you don't realize, my 'normal' isn't really normal, but it felt normal to ME. I was a little more tired than usual, but it was a great two weeks :)

Chemo 3 was last Thursday. My amazing Mom flew in at the beginning of last week to spend the month of September...being my Mom :) Funny enough, she is also being my friend, my kids' Nana, my housekeeper, my memory and a multitude of other things but I've come to learn that all of those things fall under the category "MOM" when it comes to my Mom :) So she was here for my 3rd round of chemo... My counts were fine, pretty normal actually, and the day was again, pretty uneventful. I did sleep a little more during the actual infusion itself, but I will attribute that to the fact that I stayed up late the night before at the awesome party/fundraiser that my co-workers threw for me Wednesday night. (That deserves its own post too!) Mom probably got a little bored. Julia stopped by and brought me the cutest Art Westport t-shirt for her event that I regrettably missed last weekend :(  Mom and I made our ritual trip to Trader Joe's and went out for a delicious lunch. 

The effects of this round of chemo definitely hit me a little harder than the first two. I already have no hair so... no changes there :) I do feel significantly more tired than I have in the past. I have been napping more and I think this might be interrupting my sleep at night. I've also been working full time except my chemo days so perhaps this is catching up with me a bit. I am committed to seeing this through though and I have no doubt that I CAN do it all. :)  Have I mentioned how thankful I am to have my amazing Mom here to help me? Well, she's amazing and I am thankful. There, I said it.  I had a crazy weekend following chemo (again, ANOTHER post) so the rough day I had on Monday might be a result of that, but I really felt pretty crappy. I worked all day and spent time with my kids, but when the day was done, I crashed. I felt like someone stuffed cotton in my head and I was really foggy. Again, thank goodness for my MOM!! The rest of the week got progressively better and I feel good heading into the weekend (yay!). I anticipate next week being better yet and next Thursday I get my final round of AC chemo!!! I am really ready to be done with this nasty crap. Although, I did realize earlier this week.... As nasty as AC chemo is, with all the stupid side effects, it serves a purpose. I had to remind myself that this nasty crap actually kills cancer! Yeah, I guess the chemo isn't so bad. :)

Ok, I've been so excited to start on the head shaving party that I need to be done with this.

xoxo

Shelley