The battle goes on, but we are up
for it. After more tests this week
(blood, CT scan and an MRI), we found out that the tumors in my leg are still
increasing, so I will go back to the more aggressive chemotherapy treatments
that I started with last year about this time.
The one chemo drug is just not doing the job. I am very excited that on Monday, December
10, I will have a port surgically placed in my chest that will make the whole
process much easier, as it has become increasingly difficult to get IV’s placed. Last Monday it took four tries before it
worked, and with the stronger chemo drug, it is almost essential to have either
a port or a pic line. I will be as happy
for the nurses as I am for me.
For those of you like me who had
never heard of a port until a year ago, it is a device which is surgically placed
in the chest below the collar bone underneath the skin. A catheter connects the port to a vein. The drugs can then be injected by inserting a
needle into the port. Blood samples are
also taken by using the port. It can be
left in for months or even years. I have
a friend who has gone through a lot of treatments and to quote her, “I love my
port.”
The thing I felt the worst about
is how this dominates our life and especially Daryl’s life, but he continually reassures me
that the thing he wants most is for us to be together. We do have a lot of togetherness, as next
week we will spend fIve days at MD Anderson with the port placement, Echocardiogram, Dr. Homsi, chemo
treatment and two days following, more treatments for anti-nausea drugs. Luckily, that isn’t every week.
It was exactly a year ago now
that I was about to lose my leg, so this is an alternative that I can deal
with. I am grateful every day that I can
walk and do most of the things that I want to do. But I will have to admit that I was a little
discouraged as I felt the change in my leg, then I spent an evening looking
through last year’s Christmas cards and many other cards and notes I
received at that time. Your love and
kindness totally buoyed me up and made me want to be half as strong as many of
you think that I am. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
We hope you are having a
wonderful Christmas season. We know that
many of you are dealing with more difficult problems than we are, and we continue
to pray for you. It is a beautiful
season which gives us hope, as we celebrate our Savior’s birth and think about
how he suffered for each of us. We love
you and wish you choicest blessings now and in the year 2013.
