Chemo Day 10

Wow, 30 years… crazy how time flies!!

This last week was my 30-year anniversary at Westside! And I couldn’t be more blessed to have spent the last 30 years with some very incredible people…

with the current team being the very best!

I love them more than words can say! <3

Thank you B for my anniversary flowers!

I’m experiencing a few more side effects, all part of the process so it’s not a surprise to my team. Ya just never know if or when it’ll affect you. I’m anemic. My labs have been trending that way each week, and I’m now experiencing some those side effects… they’re not horrible, but I do have to be careful. I’m just hoping they don’t go too crazy on me.

Fatigue ~ yep, I’m getting more and more tired so am taking an afternoon break when my body says it’s time;

Shortness of breath ~ yep, it’s not too bad but it’s definitely 'a thing' if I do too much;

Dizziness ~ yep, experienced that yesterday, just out of the blue;

Blood pressure ~ yep, it's lower than normal;

Pale ~ yep, I think I’ve lost a bit of my olive skin tone.

So I just have to understand what anemia is and do what I can to get through this too. I actually googled it (of course I did) and started adding some iron rich heme foods to my list last week, as the heme foods absorb better than non-heme foods… who knew! So clam chowder and clams with linguine was on the menu last week, yum! And I’m still looking for a local restaurant who makes a good liver and onions! I used to get it for dinner as a child (weird, I know) when we’d go to the Desert Inn, but as you old timers know they’re long gone (oh the Granada Room was the best, wasn’t it?)! So upping my greens and lentils are on the list for this week. Oh, and btw my RBC (red blood count) did come up from the prior week… so I think my extra iron-rich foods are paying off. :)

Thank you again for your phone calls, texts, cards and messages… again, you have no idea how much I cherish them all. Here’s some very amazing treats I received this week… thank you LM for the Brown Butter Cookies and colorful tulips… soooo delicious and beautiful… thank you also for the hanging out to front-porch-chat! And to my mom… thank you for another super soft beanie, this one full of color… I love it! To SB, thank you for the phone call and the very inspirational books… I can’t wait to read them both.

Today’s appointment… it seemed quicker than most, but probably because I slept through most of it! lol

I know I repeat some things, but they’re worth repeating in my opinion… my nurses are awesome! Kind and compassionate, so knowledgeable, funny, and so very caring. They truly help make this process easier.

Anyway, I worked pretty much a full day, had a small dinner and now just chillin’ hoping for a good night’s sleep. Last night’s sleep wasn’t so grand… as I still experience a bit of anxiousness the day/night before, and I think after 10 rounds, that’s not going to change.

But with that being said I’m in to double-digits now, 10 rounds down… only 6 more to go!! Go ME!!

Yes, a Shamrock McFlurry on the way home!

Next appt… March 15