Have you ever had one of those days where you simply have had enough and then something else falls from the sky, drops in your lap, and voila, you simply have to take that on too?
Recently I have had a series of events occur that are over the top and I wanted to share this with you.
Going back a bit to the beginning of last year, a blood test revealed that I had a cancer. All last year and into this, I have been undergoing treatment. There have been a number of side effects to say the least.
One of these I have been referring to as a “spell.” It is rapid heartbeat and low blood pressure. Both the oncologist and the primary care doctors told me not to worry. I don’t know about you, but for me this was a worrisome deal. On a recent Saturday, when I was having one of these spells, I looked to my husband and said, “Take me to the emergency room. Let’s find out what is really going on here.”
Now, I could really get into the details here but would rather not. Suffice it to say, there was a treatment to settle down my heart, xrays, and more. One of the funny moments, if there can be any, was when the ER nurse handed me this tiny cup to use for a urine sample. With all the wires coming off me, how was I ever going to hit target zero? I felt like I was the meatball in a huge bowl of spaghetti.
I ended up spending quite a bit of time in the hospital. More than I expected. I was in for a total of 16 days, or slightly over half of August. What they discovered was that I have a fixable heart condition. The next thing they discovered was pneumonia. I thought this would quarantine me, but surprisingly it did not.
Over the course of my time in the hospital, I had numerous xrays, too many blood tests, insertion of a PICC line to enable the nurses to draw blood, respiratory treatments, and whole slew of tests, and pills, pills and more pills. Then there was the food.
The nurses bragged about the good food that comes from their cafeteria. The food was really bad. If they added a bit of applesauce to their apple muffins, eating one of these would be moist and flavorful rather than bland and dusty. Dinner plates were attended with a dull knife. There can be no serrated edges to a knife handed to a patient as they might cut themselves. I found it was easier to eat like a cave man. It just worked out better. The staff was not happy that they kept having to change my gown and sheets.
Upon release, they told me that I had a fixable heart condition and the pneumonia. They also told me that I was suffering from COPD, and a slight trace of emphysema. They were waiting for results from a test they did on my lungs, and it would be about another week before we knew what those results would be.
Did I mention that I gained 20 pounds in the two weeks? It was not from the hospital food. One of the drugs causes major water retention. I swear I can hear myself sloshing as I walk. The swelling has my ankles looking like I had sprained both of them. Maybe I should add a bit of purple and green eye shadow. At least I now I know what my feet probably looked like when I was a baby. All the wrinkles are gone there and in my face too. Who cares that I look like a chipmunk? Hey, maybe they should just give this drug out instead of using a Botox based drug to create a youthful looking you.
When we finally found out the results of the tests, we were told that I now have stage 3 cancer. The other cancer does not seem to be with me anymore, but this one is.
So, now you know why my responses to you and new postings have shifted. This last week has been one Dr. appointment after another as things get lined up and ready for the start of my treatments. My treatments will be a combination of radiation and chemotherapy, and I believe it will begin next week.
As if is this is not enough, one more thing happened. It took us once again to the ER. I have a blazing red and purple rash on my abdomen that turned up quickly. This ugly little rash turns out to be shingles. I can now pass on chicken pox! Wahoo! One never expects to hear hysterical laughter in the ER, but after hearing this is what I had, my husband and I did just that: We laughed our asses off.
We have new challenges to face, my husband and I, and we will be doing so head on and with a positive outlook. I want life to be as normal as it can be considering the circumstances. I am hoping that I will be able to post to the Life in the Foothills blog on a regular basis, and same with the Mondays Finish the Story blog. If there is a bit of delay in my replying to a comment, commenting on your story, or doing a post, I ask that you bear with me. I have an offer from one of my blogging friends to help me out, and if I need to I will take her up on that.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and remember: Be well… ^..^
my dear dear amiga
i am so very sorry that you’ve endured so many challenges, which remind me so much of what my friend julie has experienced. she also came down with shingles (and also had a reaction w/the swollen legs/feet) as she went thru two back-to-back rounds of chemo for her lymphoma. she was on dialysis and has received many transfustions, but she is doing better and getting stronger. during this time, another friend from mississippi came down with shingles. and now i read that you did aas well.
the emphysems caught my eye as well, since i continue to wonder if i do/do not have it -bsed on the xray from a few years back. thankfully i live where the air is pure…
as for the chikungunya and dengue, i’m better/stronger, but my hands hurt often and my fingers/joints are often swollen. another delayed side effect is the loss of hair, which continues to fall out w/each brushing. but alas, that is so tiny compared to what you’ve endured, and i hope that you find your way back to total health.
i made a fast trip to the coast and am heading back to the cloud forest in a few hours, and will again be offline aside from a few hours each week. please know that i’m thinking of you and sending strong energy in your direction.
love
lisa
Thank you for thinking of me! Began week 5 today of radiation, and tomorrow will be the 3rd chemo treatment. It is strange the way my hair is falling out. We found out later that I have pitikea and not shingles. And what they thought was pneumonia but wasn’t. This is a lung cancer. One that the radiologist thinks he can eradicate. How bout when you leave the coast you make a trip up here and I can hop on the magic carpet. I think sitting in the warm water off the coast somewhere in your neck of the woods, or close by, would be very relaxing. 🙂 Are you game? ^..^
I am so sorry to hear about this experience. I’ll be keeping you in my thoughts and sending lots of good ones your way.
Thank you. It has been a hard road and I look forward to feeling betting.
It has been too long since I have been here. I thought I would come by and see what was going on in your life, and I was stunned to see this. I really do hope you have a speedy recovery.
If you get with another woman who has what you have, will you start singing
♫Shingle belles,
Shingle belles
Shingles all the way♪
A good belly laugh there Al! Needed one of those! Miss you too my friend. That song shingled my sides!
🙂
Huge <<<>>>
When it rains, it pours…then there’s a rainbow!
I will be looking at many rainbows!
Wishing you well!!
Thank you Deborah!
❤
Right back at you Deborah!
Having a positive attitude, a loving husband, and loving critters, should greatly assist in a total and speedy recovery. Besides, you have to stay well to create many more yummy dishes in your new kitchen.
They will all help in a speedy recovery! And, yes, I want to get back into my kitchen. I have some great, easy things in mind!
Thoughts and prayers are with you my foothill friend. ❤💕
Thank you my valley girl friend! 🙂
A positive outlook seems to be the best option. Sending healing thoughts your way.
Thank you! I will be maintaining a positive outlook!
We wish you strength and a quick return to wellness Barbara!
Thank you! I am planning on a quick return to wellness! Hugs to you both!
Best of hope for a speedy and full recovery. Shingles are hopefully the worse part. Good luck to you and family
Thank you Mark!
Let me know if there is anything I can do. I am sure I speak for the community when I say “Let us know if there is anything we can do to help.”
Take good care of yourself.
Thank you TN! I will be taking very good care of myself, and so will my husband!
Barb, always praying for you. Keep smiling. From a survivor.
Thank you very much my dear friend. I will get through this just fine! 😀
Oh dear Barb, my thoughts and prayers are with you. It will be a year this Dec since I finished radiation therapy for the rarest of all rare wonky cell disorders that no one knows much about, and the one thing I learned form it is to really take exquisite care of myself. So if you don;t mind, I’d love to give you a little info of what I found managed the radiation the best. I joined an integrated wellness centre called Inspire Health (they have an on line website with recipes) and started making their meals. I was under the care of two oncologists, my Dr mother, all her Dr friends, and specialist Drs who only deal with recovery, and also with spontaneous remission cases, so maybe a bit of overkill, but that’s what happens in medical families. I upped my healthy and beneficial foods and vitamins (the most important being vitamin D at about 3000iu daily and turmeric…hand fulls of those supplements), and went on something called sea buckthorn (hippophea) supplements, which seem to dissipate excess radiation from the body. I also drank tons of miso soup because that also does a great job of getting rid of the damaging free radicals. Now I had radiation on my neck and face, so lost all taste buds rather quickly and that made it difficult to eat anything, but I managed a cup or two of bone broths every day. Also, I made one of my book journals and drew myself a page each day. (It’s on my blog, search Cancer) If there’s anything I can do to help you, any bits of any kind of info, please ask me. I’d be more than happy to do what I can.
I had no idea you were going through all of this too. I am already on the 3000iu of vitamin D and began that last year. What does the bone broth do for you? Did you get the taste buds back? I am not a fan of miso at all. Is there something that can be substituted? Thanks for the information V and I hope that you are doing well…HUGS!!!!
Bone broth seems to be the most nutritionally dense food and also, because it’s boiled till the bones almost dissolve, it carries the most protein in the easiest absorbent form for rebuilding tissue. Tissue needs tons of protein to rebuild. In my case, I had radiation in my jaw line and left side of my head, and the taste buds shut off within the first week. It’s rather impossible to prepare oneself for that, but eventually everything tasted like sulphuric water (like from Yellowstone) mixed with flour to various thicknesses. (Hey, I lost those pesky last 10 pounds…lol) But taste buds gradually returned and, now, over the past year, they’ve come back to about 75% I think. You probably won’t mind the miso if you get to that loss stage, but it is really important, I understand, to dissipate the radiation damage. There are a few miso based recipes, like the kale Cesar salad dressing on the Inspire Health website: http://www.inspirehealth.ca/recipes and you might be able to get some that way. I’m doing well, thank you so much Barb. No idea if or when the wonky cells will return, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma seems to be pretty persistent, but I’m choosing to believe that it’s over and done with and carrying on taking exquisite care of myself. Check out the journal I made for myself. You might find some inspiration there because I break down each day of treatment so you might be a little more prepared. Oh, and I forgot to say that acupuncture helped with any kind of nausea, pain etc. I also started doing oil pulling with coconut oil. This was recommended by the oncologist dentists, as a way to strengthen teeth and remove bacteria. Takes a bit of getting used to if you have active taste buds though. And after, I got a series of lymphatic drainage massages just to be sure that the lymph system was back working properly. You can ask me anything Barb. I have a line to a bunch of Drs…lol and so every decision made about my treatment and eventual recovery was run thru a consortium of differing opinions. But try the sea buckthorn extracts in pill form, because the oil is just bitter and foul. That’ll help with the radiation damage. Big hugs for now. 😀
Chock full of good information! I hope that I will feel like cooking. We have found some foods available through the regular grocery store that has proteins in them. Big hugs back!
Website?
http://veronicaroth.com/cancer-well-talk-never-mention journal is here, how to make the journal is here: http://veronicaroth.com/how-to-make-a-found-poetry-journal-from-an-old-book/
Thank you V!
You are the bravest, most positive person I know. Thanks for sharing this with your blogging friends.
Wow! I feel rather ordinary. Thank you for thinking this way about me. I needed to share this.
Laughter is the best medicine, as is its companion – positive thinking. With all the things that hit you I can see why you and your husband started laughing at shingles. Understandable if you miss writing some blogs. You will persevere in all of this with the only sad thing being is that it all takes time, but you will deal with that as well to be well.
Laughter and positive thinking are good tools to have and use. I will persevere!
Fairies aside, Love and Hugs for you for a speedy and complete healing and recovery Barb! We are here to support you and we love you!
Thanks you Joy. I want those faeries though because they are fun to play with! Thank you for the love and support!
LOL! Good, I’ll send them your way, they are bothering me. Hahaha!
🙂 Funny!
What a summer you’ve had! At this point, I turn into a tiny little blue fairy and fly above your head and take my magic wand and spread fairy healing dust all over you!~
I love that healing dust. And you turned yourself into a blue fairy. My favorite color! Thanks for spreading healing over me and around my Joy!
Oh cool! Your favorite color!!
It is!
You are being brave and I wish you the best in the treatment that is to come. May both you and your husband have strength to conquer this.
Thank you for the kind words Colline. We are going to come through all of this just fine!
Barb, thanks for sharing your story and an update of your health problems. It seems problems seem to accumulate. I hope you remain upbeat and patient as each problem resolves. You certainly don’t need to worry about blogging, all of your loyal readers will understand. Hang in there.
Thank you Gaz! I love the blogs and all the fabulous people I met through them, including you! Four years ago I found you! We are both remaining upbeat and will will be fighting on heck of a battle that I expect to win! You be well… ^..^
Hard to believe that after successfully battling the first cancer, you have yet another one to face. I’m so sorry to hear it, dear Barb. But, you’re a fighter and you’ll beat this one, too! Your courage is truly inspiring. You know I want to help, and you know where to find me. Love, M
Thank you for the offer of help Marcybee. I mentioned what you said about caregivers and spoke to Paul. He might want to take you up on that. I will beat this one!
Oh my goodness Barb and am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry to read! You know my email is always open from a far should you wish to contact me or instant message. I WISH I could spread my good vibes fairy dust and make all the not so good go away…but please know at least someone out here cares…sending hugs your way and hope you can have at least a good part of any day! Where there’s life, there’s hope they say! HUGS!
There is always hope and there are positive outcomes! I am a total case of positive outcomes! I am looking forward to getting on with the treatments. The sooner the better. I hope that you and Chef Giorgio are doing well. Hugs to you both!