4 months under my belt

 This week we started the fifth round (5 months) of chemotherapy. We met with Dr. Skinner Monday for the monthly exam, which went well. The plan is to continue all six rounds of Taxol and Avastin then do another scan to see if more Taxol is needed. If it isn't needed from what is shown on the scan, then we will transition into maintenance Avastin. I will have an infusion every 3 weeks and see Dr. Skinner every 6 weeks. 

I have been having an increase of severity and frequency of my nose bleeds. I was referred to an ENT who I saw last week. Unfortunately, my experience was not a good one. Some of the silver nitrate used to cauterize the area leaked out onto my nose and part of my upper lip. That was the only part that burned and hurt for days. That part is healed now after an abundance of Aquaphor but my nose is still bleeding, worse than before. I will be seeing a doctor at a different practice next week, hopefully with a better outcome this time! 

I'm on the generic version of the Avastin, MVASI, which Dr. Skinner has seen more nasal issues, like my nosebleeds. They are going to work with insurance to see if we can get it approved for the name brand Avastin for future infusions. 

My fatigue is definetly getting worse but to be expected this far into chemo. There are some days where I stay in bed and rest for the majority of the day and night. Thankfully, I have an amazing husband who picks up a lot of the parent and household duties so I can focus on getting the rest my body needs. I still have neuropathy (dullness of sensation) in my fingertips but started taking Vitamin B6 which is helping. My hemoglobin is low so I'm starting on an iron supplement to try to boost it up. 

The last month has been full of fun memories as a family. Wilson finished his Quickball season, Parker turned two, and we were able to go see a minor league baseball game! 

Our whole family really enjoyed Wilson's first team sport. He was one of the youngest on the team but he had great skills. We are just working on not playing in the dirt when he gets bored and the listening skills will come with age. Wil was a great coach and volunteer!

We were able to go to Apex to my parents' house to celebrate Parker's second birthday. Parker loves Elmo so I bought some decorations and made the others. She loved them!

 The cousins had a blast playing together. We got to celebrate Aunt Owl's (Wilson's new name for Aunt AL) belated birthday as well. She is the BEST present opener, she always gets so excited. We were able to spend Memorial Day playing in the pool since the chemo room was closed. Wilson never wanted to get out of the pool!

The Winston-Salem Dash Game was such a blast! It was on my week 4 of chemo, which I don't have an infusion, so I was feeling pretty good. It was cloudy and had a good breeze, so we didn't get too hot. We even ran into some of our friends there, the Jacksons! Wilson was able to run the bases when the game was over, which he thoroughly enjoyed! The mascot, Bolt, got was too close to Parker for her comfort. She screamed and held onto me for dear life!

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray that the chemo continues to work on the tumors and the CT scan in a few months shows remarkable change again!

2. For the side effects (mainly nose bleeds, neuropathy, and fatigue) to be well managed and interventions to work on relief of symptoms. 

3. For endurance for the race ahead, for the whole family, especially for Wil as he is my main caregiver and support.