Chemo 5C: Time with my sis-in-law

Something that a lot of people don't have to think about is being sick around a chemo patient. Even a small cold or the flu could land me in the hospital since my body can't fight it off as easily. My baby sister, Anna, was suppose to come to this infusion and we were both really excited about that! Unfortunately, she developed a sore throat and then a cough... then muscle aches. We all decided it would be best for her not to come. She ended up being diagnosed with the flu (despite getting the flu shot) so it was a really good thing we kept our distance.

It is such a blessing to have Wil's family so close to us. My sister-in-law, Holly, was able to come with me today. A big shout-out and thanks to my momma-in-law, Connie. She watched my two nieces so Holly was able to come to my infusion with me. I slept so hard in the chemo room that I forgot to take our picture today! Oops! I even caught myself snoring several times. This happens a lot in the chemo rooms, so I just fit in with the rest of the crowd. I was excited because I got to sit in a new chemo recliner! It was only one week old, had two side tables attached, and was much more comfy! It is the small things in life to be excited about. So I blame my snoring on the comfy chair.

My hemoglobin actually came up this week! I mistyped last week, it was actually 9.6 and today it was 10.4! And my ANC (mature white blood cells) was 1200! So above the 1000 mark where I am considered to be neutropenic. All that means is I have very low/minimal immunity levels. So these were both a big answered prayer. Thank you all for praying for this for us!

I thought I would share a story about how Wil and I met. It was through Holly, Wil's sister. She was actually my preceptor and trainer in ICU when I first graduated nursing school. Apparently she liked me enough to let me join the family and be stuck with me forever! I brought in a book for Holly to read when I was nearing the end of my training. At that point, she was just looking over my shoulder and had little to do. The book is called, "What's Your Poo Telling You." We deal with a lot of poop in the hospital world and this book was perfect. It was written by a comedian and a GI doc. It gives funny names for all the different types of poop and the scientific reasoning behind it. Holly read it in one shift and said "You would be perfect for my brother." Wil and I have the same sense of humor. That Christmas, Holly bought me the sequel, "What's My Pee Telling Me" and bought the first book for Wil. It has been love ever since   :)

Next week, no chemo but a check up with the doctor and labs. Thanks for checking in!

Taking a look back....

I was looking back at pictures today and found that I never posted pictures from surgery. During the first surgery and hospital stay, I only had one or two pictures. The picture I had taken was actually of my mom sleeping in my hospital bed  :)   Don't worry, I was taking a break from the bed and sitting in the recliner at that point.

I told Wil that I wanted to document this journey better this go around. So I made him take pictures of me, even if it was at my worst and I looked like crap. Looking back at 6 months ago, makes me realize how far we have come. It is tough for both Wil and me during 6 months in chemo to keep the end in sight sometimes. We tend to struggle with it the most right at the halfway point. Looking at these pictures makes me feel like surgery was SO long ago, and in a sense it was. We know that the finish line is right ahead of us now and can't wait to be done with chemo!

We will start with these photos, they are from the day before surgery. Since they cut open my abdomen to look around in there, they want you cleaned out... so that means BOWEL PREP! Not a lot of fun let me tell you. I can only have clear liquids that day (and no red dye) and I have to drink Gatorade. This is special Gatorade though. It has an entire bottle of Miralax in it... ooooo ya....

I had to drink that entire jug during the day

Our awesome neighbors, the Mazzolas, made me jello to eat. It says "Fight like a girl" in jello letters! We are so blessed to have them as friends and neighbors.

Nieces Naomi and Nola, family always makes you smile! 

This about sums up me :)

Chemo 5B: Rough recovery

Last week was a doozy recovering from the "BIG CHEMO." Exhaustion, nausea, hot flashes galore. I stayed in bed most of the week, which meant Wil had a lot of alone time at night. I worked two partial days since I wasn't feeling up to working. It took so much energy to just walk downstairs, plus the only thing that I wanted/could eat was toast, cereal, or pancakes. I started to round the corner on Friday and was feeling much better by Saturday. It was nice to be able for Wil and I to catch up with each other, relax, and to stay up past 9 pm!

My dad came into town last night so he could come to my treatment today. My labs today looked pretty good. My ANC (mature white blood cell count) was 1800 which is really good! Just continue to pray that it stays up next week, that is when it usually drops. I don't want to have to get another shot to boost my counts. My hemoglobin is dropping lower, now it is 9.8. This explains why I am getting so short of breath with stairs and exertion. It is not low enough to require any intervention right now though.

Wil and I are doing well and are in good spirits. It feels good to know that we only have ONE more inpatient chemo to go and 3 more Taxol infusions left! This has been a tough road but we know that there is a reason and a purpose for it. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

On a sadder note, my family is having to put down our dog, Kalah, today. She was a sweet dog growing up and we all had fun training her to do tricks. Plus, mom's recommendation whenever we weren't feeling good was; drink lots of water and walk the dog. It didn't matter what the ailment was, those were the solutions. We know that she won't be hurting anymore now.

Chemo 5A: Inpatient chemo went amazing!

I know that I keep bragging on my boss and my work, but Susan (my boss) coordinated such an amazing thing for us. She had personalized bracelets made that say TeamKatie and Cancer Sucks on the other side. She brought them to all of the other NC centers and sent me a collage of pictures. It meant so much to me, especially since I only have worked at one of these other centers.

Early morning!

Our second to last inpatient chemo started bright and early. Wil and I packed just in case we had to stay overnight but we were praying to be able to come home when the infusion was over. Well, plan for the worst and pray for the best! It seemed to work! We were admitted at 7:20 am. I was accessed, labs were sent, then my pre-medications started. Around bag #8 out of #12, I got more pre-medications. This seemed to be the trick! No reaction at all! Wil and I were home by 8:30 that night. It was a long day but so worth it to be able to sleep in our own bed.

I try to get pictures of all of our nurses and visitors, but I missed a few this time! Jennifer McBride (friend and old co-worker from ICU) stopped by before her shift and Wil's parents brought us dinner. Thank you all for the continued prayers and support. It means so much to us both!

Julie brought us lunch!

Tonya (my main desensitizing day nurse!) and her lunch break!

Wil trying to get some work done



May look dirty but Kristin (friend and Nurse) brought us Oreo truffles! Yum!

Night time nurses!

Friend, Kim, from my GYN cancer support group. Love her!

Wil and I getting ready for discharge!!!

Getting ready for Inpatient chemo, again!

EVERYONE CALM DOWN! We are ok! Sorry I didn't post this on Monday. We were running errands and still recovering from the holidays.

Last week, on Tuesday, I got the Neulasta shot. The injection is placed the back of my arm and it stimulates my bone marrow. My counts start coming up within a day but will help longer as well. I was achy in my knees, hips, and back for about 6 days. Nothing really helps with it when the pain sets in. For some reason, taking Claritin/Zyrtec before and after the injection is suppose to help. I did this but still wasn't feeling amazing. On top of all of that, I caught a cold (viral only since I didn't have a fever). I am starting to get over it now, but have passed it onto Wil.

We were able to spend time with both sides of our family, minimally though since I spent most of my time in bed. Needless to say, we look forward to Christmas next year without chemo or shots or colds! Wil is an amazing caretaker, making sure that I was going to bed when I needed to rest and getting me whatever I needed.

We saw Alison (GYN Physician Assistant) and Dr. Skinner this Monday after getting my labs drawn. No chemo this week as it is our off week, just preparing for inpatient chemo on January 5th. My exam went well according to Alison. Labs were good, potassium was low again. 3.4 (normal is 3.5-4.5) and I'm taking 20 mEq once daily. So I just have to increase it back to twice daily. These are some horse pills though!

The plan for Monday is similar to the previous weeks. I will still be taking the pre-medications all weekend at all hours of the day and night. I will still get my regular IV pre-medications when I get admitted but they will re-dose me with them right before they start my Carbo. This way, they are hoping for the steroids/Benadryl/Pepcid to not wear off when the Carbo is infusing. Asking for prayers on Monday that the infusion goes well with no reaction!

It is weird to think that this time, 2 years ago, Wil and I were celebrating New Year's Eve in the chemo room. It was my very last chemo, or so we thought. God had different plans for us. We know that it will all work for our good, and we have already seen some good come out of all of this. This reminds me of my favorite verse:

Chemo Round 4C: White blood cells not cooperating

I had my labs drawn today and we are not very excited about them  :(  My ANC (absolute neutrophil count) is the mature white blood cells that help your body fight off infection. My providers like this value to be over 1500 for treatment but the last couple of weeks mine has been 1000 (when steroids aren't affecting the values). I have been cleared to get treatment even though they were slightly lower than they wanted. Anything under 1000, I am considered to be neutropenic. This just means that I am more prone to getting sick or an infection. A common cold can send us to the hospital. To combat this, I will be getting a shot 24 hours after my chemo ended. It is called Neulasta which is a long acting shot that puts my bone marrow (where white blood cells are produced) into overdrive. I only had to have this shot once last time and was NOT a fan of the side effects. It helped my counts tremendously but 24 hours after getting the shot, it felt like I had been beaten with a baseball bat all over my body. I will get the shot at the cancer center tomorrow at 2 pm. This means that I won't be feeling great for Christmas Eve and for Christmas. I am taking some anti-inflammatory medications, Claritin, and Zyrtec to help combat the side effects. Wil and I will be traveling to Cary to see the Riegel side of the family for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. We changed our travel date to Tuesday, before the side effects set in.

The best part about chemo and was brightened this whole day was being able to get treatment with our buddies, the Riazzis! Mike even made sure that we were able to have seats next to each other. He had to pull some strings and our wonderful nurse, Allison, agreed to take both of us at the same time! She is such a sweetheart!

You may be wondering why I am posting this so late at night. I am absolutely exhausted right after I get my chemo, mainly from the IV Benadryl. I came home and took a power nap before going over to my in-laws for dinner and presents. I was still really tired at their house but once I get in bed, the steroids kicked in and I'm wide awake. I tried taking Benadryl pills to put me to sleep, didn't work. I then took an Ativan that my PA prescribed for when the roids keep me awake. Let's hope it helps soon!


We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We have so much to be thankful for, especially this time of the year when we focus on our Savior's birth. God sent his own Son, separated from Him and knowing the gruesome death Jesus would face at the end of His earthly life. This was all out of love for us so we could spend eternity with Him in heaven.

Chemo 4B: H.O.P.E. and recovering from Carbo

This last week was a tough week for fatigue and nausea for me. I "worked" Wednesday through Friday. I ended up leaving a few hours early Wednesday and Thursday I went home for a 4.5 hour nap. There is nothing that can battle fatigue other than rest and Wil is really good about helping me during that. Nausea is helped by some pills that also make me tired. It is a vicious cycle sometimes. I turned the corner on Friday, and after taking it easy on Saturday, felt almost back to my new normal.

One of my favorite cups

My counts today all looked good, but steroids (since I got pre-meds all weekend and double dose IV) can falsely elevate these. Treatment went normally today followed by a LOVELY nap in my own bed. Wil and I forgot to take a picture in the treatment room, so this one was taken on the way home. We were busy trying to see our buddies, the Riazzis. They FINALLY switched to Mondays to hang out with us for their last 3 treatments. She is in the home stretch and we are so very excited for them!








Yesterday, with some of our small group from church, volunteered at
H.O.P.E. It stands for Help Our People Eat and is a wonderful organization. They take bagged lunches to low income neighborhoods with little or no access to healthy meals. Anyone 0-18 gets a healthy bagged lunch and a carton of milk and any adult can get a bag of produce. Tim drove the truck and we went to 4 different neighborhoods to hand out these meals. There was also a van that went to 3 locations. They ended up with extra meals this week and these were donated to the women's shelter. Wil and I were amazed with their use of resources, donations, and efficiency of the whole operation. Here is their link if you are looking for somewhere to donate or volunteer. We highly recommend it and we can't wait to go back and help!  http://www.hopews.org/our-mission

Tim driving the big truck

Wil, Kyler, and Brady riding in the back of the truck
around one of the neighborhoods

A-Dre asked Wil if he had any more Santa hats. Wil gave him his
NCSU hat and found out that is where A-Dre wants to go when
he grows up! He even did the wolfpack sign to Wil!

The boys getting the truck unloaded at one of the sites

Our whole small group!

Wil and I with the boys. They did such an amazing job
and were so excited to hand out meals to all the kids!