Half Way Done with Chemo on My Half Birthday

I am now officially 37.5 years old.  My half-birthday is March 10.  I always know this because my cousin Trevor's birthday is March 10.  So we are exactly 6 months apart and get to celebrate our half-birthdays on each others actual birthdays.  Happy Birthday Trevor!!

And now I'm half done with my chemo, too.  Yay!  Everything went well again yesterday and I didn't have any problems or reactions.  Juan, Dawn, and Beth kept me company and we had fun visiting.  My blood cell counts were all good.  I was a little anemic, which Dr. Bridges said is to be expected with the chemo, but it wasn't low enough that I couldn't have my treatment.  I had my same nurse, Teresa, for my infusion again.  She suggested shaving my head all the way down (like how you shave your legs) this week because the rest of my hair will really fall out and it might fall right onto my dinner plate or whatever is near me.

I was there over lunch time again so I went with some really healthy fare this time.  Pepperoni pizza which actually quite good, also a brownie, some fresh fruit, and my old hospital standby... a vanilla milkshake!

After chemo I went home and read some of my book.  Then Manibhu stopped by (she was in town for a quick work trip) and I got to visit with her.  After she left for the airport I went for a walk.  It was so sunny and warm outside!  I walked 2 miles and it felt good.  Last night Seeger's invited us over to have dinner with them.  It reminded me of way back before we had any kids of our own, and we would have dinner with them quite a lot like that... only back then their (2) kids were babies and now they are teenagers plus a third child who just turned 9!

Beth had brand new hair clippers so after dinner I asked if she would shave my head again, this time with no guard.  I figured her clippers would be sharper than ours and more comfortable.  We sat on the patio and she got a turn shaving my head.  Now there is just this rough stubble and I do need to shave it all the way down because it catches on my hats.  Also, it appears someone may have dropped me on my head as a baby because I have dent or flat spot or something going on on one side.  Ha ha!  The Evan's came over so we got to visit with them, too.  Then I started to feel kind of tired so we went home.  Here's a picture of my latest hair cut.  A hair cut I never imagined I'd have!

Today I went to work and then had my Neulasta shot.  Bring on the bone pain.  Dr. Bridges said the tightness I felt in my chest and neck last time sounded like a result of the Neulasta and bone pain in my sternum.  I'm taking my Claritin so that will help.  I'm rinsing my mouth all the time with my salt-baking soda-water concoction.  So far no problems, although my tongue is already starting to feel a little weird.

Our house is very quiet with the kids being in Tekoa.  We miss them, but I'll admit it's kind of nice, too.  Thank you mom and dad for taking good care of them.  I know you will all have a lot of fun together!  I worked on picking things up and putting them away the last couple days, because today a house cleaner is coming to clean my house, courtesy of my sweet sisters-in-law, Manibhu and Chetan.  What was really nice was after putting all the toys, blankets, papers, crayons, etc. away, they stayed put away!  Someone didn't dump markers all over the floor right after I put them in their cubby!  I kind of forgot what that was like.  And when I got home from work today my house was all clean!  Clean floors, clean counters and sinks and showers and toilets, dusted and vacuumed.  She even cleaned on top of the fridge and wiped down the washer and dryer.  I was hesitant to accept this gift as it seemed overly generous and I feel like I am capable of cleaning plus I have a capable husband, but it really is a most wonderful gift.  Thank you girls so much!!!  The only problem, as I mentioned, is I'm fairly confident when my treatments are finished, I will still not want to clean my house all that bad and so I might just have to hire Celicia as a regular!

I have another person coming on March 25 to clean as well.  Prior to Manibhu and Chetan's gift, I had signed up to participate in a program called "Cleaning for a Reason" - Krista told me about this non-profit organization that works with maid services throughout the nation to provide free housecleaning once a month for four months to women undergoing cancer treatment.  I signed up and got matched with a local business called "Meticulous Man Services."  Yes, it's a man, which I don't think is probably all that common in this line of work.  Anyway, the way it will work out I'll have someone there to clean every other week for the next few months (it was determined once a month might not be enough) and it will be so nice to not have to worry about that.  My house is going to be cleaner than it has been for the last 8 years!