Chemo #3 is DONE!

A distant memory, and none too pleasant. Actually, the process itself isn't that bad, but that foggy, nauseous, hit by a truck feeling sucks.

(The only hair I have left, on Gab's beautiful poster!)

Truthfully, this time 'round, I felt surprisingly good on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. I thought it might be because I as soon as I woke, I raced downstairs to pop my Emend for the day. That's the anti-nausea medicine I take day of and the two days following.  I read that it is more effective if taken before the nausea actually strikes. But those two mornings I also felt a bit more clear headed than the previous cycles, and I don't think the Emend does that.

I'd like to attribute it to the extra TLC from my Mom and Dad -- what else could it be?!

Even felt good enough to hit DQ on Thursday for blizzards.

Blizzards all around and a regular banana split for Grandpa.

Banana split blizzard with vanilla ice cream for me. I could eat these, craved them actually, through the first half of my pregnancy with Gaby. I'm so glad Nick reminded me of this, cuz we've made the trip to DQ after every round of chemo, in those first few days when little else in the way of food holds any appeal for me. And they've always been both filling and yummy.

Me and my Daddy!

But man, or should I say woman, cannot live on Blizzards alone, so eventually, I revert to my second chemo food of choice, which I also ate for a short time during my second pregnancy and haven't eaten again since. Until now.

Hamburger Helper. Beef Noodle. Only. Can't even think about trying any other varieties. And of course a cucumber salad, which is just sliced cukes dressed in sour cream and white wine vinegar, seasoned salt and pepper. The cucumber salad I could eat anytime. The hamburger helper, not so much. As I said, haven't had it in almost 10 years and don't imagine eating again once chemo is done! We'll see.

The other indulgence I've allowed myself is bottled water. Chilled in the downstairs fridge. I usually do not drink bottled water. Our fridge filters water just fine and I fill up my cool Kal LoveLife water bottle, keeping it in the fridge full time. But with the altered taste of just about everything I put it my mouth, I realized that I had a better chance of drinking more water by going bottled. Even IT doesn't taste great the first 2 or 3 days after chemo, but for me, it's the best tasting liquid at that time.

A case of 32 is $4 at Sam's and I do recycle all of the bottles. I DO intend to revert back to my old ways once chemo is done. But for now, this is how I do it.

And that's also a Zofran on the tray, another anti-nausea medicine I supplement the Emend with. The Emend seems to be very effective, but doesn't last the day. And I only have it for Tue/Wed/Thur and find I need to deal with nausea longer than that.

Besides the added bonus of my Mom and Dad being here to cheer me and take care of us, there is always the kindness and generosity of friends and family.

Amy brought over these beautiful flowers from her garden, as well as some equally beautifully arranged herbs, some veggies and some eggs from her chickens. The veggieswere yummy grilled! I added some mushrooms and onions as well as the zucchini Kathy brought over from her garden a couple of weeks ago and we had them for dinner when I was able to enjoy them (Monday)

Julie left tea biscuits in the door. Something else I feel like eating.

Cards from near and far. Janine, Jackie at the golf course, A. Verna and Andrea and Don. A collection of headcoverings and hats from Mary Ellen. Beautiful and appreciated.

Emails, IM's, voice messages, you name it. I would love to take more time to answer all of these beautiful sentiments that come my way. Like Peg and Jennell, who left messages on my cell phone, which I'm VERY BAD at listening to. I just heard them YESTERDAY, and I think they were a week or two old! Sorry ladies. And Heidi, I'm sure you found the information you were looking for elsewhere, as I just heard your message yesterday too! Sorry.

I feel I'm truly on the home stretch now. In two weeks, I'll feel crappy again. But it will be the last time that chemo will make me feel that way. And I'm thinking, because it's the LAST time, maybe that will perk me up and get me through it. We'll see.

Day Before Round Three

In my mind, I try to get a lot done on this day, knowing that I'll be down and out for the next few days. I think the steroids help cuz I don't seem to get as tired as other days in this cycle. I guess that's why I have trouble sleeping on those days. I believe that's listed as a side effect. Along with heartburn, which, yeah, I get. But I haven't had the whirlies since the first time. Must have gotten used to that!

The day before and after chemo I'm required to take steroids, which are also administered the day of. I've been given lorazepam to help me sleep, which I confirmed is OK to take the night before chemo. Learned that the hard way, after getting no sleep the night before round 2. Round 1 also, but I attributed that to nerves. Turns out it was probably the roids.

So I'm sitting up in bed, watching the power slowing drain, waiting for the lorazepam to take effect, listening to Gaby breathing beside me, missing Marc some 7000 miles away in Tokyo, and so very thankful that my Mom and Dad travelled here to day to be with us during round 3.

Just as soon as it was confirmed that I would be undergoing chemo, they offered to come here, anytime, if we needed them. That's very comforting and reassuring. All of my life I've always been able to count on my parents and this is no different. Love you guys, so much!!

Their flight out of Winnipeg left late, so they missed their connection in Minneapolis. Instead of arriving here at 1:45, the flight they had to take was scheduled to arrive at 5:48. Now, it was early, which was a good thing. Normally, they take the train and I'm picking them up at Glenside at 4. Instead, it was 7:30. But they heerrreeeee -- that's all that matters. And they got to know that Twin Cities airport pretty well!!

Grandma and Grandpa travelled with one suitcase and a carry on. Good thing, cuz good ole Delta charged them $25 to check that bag.

If it wasn't for all of the goodies they bring whenever they visit, they could probably just get away with a carry on, or at least checking one bag and not having to deal with much of a carry on. Check this out!!

You cannot get Dad's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies here. Nor can you get Caramilks. We've recently seen Aero Bars at Fresh Market but they cost a fortune. And you most certainly can't get Tenderloin Kube here. Nothing close! In Canada, or at least in Winnipeg, we call it kubasa, or kobassa, whether you're Ukrainian or not. It's known as kielbasa here, and I've yet to find anything that tastes as good as Tenderloin's. It's so lean and garlicky and yummy .Nothing like it! And because it's made of pork, and vacuum sealed, there's no problem bringing it across the border. Notice how we don't ask them to shop the duty free for us -- just chocolate and kube!

(Not pictured is a giant bag of dill pickle sun flower seeds for Gaby to share with Grandpa. They didn't waste any time getting their respective 'spitz' containers out and cracking a few dozen after dinner!)

Last but not least is my Mom's fruit cake. There have been countless jokes made about fruitcakes. Regifting, door stops, heard 'em all. But those people have never tasted my  Mom's light (white) fruit cake. Give me a cuppa tea, Earl Grey with milk and a touch of sugar, a couple of slices of Mom's fruit cake and I'm in heaven.

You might be wondering about the date on the cake. When she makes the cakes in early fall for Christmas, the recipe calls for rum to be poured over the baked loaves. She then puts them inside a crock in the basement and they sit, and moisten til Christmas. Can't taste the rum, but it must both add moisture and act as a preservative, because we often eat them into the following summer and they fine.

Me, I think I'll have some for breakfast. During chemo, if it appeals to you, you eat it. And fruit cake for breakfast appeals to me!

But what I'm looking forward to even more is sharing breakfast with my Mom and Dad, even if they're not on board with the fruit cake idea themselves. Did I mention how much I love you guys?! XO