Hey everyone!
I know it's been a while since I posted anything on here. That's because I've been trying to get going with life, and enjoying being able to get out of the house more and rejoining my family & friends in doing things outside the house. The simple things like going to the movies. ("Beasts of the Southern Wild" & "The Dark Knight Rises" were both good - but 2 hours plus?) Heading to pot lucks @ church. Heck, going to church services! You don't realize how much you miss the little things until you can't do them.
I did get a few warnings (thanks Mom, my sis Coco & my Praying Mom, Sis. Hill!) that maybe I'm trying to do too much, but I was being careful. Besides, my CA-125 numbers have been looking real good, so the cancer cells have been getting knocked out by the chemo drugs. Happy happy, joy joy, right?
Well, while I was rejoicing over those numbers, there was another number the doctors were monitoring...my White Blood Cell (WBC) count. Those are the cells that fight off any infections going on inside the body. If it's too high, that means something's going on inside you that you need to have checked out ASAP. If it's too low, however, it means you're at a higher risk of getting an infection and not having the resources to fight it off. Unfortunately the WBC count also goes lower as a result of the chemo drugs. The chemo treatments can be done at the doctor's discretion when the count is low, but when they see it's below the 'low normal' level they will usually choose to cancel the chemo treatment for a week to give the bone marrow a chance to regenerate enough WBC to be able to do the treatment.
Which is what happened today.
With only two scheduled treatments left, you can imagine how badly I wanted to do this one so I could finish in September and really refocus on the recovery. So I woke up this morning a bit - no, more than a bit - depressed.
So after some time in prayer, I realized there's a secret weapon in my arsenal - the cell phone! No, not necessarily for calls (though I'll probably call a few folks later today), but for text messages. So in the midst of feeling blue I sent a message to my sisters & my sister-friends. Even a couple of big brothers!
It was amazing to see how fast the replies came back. By the time I got to the last one I was in tears with a smile on my face. Even though I wasn't talking to them in person, it was as if they had their arm around my shoulders saying 'we care about you. We're praying for and with you. And we love you!".
**pauses while collecting myself**
I just needed a couple of reminders that God is truly in control, and that all things are working for my good (Romans 8:28). And now, with that blessed reassurance, I'll take things one day at a time. And listen to my elders about the 'too much running' thing. :-)
So have a great day, take time to smell the roses. And yes....Stay Vertical!
I know it's been a while since I posted anything on here. That's because I've been trying to get going with life, and enjoying being able to get out of the house more and rejoining my family & friends in doing things outside the house. The simple things like going to the movies. ("Beasts of the Southern Wild" & "The Dark Knight Rises" were both good - but 2 hours plus?) Heading to pot lucks @ church. Heck, going to church services! You don't realize how much you miss the little things until you can't do them.
I did get a few warnings (thanks Mom, my sis Coco & my Praying Mom, Sis. Hill!) that maybe I'm trying to do too much, but I was being careful. Besides, my CA-125 numbers have been looking real good, so the cancer cells have been getting knocked out by the chemo drugs. Happy happy, joy joy, right?
Well, while I was rejoicing over those numbers, there was another number the doctors were monitoring...my White Blood Cell (WBC) count. Those are the cells that fight off any infections going on inside the body. If it's too high, that means something's going on inside you that you need to have checked out ASAP. If it's too low, however, it means you're at a higher risk of getting an infection and not having the resources to fight it off. Unfortunately the WBC count also goes lower as a result of the chemo drugs. The chemo treatments can be done at the doctor's discretion when the count is low, but when they see it's below the 'low normal' level they will usually choose to cancel the chemo treatment for a week to give the bone marrow a chance to regenerate enough WBC to be able to do the treatment.
Which is what happened today.
With only two scheduled treatments left, you can imagine how badly I wanted to do this one so I could finish in September and really refocus on the recovery. So I woke up this morning a bit - no, more than a bit - depressed.
So after some time in prayer, I realized there's a secret weapon in my arsenal - the cell phone! No, not necessarily for calls (though I'll probably call a few folks later today), but for text messages. So in the midst of feeling blue I sent a message to my sisters & my sister-friends. Even a couple of big brothers!
It was amazing to see how fast the replies came back. By the time I got to the last one I was in tears with a smile on my face. Even though I wasn't talking to them in person, it was as if they had their arm around my shoulders saying 'we care about you. We're praying for and with you. And we love you!".
**pauses while collecting myself**
I just needed a couple of reminders that God is truly in control, and that all things are working for my good (Romans 8:28). And now, with that blessed reassurance, I'll take things one day at a time. And listen to my elders about the 'too much running' thing. :-)
So have a great day, take time to smell the roses. And yes....Stay Vertical!
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