it was such a fun, full weekend of celebrating the completion chemotherapy phase of my treatment and my birthday just 2 days apart, healing and life, the battle blessings, the fight and the fun! Isn’t that just life! I had even bigger plans but I guess my older, wiser new 46-year-old self got the better of me🤓. My counts were actually some of the lowest they’ve been (got go out with a bang!) so had to make my every-other -week trek back to visit my friends at the Cancer Center for my bone marrow boosters Friday and Monday. They’re not quite done with me! Speaking of low blood counts, I was having a great time talking laughing & sharing with my dear friend, amazing Amy, the terrific trauma nurse, about anything and everything as she accompanied me to my final infusion. We had just got the results of the labs they drew off my port as always to check my levels before they start pouring in the poison, the culprit of the low counts. She said they were going to go ahead with the infusion but I needed to come in Friday and Monday for the cell-producing support. Amy and I got on the subject of masks and how it’s gotten so crazy from a medical standpoint. I was like “ I totally get if someone if immunocompromised, then of course they should be careful, isolate, wear a mask when they’re out, etc. to protect themselves,” she just looked at me silly, head tilted, and smiled with a facial expression that read, “like you with the ANC of 0.88?” I could only sheepishly laugh as the nurse had just brought over my labs results saying “ here you go my neutropenic friend” as she handed me the printout showing an ANC (indicating production of new cells in the bone marrow) was quite low, let’s just say.
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To pick up where I left off on my last day of chemo...
Amy & I had a great time sharing & laughing as the “positive poison” poured in my port for the final infusion! Woohoo! Dave was coming to pick me up and take me to lunch after for a celebratory lunch. We were still waiting for the doc to come over to check in so they let him sneak up (they’d just started allowing 1 visitor per patient in- 2 was a “Covid crowd”!) to my cubicle to meet my faithful nurses and see where the magic happened every week for the last 5 months! Since we’d already been waiting hours (from when he was originally scheduled to come) for the oncologist so Dave took matters into his own hands and decided we’d waited long enough. We packed up and they led us through a hallway of bells as they “rung” me out!
As we headed out the front entrance I saw someone walking with balloons and thought “how sweet! Someone else’s final day or birthday is being celebrated too!” Then I realized I recognized the person holding those balloons! ...& the rest of the crowd standing out front with bunches of balloons, beautiful flowers and decorated cars waiting to greet me! Wow! Blown away by the love and support of my family (my 3 boys thanks to the Rona school schedule & my sweet hubby who arranged it all) & dear friends!! We headed over together to rejoice in Gods goodness over lunch.
I had big plans to fill Friday & Saturday with fun!...since it was my birthday & I could😄 but ...I had to few “to dos” (like going back to get a blood cell booster & giving my body a little rest. Ugh). I’d talked to a friend about sleeping on their boat in Dana Point Harbor Friday night so we could walk to coffee and breakfast on the water before we headed to our parasailing 🪂 boat at 10. Perfect. It was all shaping up well until... I hit the wall & started getting chills & hot sweats (sick after I crossed the finish line?!), the boat’s new cushions (aka the bed) weren’t ready & the parasail boat broke down. I succumbed to the signs to stay home & go to bed...& didn’t wake up until 10! Yikes! I guess I needed it! And it did my body good I felt so much better!
Our parasail adventure was rescheduled for 4pm so we (my 4 boys & 1 girl! Kaleb’s girlfriend, Bella. Great addition!) & headed up to Newport Beach for breakfast at Ruby’s on Balboa Pier (I’d wanted to bike from our first NB apartment like we used to when we were first married for old times sake but drove the beautiful coast for times sake instead). After a great day on the water we hit the hot tub at home. A bunch of friends came over to join and celebrate with us!
I thank God for the life He created in me, in His image, to be lived in, with, through and for Him and His glory! With every day He gives me, I pray I “live a life worthy of Him, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit In every good work, growing in my knowledge of“(Colossians 1:10), love for, trust in, obedience to and intimacy WITH Him.
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