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| It is always a good reminder to know that God sees me Wonderfully and beautifully made. Even when I don't feel like it! |
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| Round 2 Completed |
I get my treatment of TCHP on Wednesdays. The Neulasta shot injects into my arm on Thursdays. By Saturday I can no longer fake it, I feel like crap! Sunday hits and its worse than Saturday. Monday hits and its slightly better than Sunday but I'm pretty much still good for nothing. Tuesday hits and I slowly begin to feel like myself again. By Thursday I've made it through the worst of it and am on the home stretch to the next treatment. I feel tired, nauseous, sensitive to smell, irritable, have number 3 that gives me the shakes and makes me want to lay in my bed the rest of the day. So ya, that's pretty much what those days look like. Added on to the usual hardships comes the hardship of losing your hair. As many of you know I am doing cold caps with hopes of not losing all of my hair. I do not know what to expect but I have read that it is normal to lose at least half of your hair. The difference is that it doesn't come out in clumps but more like shedding and thinning. This really messes with your mind. As soon as Round 2 completed I started to shed like crazy. And I mean like major crazy. I started to wonder if this was all worth it. Should I just shave it all off and be done with it. The stress of keeping your hair is also a huge factor and it has been hard. I did get some reassurance from a friend and previous cold capper that it is worth it. I needed to hear that. I am curious how I will be able to retain my hair with the next 4 treatments still ahead of me. The pictures below show the progression from round 2 to round 3. Lots of shedding and lots of dry scalp. Loads of fun!!!
The newest side effects that I have experienced with round 2, have been a little extra bruising ( my iron is borderline low), dry sinuses which cause nose bleeds, swollen glands on my worst days and then it goes away, and a wonderfully beautiful chemo rash on my face due to dry skin caused by the chemo.
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| Bruising on my arm |
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| My Chemo Face Rash |
I go in tomorrow (9/14/16) for round number 3. The few days leading up to the next treatment are also a little hard. I know that I will be down and out for the next week and a half so I have a lot of pressure on myself to get as much done as possible on those few days leading up. This time around I found the energy to cook up some homemade salsa and tomato sauce with our garden tomatoes. I couldn't let those sit around and go to waste. The day before is really even crazy as I have to go and get blood work done, gather my dry ice for cold capping, prep the cold caps, and then get the house in order. We have been gifted by dear friends a cleaning service every other week which is so great! But this time around I have tons of laundry to put away, organizing in my kitchen to do and just plain old clutter sitting around that I know needs to be dealt with before the cleaner comes. All that to say, I've been busy.
This last past week our family had the wonderful opportunity to go on vacation to Duck, North Carolina in the Outer Banks. That is probably why these last three weeks went by a little faster. The saying goes...Time flies when you are having fun! Lets just say it was a great distraction, and much needed time to get away from it all. Here are a few pictures that capture the week.
One of the greatest things about that trip from a moms point of view was having laundry on the same floor as our bedrooms. I would love that in my house! A girl can dream right! But seriously, I told my husband...we need to make this happen :).
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| Chemo and basement laundry is no bueno! |
Their are two campaigns going on, on my behalf. I thought I should update you as well on my current status with those.
The first one is financial. As many of you know, I have a fundraiser going that many of you have contributed towards. Thank you so much!!! I am so blessed by your generosity. During this process I have applied for a state funded program that would have helped me with my financial responsibilities. Unfortunately that application was denied. So that leaves me for now back to square one. I have a very high deductible which is about $10,000 out of pocket before I get full coverage. And on top of that, that amount will reset in November with the new year. I will exceed over $20,000 in expenses before this whole ordeal is said and done to say the very least. I was very hopeful that the program that I applied for would be approved and I wouldn't have to worry as much. So please if you feel led share my story, spread the word. Here is the link to give: https://www.youcaring.com/barnabas-and-amanda-agwuocha-602767
The second campaign is our meal train. So many of you have blessed us with meals. Thank you again for that. A few weeks ago October, November and December dates were added. If you would like to be a part of that, we would be really grateful for that help. We are not picky at all. If you are out of town we don't mind the use of grubhub or something like that. Thank you again for loving our family in this way. Here is the link to sign up https://mealtrain.com/md91g6
Ok...I'm signing off for now. Time to go fill those cold caps with some dry ice!!!
Check out my facebook page tomorrow for some live feeds on the day!
Love,
Amanda
If you want to send a card. My address is 3979 Brandon Rd. Pittsburgh Pa 15212
These mean the world to me!
Thank you to all of you who have been helping us on a daily basis with meals, helping with the children, grocery shopping, cards, and everything else I'm forgetting right now. Thank you!!!
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