Skip to main content

Where did November go?

Episode XCVI - And Time that gave doth now his gift confound...


What happened to November? Time just seems to get away from me. A whirlwind of activities have happened this month. I have been going regularly to my OT appointments for lymphedema, I have increased my activity resulting in odd physical reactions, I have visited family for the holidays, and I actually have a real hairstyle...



What is beginning to look like an on-purpose hairdo...


My hair is growing so slowly! After months and months of hair growth, I finally felt it was time to go to a salon to get my hair cut. I usually use a walk-in place because I have such little hair. However it was time to actually style what is now on my head. When you go from bald to hair it has very little shape and grows in like a bad mullet.


I seriously keep getting mullets during the growing out phases! At least now I am happy to finally get a hair cut that resulted in a style. I finally feel like I am actually getting bangs that are worth brushing. Seriously, I really do not require a hairbrush. The simplicity of the short hair is actually nice. If I do not brush my hair... does not matter. If I do not blow dry my hair... does not matter. In general, the short hair is extremely low maintenance. And I will never be afraid to cut my hair short again!!!!

The lack of hair has also been convenient for swimming. I have been increasing my swimming to include additional time in water aerobics. I am one of the youngest in the classes and I am also trailing behind some of the women in there. The 80 year old women are actually kicking my butt in the class... it is slightly embarrassing.


The old ladies are schooling me...


So now that I am doing 45 minutes of aerobics and 45 minutes - 1 hour of lap swimming, I am feeling the pain outside of class. Sadly, the more I have increased my exercise the more it is affecting me outside of the water.  It is not that I am sore and tired, I am actually hurting. The very low impact of water was suppose to be easy on my body. I am feeling it in my back and my nervous system. My general symptoms and complaints began to re-emerge as I increased my exercising and activity level. Then I got a few new ones...

Not a stroke... just a slight face droop...


My face began to look like I had a slight stroke in the evenings. My left side began to droop. It seemed to happen more regularly and in the evenings when I was worn down. Besides my noticeable face issues, I was having increased muscle spasms, neuropathy, and increased pain. After I had repeated nights of facial drooping, I called the doctor. He increased my Lyrica dosage and the symptoms began to clear up... for the most part!?!?!

Even though I was physically exhausted, I had some new exciting things happen that made me ignore all that. My OT is one of those people in life who encourages and truly advocates for her patients. She knows how much I love painting so she help facilitate using my artwork at the therapy offices. Not only are they up to help other cancer patients feel good, they are letting me put brochures out to hopefully sell some artwork. Bonus!!!



Me & my OT.
Plus, a bit of artwork in the therapy office at the cancer center...



Originally I thought they would want a piece or two on the walls, but they wanted to use work in multiple rooms. So, I got my painting clothes on and spent a few days creating new abstract pieces to be used. It was fun (and exhausting). But, how could I not take advantage of this new opportunity? I was so lucky to actually have my artwork on the walls for people to enjoy... especially other cancer patients! To check out more of my artwork  - click here.

Not only did I spend a good portion of the month creating artwork, I just got back from a visit with my family for the Thanksgiving holiday. While my husband had to stay home and work, I took the kids on a short trip to Chattanooga. We spent most of the time just hanging out, but we also went on a  few excursions. My mom set up a tour at the aquarium and the whole family went to a Christmas light display.


 

Visiting my family...



In my head...


Like I said, the month of November seemed to go by quickly. However, November was my slow month... it was December that was going to be busy... I hope I can handle it...

When I looked at my calendar for the month of December I was slightly overwhelmed. I know that it is going to be insanely busy, so I was grateful that I got to have a good visit with my family before the craziness begins. Hopefully, I have gotten my medication adjusted to help with some of my side effects that happen when I am tired or overwhelmed physically. Because I am going to be overwhelmed next month for sure!!!


“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” 
- Mother Teresa


Episode Reference: Sonnet 60, Shakespeare sonnet
(a bit of sonnet trivia:
both Sonnet 60 & 12 deal with time
60 minutes in an hour
12 hours in a day
Oh, that Shakespeare... so clever!)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

giving your 16 year old scissors

New Traditions Losing my hair - it's going to happen. When I did this in 2013, I waited to cut my hair once I was further in treatment. I didn't want to do that again. I didn't want to do it while I felt sore and bad. This time, I wanted to get rid of my hair before treatment.  Since I will have now done this more than once, it can be considered a tradition: cancer haircuts by my kids . Last time I did this, the kids were 6 and 13. So, this time around my son (23) opted not to cut, but watched some.   However, my 16 year old daughter leapt at the opportunity to cut my hair. Even though 10 years have gone by, she had to adhere to a few basic rules. Basic Rules: 1. Do not cut my ears. 2. Do not cut your own hair. 3. Do not cut anyone else's hair. These rules still hold up and are the general agreement we make before I put scissors in my kid's hands to chop on my hair!  And the tradition isn't the same without going outside (weather permitting) and listening to our
Post a Comment
Read more

happy birthday to me... almost

  Let's rewind a bit and start a few days before my birthday... I had my first cancer treatment day on October 3rd - check it out if you haven't read that blog post yet. Let's just think of it as an early birthday gift since my birthday is October 7th. Great gift, right?!? If I have to hear "Happy Early" or "Late Birthday" from another medical person, I might have to smack someone. Especially, since I have spent most of the weeks leading up to and after my birthday at a medical appointment regarding cancer. Not really loving my birthday this year. Let's just say, on my birthday, I woke up with a special chemo-side-effect-surprise at 2am. That fun surprise I will share later... Rewind a Few Days... Update But first, let's go to October 4th, the day after my grueling 8 hours of immunotherapy and two chemotherapies on the 3rd. I woke up swollen, red faced, and fevering, as well as feeling pretty crummy. I didn't have time to dwell on it since I
Post a Comment
Read more

here i go again... on my own

  It's Time for Chemo #1 Today ended up being the longest day I've ever had in treatment... ever. I started at 8am and finished around 4-4:30pm. LONG day.  I fully support getting your port ready about 30 minutes before treatment (ignore the 5-15 min suggestion on the Lidocaine box - give yourself 30 minutes to allow for more time and more numbing). So, for me, I apply the Lidocaine over my port and put a small square of Saran Wrap over it right before leaving to go to treatment. It takes me about 30 mins to get to my treatment center, so it gives it time to work. The Lidocaine helps numb the area so the needle will not hurt as much when poked and the Saran Wrap keeps the Lidocaine on your skin and not on your clothes. When I arrive to the treatment center on chemo days, it starts with a bit of bloodwork in the lab. They have to make sure your bloodwork is good before giving you chemo. I have a port, so they just hook me up with the right type of IV needle, take my blood sample
Post a Comment
Read more