6 of one, a Half dozen of the other

Tonight is Tuesday July 18.  The last post was last week Tuesday and the last week has overall been a really good week.  Saturday we celebrated Lydia's 19th birthday!  We had lunch with her after her cabin dismissal and meetings at Camp Geneva.  What followed was a great dinner, dessert, and presents for her.  Sunday we went to church and had lunch together with family and spent the early afternoon with Lydia before she needed to head back to camp.  We brought her back around 5:00 p.m. at which point I was tired.  By now you are asking how someone can be tired at 5 p.m.  This past week there was one occasion in particular I was reminded how chemo steals your energy.  In preparing for the party on Friday I made a couple trips down and up the stairs.  It was the second trip up I could not make it to the top without "resting".  This really worried Leah and I can understand why.  My body basically shut down, partly due to how much I had done earlier that day but also thinking I had "normal" energy.  

Tuesday and Wednesday begin the laborious process of mentally going through all the details of what Thursday looks like.  Even down to appointment times and who we see and what question we need answered before, during, or after my chemo treatment.  Wednesday evening we get the house set as someone cleans on Thursday.  Another activity that happens Wednesday is packing.  Most people pack for a vacation but every other week we pack for a day in the chemo pod.  Our packing is very calculated which icnlude blankets, food and drink, as well as phones and the computer and headphones for all the devices.  Then it's planning my clothes for 3 reason.  First its feels like 40 degrees in the rooms where the chemo pods are and secondly, I need to dress so the chemo tubing can go through a button up shirt  and lastly,  I dress in such a manner I can shed things to bring the scale down to a relatively normal weight.  That fact is mainly because chemo is normally based on your weight and since my belt, shoes, watch and the like don't get any chemo....

This Thursday will be my third chemo treatment.  Normally the process goes like a scan then 6 treatments then repeat the scan and decide if you can involve surgeons.  So this typically would be half way through my first round of treatments.  However when I looked online at the schedule, my chemo treatments continue all the way through the end of October.  That was a bit daunting to think about with no break other than every other week.  So get ready NP.  I've got questions and somebody has answers.  I have 20 - 30 minutes to lay out all my questions and get a set of satisfactory responses.

For the rest of this week and weekend I'd request prayer for the following.  Please pray for me as I get quite anxious as we get close to and into Thursday.  For another treatment with minimal side effects.  For answers on how to avoid another UTI.  Also for answers on all the other questions I have for the NP.  I imagine another post will be written toward the end of the week or early in the weekend.

~Kent