Saturday, April 21, 2012

Ups and Downs and a Lot of Love

The amount of love my family and I have felt throughout all of this cancer nonsense is amazing.  From comments on here and on Facebook, to prayers being offered up from literally all over the country, to straight up cash.  My BFF Tammy had a garage sale today, taking donations on my behalf, and gave Kevin a chunk of the proceeds when he stopped by earlier this afternoon.  Before he got home, she called to let him know there was nearly $100 more.

What a blessing this is.  I have already wracked up more than 500 miles in visits to various doctors and many of the items I need for my post-op care are not covered on my Flex spending card through work (because they don't require a prescription) and the little things add up fast.  I am blown away that Tammy and Greg would go to all of this work, and that people who do not know me would donate items for us.  I don't know what to say.

I tried to cut down to one pain pill for a couple of doses, and have regretted it each time.  I figured the Valium was the most important, since most of the pain is a result of the stretching muscle from the tissue expander.  However, those times where I've cut the pain meds in half have left me in tears.  We'll give it the rest of the weekend before we do THAT again.

Kevin's mom is here and helping a great deal.  She takes some worries and chores off me AND Kevin. It's nice to have another resource.  I think she's headed home tomorrow, and Kevin is heading back to work on Monday.  That gives me today and tomorrow to figure out what I can and cannot do by myself.

I was hoping to be able to shower alone, but there are some things that need done around the drain tubes that I cannot reach (sorry for the TMI) so I'll be waiting for him to come home. If I get very desperate for a shower, I'll call and ask Mom to come.  I've pretty much lost all modesty over the past few days.

Got a question?  I'll answer.  Wanna see a picture of something?  I'll email you.  I'm not even kidding.  I've shown a few.  It's pretty amazing stuff, really.  Gross to think about, but amazing as far as how things work.  I cannot WAIT to gain my independence back, but I may as well educate folks about cancer treatment in the mean time, right?

LOL  Can you tell I'm feeling good right now?  That was a long entry!

7 comments:

Donna. W said...

Don't forget, your daddy and I are available any time while Kevin is at work. If you get to feeling good enough to get out of the house, give us a call and you can watch your dad put up hay or something until you wear out. Cliff said to let you know that he is your man if you need somebody to go get something... even something as silly as a Route 44. We feel better if we can help.

triplehorn said...

I wish there was more i could do, directly or indirectly, to help out...Whatever you do, don't try to push your recovery too hard...I know there's no "me" in "Rachel", but you've already got the "e", so that's a good start...

Margaret said...

You are sounding good and doing what you need to do. It's important to take one step at a time, ask lots of questions and ask for and accept needed help. People love being able to do kind things for those they care about. You are doing THEM a favor, as well as yourself. Take care--thinking of you! xoxo

Celeste said...

LOVE IS GRAND AND YOU HAVE PLENTY OF IT

Amy said...

You had modesty? ;-P

Bookncoffee said...

That is so nice that they had a yard sale. And nice that family is coming over to help. I didn't realize you would be in so much pain and not able to take a shower, but that makes sense I guess, considering. Valium? Well, I guess it keeps you calm too as well as the pain. I had always heard that about valium (people take it before flying). Laughing at Amy's comment, "you had modesty?" lol

Forty Pound Sack said...

Looks like my comment is lost in space. Hopefully it won't double post later. I mentioned that mileage to medical appointments is often tax deductible, so keep a log.

I'm sorry you have to go through chemo. I was hoping you'd be able to dodge that.