Saturday, March 21, 2009

Chemo and other fun stuff

Chemo went okay yesterday. It definitely could've been worse!!!

I texted my friends to let them know she was doing fine, napping at my side. Then she threw up. Then she did again. And, a little while later, again and ...... Darn it. Jinxed myself.

They drugged her full of anti-nausea meds and she fell asleep sometime in the afternoon. She slept through all her visitors. As soon as they left, I moved her from the couch only to discover she had peed all over the couch. GREAT. I was ALONE. So, I got her to the bathroom and stripped her down. They said I needed to shower her off since the chemo is in her pee. We are supposed to wear gloves when we deal with her "bodily functions" aka "pee, poop, or puke." The three P's. :) Oh the humor in life. Anyways, I guess the chemo is really toxic. So, I showered her and got her dressed. Oh yeah, did I mention she peed out of the shower while she was standing in the shower being showered??? Man, that was a mouthful. So, yeah basically we had a chemical spill all over the bathroom and me. Oh, and they had to bring me a new cushion/seat for the couch. Did I already mention how fun this was?

I put her to bed. I asked her if she needed to pee every time I woke up not wanting to wake up laying in pee beside her. (btw-I am LOVING this sleeping with her thing rather than the hard, cold couch) Once she told me she did and I carried her in the dark to the potty. Mistake. Her tubing was wrapped around her legs and she ended up peeing all over me before I actually got her sitting on the potty. However, she did pee in the potty too. I am very thankful that she did not pee in the bed all night! Every time she did pee, it was quite a bit because they are pumping lots of fluids into her.

She woke up from her "hibernation" around 3:45 a.m. I was not ready to get up. I turned on the TV and got her to watch it while I slept. Go me. Go Summer. She did eventually drift back off to sleep and we ended up getting up sometime between 6:00-7:00 a.m. First we played with bubbles. Then she got out of bed and played with her toys. Then we planted some flowers that our friend's mom brought for Summer. Summer really enjoyed this. We put dirt and then seed mixture and then more dirt into an egg carton. Then I let her water them with a little medicine cup. I do have pics, but the camera is at the hospital. I am on my break (THANKS MEMAW AND NANNY - YOU ARE THE MOST AWESOME PEOPLE IN THE WORLD) so I don't have them with me. I will try to post later if Summer will let me get on the computer. That is why I am blogging now because I don't know what the evening will hold, but I hope it will be more fun with my daughter. We are going to make chocolate chip cookies. I took the stuff yesterday, but we didn't get around to it because she slept all afternoon and evening. We may also paint. Possibly enjoy a little Barney. Who knows? I just hope it is not a puke fest.

I am still turning to God to help me gain peace with all the unanswered questions I have right now. I don't know why my path has turned in this direction, but I know He has a plan. I'm not really sure I like the plan, but it is what it is. I just pray that He will give me the strength to endure it all.

8 comments:

ashleyjnc said...

Might be easier to go the pull ups route, you can always repotty train later :)

Bridgett said...

I have to agree with Ashley...the pull-ups aren't a bad idea for the time being. Being potty trained is the least of Summer's worries right now.

It sounds like she's feeling better today. That's wonderful. I hope it gets no worse than it was yesterday.

Sending hugs your way!

XOXO

Susie said...

I feel for you. I'm glad to see you still have a since of humor with it all. Just keep hanging on. I know that God will bless you and show you a plan later.

Erin said...

I am praying always for you guys. God will strengthen and equip you for every task He calls you to, He will!! I love you,sis!!

Philippians 4:19
My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Molly said...

Sounds like no fun at all--really icky stuff.

If she's already potty-trained, I'd recommend maybe getting a little potty if you don't have one and just keeping it by the bed. Maybe pull-ups at night. BUT if you do go that route, you have to change them every 2 hours at night while she is on chemo and for the night and day afterwards because you don't want the pee to stay close to her body for too long. In the hospital you can get the nurses to do it but it's still quite the disturbance.

Cyclophosphamide causes them to pee extra anyway, and the additional hydration that they give for that one makes it even worse. And the Doxorubicin makes them pee pink. That's pretty gross.

The anti-nausea meds should help, and just follow her lead in terms of what she wants to eat and what she doesn't. Our boy's doc said that if he wants to eat chips all day, let him.

Anyhow, hang in there. We're always checking up on you.

Oh, and if you're on Facebook and you search for my blog address, you can find me.

Molly said...

Oh, and sleeping with the little one in the bed is just the best, and feels so much better for both of you.

Stephy said...

I agree maybe Pull ups or even the Good Nights would help at night just so you don't have to worry about all that. Hope she starts feeling better. Hugs to you both.

Stephy

Tiffany said...

I never realized that when having chemo treatments your 3 P's could be toxic. I'm sure this isn't easy for you, but I'm glad you're trying to keep a positive outlook about it. Still here thinking of you and praying for you, even though I haven't been able to read lately. Trying to catch up.