Tomorrow the Road to Recovery Begins

I have chosen the name for my blog because I am truly "In His Arms."  Because of my faith and the intercessory prayers of family and friends and their family and friends, I am being held in the loving arms of God.  While there are times when I try to climb out and try to manage on my own, it is through the prayers of others that I am held firmly in His arms.  I am truly blessed to have so many people praying for me.  May God richly bless each and every one of you.

I know that I am being held in those arms because I have never been scared or afraid from the time my primary care physician called me through today - except for a short time when I learned that my platelet count had dropped from 22000 to 9000 in less than five days.  After talking on the phone to a wonderful friend and then to Megan and Maddy by phone a short later, I was back in His arms again and have been there since.  As many of you know, this isn't normally how I handle things.  Remember the basal-cell carcinoma removal and the infection that followed?  I was mad, in pain, wanted to give up, etc., etc., etc.  Not this time.  With the prayers of others and the help of incredibly gifted physicians, my own stubbornness and the help of family and friends, we will beat this stupid syndrome. 

Tomorrow the recovery begins.  I will receive my first chemotherapy treatment.  I will be getting IV Dacogen.  It is supposed to be fairly "friendly" to the patient.  The only side-effects are supposed to be nausea and vomiting and possible mouth sores.  I will be given meds to combat the nausea together with the chemo and have been given a prescription to take at home if necessary afterwards.  I will be getting Dacogen for 10 consecutive days, a 28 day rest, then another10-day regimen and a 28-day rest followed by another 10-day regime and a 28-day rest and then a final 10-days of chemo.  If my blood counts haven't improved prior to the last regime, we will start the stem cell transplant procedure after than set of chemo.  If the counts improve prior to that time, then we will proceed with the stem cell procedure sooner.

The hardest part for me is asking for and accepting the help of others.  I'm supposed to be the caregiver, the Mom and the one who takes care of things, not vice-versa!  It is also difficult for me to deal with limitations.  I'm not supposed to get out of breath; I'm not supposed to be denied the calming effects of tending my roses; and I'm not supposed to get really angry when dealing with people who aren't meeting my expectations (which I now describe as "having no patience for stupid").

My intent is to add to this blog on a daily basis to keep you all updated as to my condition and what else is going on in my life.  It won't all be dull.  I haven't lost my sense of humor and certainly don't intend to.  That being said, as the deformed cell die, I will likely become more tired and even with transfusions, I may be tired enough to skip a day or to.  But, I'll do my best!

Just know that I am thankful for each and every one of you that is thinking about me, concerned about me and praying for me.  May God richly bless you for caring about me.

Happy 4th of July - be safe and have a great time! 
 
 Have an oinking good time!