When we feel too weak to go on, God never stops blessing us even in the smallest ways.
On Tuesday August 7th, I went back to Kirklin Clinic. I first met with my doctor to get the results from my bone marrow biopsy, CT scan, and pulmonary test. All results came back with good news. We found out that I was at a stage 2 of 4 in my cancer. My lymph nodes were found swollen with cancer on the right and left sides of my neck, under my right arm, and in my upper chest. Luckily the cancer had been caught early.
That same day we began my first chemotherapy round. I was called back to the infusion room where I sat in a chair next to several other people in chairs like mine. I was still sore from my port they put in the day before so my nurse put some type of freezing spray on it to kind of numb it. It still hurt a little bit when she put the IV into my port, but one stick and that was it. I was given Tylenol by mouth and nausea medicine through the IV. Then they began on my medicine called ABVD (Adriamycin, Bleomycin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine). Adriamycin causes hair loss, nausea and vomiting, sore mouth, tiredness, sun sensitivity, taste changes, anemia, bruising, and risk of infections. Bleomycin causes some of the same side effects along with fever and chills, skin changes, loss of appetite, and feeling weak. Vinblastine causes the same symptoms with headaches and jaw pains added to it. Dacarbazine once again has the same side effects as the rest along with flu-like symptoms and pain at the injection site. Three of the medicines (ABV) my nurse has to inject and last one (D) goes through an IV that is attached to my port. Overall, this takes a little over two hours of just sitting there while the medicine is running through me. After I was done taking the medicine the nurse removed my IV and said I was good to go.
Once I got home I was still feeling fine. Everything seemed normal. Then Wednesday and Thursday hit. I began feeling extremely exhausted. I laid around the house all day with no energy. Friday, I was still very tired and my entire body just felt weak. My mouth also began to hurt. I didn’t have actual sores in my mouth but it was just sore feeling. Everything also began getting to me mentally. I didn’t feel like myself at all. I wasn’t the peppy Karlie that everyone knows and I was barely talking at all. When Saturday, Sunday, and Monday came my mornings were still pretty rough but by the afternoons my mood started to pick up some. By Tuesday, I was much closer to being back to my normal self. I even went to church on Wednesday night. Once Monday came around I was the complete Karlie! All smiles, talkative, up and moving around. You have no idea how good that felt to be “normal” again. Of course I still had my ups and downs throughout those two weeks but by the end I felt as if I wasn’t sick at all.
There were a few things I had to get used to though. I have different medications that I have to take for nausea and whatnot. I have to take my temperature two times a day. If it ever reaches 100.5 I have to call my doctor and go to the emergency room. Thankfully that hasn’t happened thus far. I also have to eat three meals a day if not five small ones. I’ve been having a problem with that. I’m the type of person who usually eats two meals a day and that gets me by. So I practically have to force myself to eat when I’m not hungry at all. And the medicine doesn’t help, considering a symptom is loss of appetite and taste changes. One other thing I had to adjust to during the first week of my treatment was being so tired that my mom or gran had to help me shower. That shows just how weak I really was.
I can really feel the prayers that people are sending my way. I truly feel that it is because of all of you that I thankfully haven’t been very sick. Everyone that has contacted me and my family or stopped by my house has meant so much to me. No words could explain how grateful I am to have family, friends, and even unknown people sending thoughts and prayers my way. I believe we serve an amazing God who can bring us through anything and when we feel too weak to even be able to pray for ourselves He has caring people like you who are there to send up a prayer. I appreciate you all so much for that.
This is what the Lord says: “Those who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land…” Jeremiah 31:2
September 6, 2012
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