Even the smallest of things are privileges. Sometimes we just don’t realize how great they are.
On September 4th, we left for Kirklin Clinic once again. Our first stop, however, was to a wig shop in Birmingham. They didn’t have the exact wig that I had ordered but I ended up finding the perfect on anyways. By the way this wig is made you can’t even tell that it’s an actual wig. I was very hesitant to even get a wig because it was expensive and I didn’t know how many times I would actually wear it. But I think it actually boosted my confidence a little bit. I ended up wearing the wig to the hospital. I had my lab work done and then met with my doctor. I made a joke with my doctor when he came in that the chemo was actually making my hair grow rather than me losing it. He thought that was pretty funny. He wanted to check and make sure everything was going good with my chemotherapy and it was. He then informed me that my lab work came back and my white blood cell count was still low. This means staying away from crowds, anyone who is sick, etc. He had told me this during the last treatment, except he seemed to be bigger on staying at home away from those things even more this time. I then went and sat through my third round of chemo.
The first week of this chemo was really good. I felt fine physically and mentally. I was of course a little tired and had a small amount of mouth soreness again. Other than that, I felt like my old self. Once the second week came, however, it started going downhill. I became more tired and my stomach started to hurt really badly. I was never sick to the point of throwing up though. Thank goodness! After trying different medicines to help my stomachache, mom finally found something that made me start feeling better. The only downfall to this was that by the time I started feeling better it was time to go back for another round of chemotherapy.
Even though I had one good week and one bad week through this treatment, I was still so mad at the fact that I couldn’t really do anything. As most of you who are reading this know, I’m a big people person. I like to socialize and get out of the house. Now all I do is sit at home only seeing my parents. It drives me crazy! It really opened my eyes to things that we take for granted on an everyday basis. During the last treatment, I realized how I always took having hair for granted even on bad hair days. This time I’m noticing how I’ve taken the smallest of things for granted. For example: Football games on those uncomfortable bleachers, being able to attend church, going to the movies, going to a concert, eating at a restaurant, sitting outside even when it’s cold, pulling weeds from a flowerbed, playing with my puppy, etc. All of these are things that we, as people, do on a regular basis. We don’t think about it. We just do them because it’s fun or we’re bored. I now, more than ever, realize just how much of a privilege these insignificant things are. Let’s just hope that while I’m on “house arrest” I don’t completely lose my mind or get depressed. So far, so good!
For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. Philippians 1:29
October 13, 2012
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