Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I have had a great week with friends and family and am again grateful for everyone and everything in my world. Not the least of which is that I am half-way done with my chemo treatments!

You heard me right, folks... I am past the .5 mark, over the hump, the glass is half-empty, comin' around the bend, in the home stretch... I had my third treatment on Friday, Dec. 18th and the Neulasta shot on Saturday and am doing well. The past two weeks have been packed with activity.

I was feeling great the week of my treatment and took full advantage of that time to get as much done at work as I could, shop for Christmas, meet up with friends in town for the holidays, and prep my house for my family. I felt like my old self - healthy and full of energy. So I acted accordingly.

During my treatment, I worked a bit and started on some holiday cards - again, totally productive. I knew I wasn't going to feel sick until Sunday, so I just kept going. I even picked up a set of figure skates and jumped on the ice by my house with the idea of getting in shape outdoors before I felt the effects on Sunday. (The actual skating activity was a tragedy as I haven't had skates on in, um, 19 years... but I WILL get back to skating like I used to...) I was up early, prepping an appetizer for a Christmas party on Saturday, met a friend for lunch, got my shot, went to said Christmas party and had a blast. Woke up on Sunday and went to my aunt's Christmas party and had a great time...

... and ran out of energy like a battery powered monkey toy when I got home. (remember that little monkey toy that always ran out of energy next to the Energizer Bunny? With the cymbals? Anyway...) I went to bed early on Sunday evening and slept basically until Wednesday. I tried to be productive when I was awake, but the treatment just wipes me out.

This round has left me a bit more tired, but still not physically ill. I have felt a bit more nauseous this time around, so I am taking more of the supplementary anti-sick pills they gave me and they have worked well. I can say the timing is somewhat in my favor as I haven't eaten nearly what I normally would during any other major holiday food fest.

Which brings me to another point. Can someone please tell me how, when I am going through chemotherapy, which is notorious for making people lose weight they don't want to lose, I manage to gain weight? Seriously? And no, it's not the differences in scales. It was the same scale. And no, I wasn't wearing heavier shoes. I took my shoes off. Three pounds? WTF? I am still eating, but I am eating less, and what I thought was healthier food (plus jello). I thought for sure that if I pushed my way through chemo, I would at least lose a few pounds as a consolation prize. But no. (And I am not seriously asking for someone to explain this - I don't really want to know. This is a mystery that I don't care to solve. I'll just complain about it.)

Back to the holiday. I did really well this week in my opinion - I kept up with everyone for the holiday celebrations and managed to feel generally well with the help of the anti-sick meds. My house was full to capacity and I loved every minute of it. Everyone was supposed to head back to North Dakota earlier today, but North Dakota was closed today, so they are leaving on Sunday instead in the hope that it re-opens at noon.

I am currently wiped out and so am going to cut this short, but I will update more often now that the holiday craziness has passed. I hope that everyone had a great holiday week with friends and family and that a great 2010 is in the cards!

Carrie