I am home from Chemo #3 and so far it seems to be going much as Chemo #2 did.  I have heartburn, aches, and fatigue but no nausea.  We will see how the coming days treat me.

What I have been thinking about lately is how disruptive this cancer has been to our lives, Jonathon and I, my family, and many of my friends. If not physically disruptive, which it is, its also emotional disruptive. 

Since March 16 when I first went to convenient care (about 2.5 months ago). I have been to convenient care twice (2), the emergency room twice (2), I have been hospitalized for 4-5 days at a time four separate times (4) including  2 chemo sessions, and have visited Carle hospital 23 times for over 30 different pokes, prods, blood draws, consultations, and procedures.  I also travelled to Danville Carle Hospital (for a then cancelled port surgery) and a consultation trip to Northwestern's Lurie Cancer in Chicago.  I think that adds up to about 45-50 days of my last two months.  This is one of the main reasons I decided to stay close to home and get treated at Carle.  Its a 5 minute drive from our home.

There are things I cant do because I am on chemo.  I CANT GARDEN or dig in dirt (my favorite thing to do in Spring!)  Apparently, I am highly susceptible to lung fungus right now, so I cant just be walking around breathing in spores!  We also missed mushroom hunting season for the same reason.  I cant eat raw or uncooked food (Sushi, my love, nor Salads!).  I cant be around groups of people or lots of children.  Last weekend, I missed my niece's high school graduation, but was able to live stream it just before they mispronounced her name (classic!)

My household is disrupted.  Our cats, Paul Maud'Dib Atriedes (Paul) and Mab, The Queen of Air and Darkness (Mab) are not happy.  They are used to both Jonathon and I around and have had to learn a little independence, lol.  Jonathon has to take care of all of the household, yard and kitty tasks and is managing like a champion, but its been a huge change and we are learning to deal.  Give him a hug when you see him!

My work is disrupted and I could write a whole entry about how wonderful it is to work for a supportive employer.  To add even more complexity, Jonathon started his new job at the City one week before I was diagnosed.  As a new employee he doesn't have the flexibility or PTO to just kick off for a week and take care of me.  We were pretty stressed about how he would manage, but the City of Champaign immediately let him know that he was supported and would work with him for the times he needed to take off to be with me.

As for my job, I am able to work from the hospital and able to work from home when I am not feeling well.  I also have been going into the office between chemo treatments.  Some of my bigger projects have been put on hold or passed to the other managers in our department.  They have done a wonderful job of allowing me to work when I can and not stress me out when I can't. I do have clients that are waiting on replies from me and maybe it takes me longer to get to them, but overall, I am making it work, disruptedly.

Pic 1 is of me at the hospital in a snazzy little hat crocheted by Betsy.
Pic 2 is of hospital visitors, yay!