TL; DR: We hope everyone had a great holiday weekend; we’re doing our bests to stay cool out here. (Grateful for AC!) On track for treatment on Friday, will get the Neulasta patch this time to hopefully prevent the severe neutropenia. My eyebrows and eyelashes are nearly fully gone and so I’m fighting a battle with Lily fur in my eyes. I have gone on medical LOA from work. Have a great weekend all!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! Ours was nice, we did manage to stay cool which was lovely and I am grateful for AC. Highlight for the weekend: Italian food takeout in the car which was delicious. 🙂
Not much to report since the last post, the good news is that I am on track for treatment tomorrow morning based on what I can see from my bloodwork. In other good news, I will also get the Neulasta patch with my treatment tomorrow. This means that I get an injection of the growth factor automatically 27 hours after my treatment and hopefully this will prevent the severe neutropenia. (Crossing fingers, toes, and sending up some prayers on this one!)
In other news, my eye lashes and my eyebrows have nearly fully departed. There’s not much left. I particularly miss them because they help keep the Lily fur out of my eyes. Lily is wonderful, and she’s been a huge comfort the last few weeks, but she is VERY furry and there is fur everywhere and since my eyes don’t have much protection anymore I feel like I’m constantly finding Lily fur in my eyes or close by. Oh well, the snuggles are worth it! I’ve also somewhat abandoned ship on my contacts, but I might try to put them in tomorrow for the first time in a couple of weeks. We’ll see.
The other big change this week is that, on the advice of my doctors, I’ve stopped working. It seems clear that the focus needs to be solely on my health and so, here we are. It’s only been a couple of days, but I’m hopeful this will allow me to heal more quickly. It still feels a bit weird, but I guess I will get used to it? (Overall this is very strange for me, but I also feel very lucky to have this option even if I’m told it is a paperwork nightmare.)
I hope all of you have a great weekend! We’re so grateful to all of you for all you do for us be it sending healing thoughts, check-ins, recipes (thanks for all the good pea protein ideas!), food, groceries and other errands, rides, sewing things for us, entertainment suggestions, food prep gadgets, and so many other things that I’ve missed that I don’t mean to (and I’m sorry!)! Thank you again for all of your generous support!
The now “standard” note at the end of posts for website navigation help:
Thank you for taking time to keep up with us and see how we’re doing as well as all the help! Because, I think like me, much of the world does nearly everything on their phones…I’m adding this note to the end of posts to make website navigation easier if you are on a phone. If you’d like to read other journal entries, please click here (oldest post is at the bottom of the page). There’s also a “hamburger” menu in the top right of the webpage that can help you navigate between the journal, ways to help page, stay in touch, and welcome pages. Please know that reading this page and thinking of us is help! Thank you for your support in all forms! If you have any issues, please email [email protected].
I am sure it was a hard decision for you to leave work but I am sure it is the right thing to do to focus 110% on your health! I have no doubt that this focus will pay off and you will soon be getting strong and ready to come back to work eventually. I hope the paperwork process is not too bad … I still remember how painful the paperwork was when I broke my leg – I was grateful that I was not seriously ill and able to deal with all the insurance and LOA phone calls! My family and I are praying for you nightly!! Stay strong! Best of luck with the next round of treatment and adjusting to non-working life for a while.
I am sure you will miss your work – but this is only an interruption. Focusing on your health is always the most important thing! Big Hug! Mike laughs about how quickly he got used to retirement. I know I can keep myself busy without working – but I realize I do define myself by my work, and that it will be hard to finally transition. I hope you feel an increase in energy right away! Much love to you both, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything!
You are amazing and I am glad to see you trying to stay positive. I’m glad your taking time off to focus on your health. I’m thinking about you all of the time. ?