I can't believe I haven't updated this thing in so long! I guess I just got in a cycle--go to treatments, be sick, get better, enjoy a week--and I blogging just slipped my mind. Also, my ninth treatment was one that I didn't really want to think about for a while, so I guess I'm just now getting to it..............
In all honesty, nothing too exciting (except the infamous ninth) has happened since my last post. Like I said above, this has pretty much become the norm for my family and I, although we are very ready for a new standard! Anyway, I will delve into the epic that was my 9th treatment, if for no other reason than it makes a really good story!
Two weeks after my eighth treatment, I was "ready" to go back for my ninth (only one way to get to the finish line)..................The weather, however, seemed to have other plans. Snowmageddon #1 hit on Monday night, and all of Tulsa closed down for an entire week! Needless to say, I received an extra week of feeling well. What is more is that I got to spend such a week in the snow!! By the next Tuesday, the snow had ebbed enough that a trip to Tulsa looked promising; trying to catch up from all of the missed appointments, Cancer Care scheduled my Treatment #9 for Thursday morning. My family and I were slightly concerned, however, as I was already a week behind. We called the poor office back (they were completely flooded with phone calls, due to the previous bad weather and the impending storm, scheduled to hit that very Tuesday night), and they decided that the Reeders should make a hasty dash toward Tulsa, in an attempt to out-run Snowmageddon #2. So, about to brack a blizzard, my dad and I loaded up Old White (our affectionate name for the hunting truck--an '80 Chevy box-front, complete with a cable winch on the front) with tools and blankets and clothes and boots and food...Grapes of Wrath, anyone?????
Dad and I arrived in Tulsa around 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon. We dashed into Cancer Care, my port was accessed and blood was drawn, and we went back to see Dr. Keller. As my treatment lasts for a full three hours, and the office closes at 5:00 pm, Dr. Keller made arrangements for me to receive my #9 at the adjacent hospital, St. Francis. I was all for this, due to my involuntary sickness caused by the treatment center smell. After I received the "all clear" from Keller, the Reeder duo headed next door to get this treatment and get back on the road.
I was placed in a room on the Oncology floor around 4:50 pm; we were excited, as it looked like we might beat the storm back to Stillwater! 5:30 came and went, and I hadn't been hooked up to anything. I didn't really mind, however, as there was a marathon on of Law & Order: SVU. By 6:30, I was beginning to get a little fidgety; Dad and I needed to get back on the road, if we were ever to make it home safely. At 8:00, I was still not even hooked up to my pre-meds, and Dad was beginning to loose his patients (honestly, he handled these first three hours quite remarkably!) He finally decided to go find out what was wrong, and after a little investigating, I was hooked up to my pre-meds around 9:00 pm..........miraculously, it was only just beginning to snow in Stilly!
At 12:30, Dad and I clamored back into Old White, tired and slightly ruffled, but braced for the trip ahead of us. The roads in Tulsa were white, and the wind was howling. We drove slowly and were met with very little traffic; it's surprising how much a city shuts down with a little snow! The scariest part of the journey was our trip over Keystone. The wind was whipping through the gap made by the hills at either end of the bridge, and our stout truck was shaking in its tracks, along with both passengers inside!!! Surprisingly enough, we were able to make it all of the way to the Stilly on-ramp before Dad had to get out and lock the hubs. We slipped and slid our way into Stilly, and we were never happier to see 1118 W. Newman! It was a trip for the nerves, that's for sure.
Even though the trip was...ahem, memorable...there were many good things about that ninth treatment. For one, as I mentioned earlier, I didn't have to endure the treatment center, which makes me almost as sick as the chemo. Secondly, the worst of the storm held off until Dad and I got home...literally. It seemed like the snowfall substantially picked up as soon as we walked through the door. My mom said she was watching the storm on the television, and the entire thing was hovering just above Stilly...you call it what you want to, but I call it the power of my beautiful God. Despite all odds, he made a way for me to get Treatment #9, which gets me that much closer to the finish line.
So, I head off to Treatment #11 this morning!! So close to being finished...after today, I can hold up one finger, for there will only be one left! I will try to be better about posting and post a little later in the week...just don't hold me to anything, as this is Oklahoma, and I'm sure Snowmageddon #3 looms somewhere in the future, near or far! :)
As always, I love you all, and thank you so much for your prayers and continued support! Mwah!
