The Third Time Is A........Charm?

Hello all!  I have officially completed 3 of 12 chemotherapy treatments!  Yay!  The third one, however, did not go as smoothly as the first two.  I think my body is beginning to catch on to the plans.  As soon as I walked into the treatment center and smelled that now-familiar smell of the treatment room, my stomach rolled.  Actually, my stomach is beginning to act up, just thinking about it.  There's the beauty of psychology, folks...
There was good news during my treatment.  For one thing, my doctor was very surprised that I still had my hair (not all of it, admittedly, but enough).  Secondly, I had another chest x-ray while I was there, and the chemo is definitely doing it's job!  The nodes that were so visible in my chest at the beginning of this whole ordeal had decreased significantly in size!  Praise God for that!
Anyways, I had to take more nausea medicine than usual, but that wasn't too big of a deal.  I actually felt pretty good when I left Cancer Care, and my mom and I went out to eat.  After our late lunch, we arrived at the hotel around 3-ish.  All was going pretty well until I rode up to the forth floor in the elevator...mistake.  That sent my tummy in a tizzy, and it really never got better.  I spent that first night curled up in a ball and reliant on nausea meds that make me really drowsy (I slept like a baby, though!).  Normally, I am bouncing off of the walls the day I have chemo...something about a steroid high...not the case this time.
The next day, I went back to the treatment center for my Nulasta shot.  I was still not feeling very great, but I was doing better than the previous night.  After I got my shot, my mom and I headed south to Hugo, OK for some R&R at Nana and Papa's house!  Needless to say, that's really all I did.  I actually didn't feel as tired and achy as I had for treatments 1 and 2, but the nausea made up for that.  I despise that upset-tummy feeling...honestly, the worst part about being sick at my stomach was the ramifications of food!  There I was, at Nana's house, and all I could stand to eat (or smell, for that matter) was ham and cheese (an occasional PB&J) sandwiches. 
So, it is now 5 days after my chemo treatment, and my tummy is still unhappy.  What I hate the most is that my poor family has to cater to my stupid stomach.  Smells bother me the most, so cooking inside the house is a touchy subject.  Then, there's the task of finding something I can actually eat, which I know must be frustrating for them.  Needless to say, treatment 3 has been the most difficult, but I know it could still be so much worse.
Okay, enough negativity.  I wouldn't even write all of this icky stuff, but it's the truth.  Painting over things with "rose-colored writing" doesn't help anyone.  Treatment 3 was no bueno...'nuff said.  Apart from feeling icky for a few days, I've been really blessed!  Dad says I'm making cancer look fun...I do get to go hunting (one of my absolute favorite hobbies) quite often, and I spend most of my time in the comfort of my own home with two of my favorite people in the whole wide world--Mom and Dad.  I am extremely blessed to have such supportive and wonderful parents.  I do miss spending time with my sister, but she had to go and get Mono and Shingles...way to go, sis...JUST KIDDING!  I actually feel horrible for her...she has had worse symptoms and pains than I have.  Poor kid...she sure is a trooper, though.  Every time I see her, she looks like she is about to enter a beauty pageant............AND WIN!  What a remarkable person I am privileged enough to call my sister.

Numero Dos!

Yay for more cancer dying!!!  I had my second chemotherapy treatment today, and everything went so well.  Seriously, getting chemo is no big deal, at least my kind of chemo isn't.  The nurses just hook me up like a wall outlet, and I'm good to go!  As a matter of fact, the night after I have chemo, I feel GREAT!!!  I mean, hyper, bouncing off of the walls, can't go to sleep (hence the fact that I'm writing this now) type of feel great!  I asked the nurses about it today, and they just laughed and said it was because of the steroid they give me while administering chemo.  So, they are trying to make my hair grow while the chemo is trying to make it fall out (lots of shedding now, btw)?????  I'm totally okay with that!
Update on my blood levels: all is well!  I am no longer neutropenic, so I can actually return to society.  Happy day!  I still have to wash my hands all of the time, plus I'm cautious around people, just as precaution.  However, I LOVE being able to see my friends and be back in the real world!  In order to keep my social calendar satisfied, I will be given a shot tomorrow of a drug called Neulasta.  This medication helps my bone marrow make white blood cells so I don't become Neutropenic.  My doctor had to wait and see how I would respond to chemo for the first treatment, but now that he knows that my body soaks it up and my levels fall, I will get this shot the day after every treatment.
While I was at the clinic today having lab work and treatment done, I also had an appointment with my doctor.  He said I looked really good (I'm not really sure what he expected me to look like, but there it is...).  He also felt in my lower neck area where there were some prominent nodes, and said he couldn't feel them (even he seemed a bit surprised)!  In your face, cancer!!!!  How do you like that??!  I guess that is the one good thing about being hyper-sensitive to medication (for example: any "may cause slight drowsiness in 2% of patients" knocks me on my back for a good 24 hours!!!)--my body soaks up the chemo, meaning the cancer has to eat it too! HAHA
So, I know everyone reading this wants updates about me, which is why I posted the three paragraphs above--yes, there are actually three--(btw, I really appreciate everyone's support and time spent caring about my silly life...seriously, it means more than you all will ever know).   However, my sister could use some prayers as well, so if you're interested in both Reeder girls, keep reading...please and thank you!
Cha' has been sent to the ER twice in the past week.  She contracted that evil and nasty stomach virus that has been making its way around Stilly, and let's just say she saw much of her meals twice that week.  She went to a regular physician, got some meds, and was actually doing much better this weekend (other than stressing about all of the work she had missed in school).  Then, on Tuesday morning, my family and I find out that she has thrown up over 30 times in the past couple of hours.  We quickly call her wonderful and sweet boyfriend, Wyatt, to take straight to the ER (he was also instructed to dismiss any arguing made by the patient, including those rebellions in the form of kicking or screaming).  She went to the ER, where they worked on subsiding her symptoms.  Once they got her symptoms at least decently subdued, the nurses and doctors began looking for the cause of this "relapse".  They took blood and administered numerous tests.  The results?  Mononucleosis.  That's the bad news...of course, Cha' is concerned about her school, but she will get that figured out.  I just hate it that she is going to feel bad for a while, because let me tell you without any frosting or sugar-coating that mono isn't very fun (I had a horrible case of it my senior year).  Let me rephrase that slightly:  mono wasn't very fun for me.  But, as I said earlier, my body amplifies meds, so why not illnesses???  Anyways, there is good news (as there has been in every "bad" situation the Reeders have encountered lately).  We now know what is ailing Cha', which is, in many ways, a relief.  (She had a few swollen lymph nodes in her neck due to the trauma and stress of being sick, and it is fair to say that my family is just a little gun shy at the present moment).  Also, as I mentioned, I have already had mono, so she is not really contagious to me (trust me, I won't go drinking after her...I'm not idiotic).  Well, technically, there are various strains of mono, so she could have another strain that I could get, but it's not likely.  My doctor looked at my Epstein Barr immunity in my blood today (the virus that is mono), and I have full immunity!  Yay!!  This is such good news for my family, as we have been a split family for the past few weeks.  Dad and I have had to stay away from Mom and Cha', just so each sick "kid" can have someone to take care of them.  Explanation: when I was Neutropenic, I couldn't afford to get sick AT ALL, and I was extremely succeptible to any illness!  Had I contracted that stomach virus or even a common cold while my counts were so low, who knows how long I would have been in the hospital.  Anyways, it's been really hard to be apart, but we think that's behind us now. 
Well, that's what is going on at the Reeder household right now.  As I said waaaaaaaay earlier, the night after chemo, I am SO HYPER!  As a result, everyone reading this is tired and worn out from my new novel.  I'm the only one still awake right now; therefore, my chatty and hyper self only has the computer to talk to.  Thus, here is the long-winded and rather loopy account of a day in the life of Sky Reeder.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

A Wonderful Weekend

I just got home from the most wonderful weekend (as the title suggests)!  My dad and I left on Friday afternoon for Sayer, OK to go deer hunting.  We hunted morning and evening on Saturday and Sunday, and in the morning on Monday.  I saw a bunch of deer, but never the right one (I got picky!).  I had a great time, though.  It was wonderful to get out of the house...Plus hunting is one of my favorite hobbies, so I was extremely happy.  Dad and I stayed with my Grandpa and his fiance, Pat.  I love them both dearly, and they spoiled me rotten!  I guess if a person is going to be spoiled, rotten is the only right way to do it!
Now I'm back in Stilly, only for one reason, really.  I have my second chemotherapy appointment tomorrow.  It is really difficult to psych myself up to have another treatment, even though I know I need it.  I have been feeling so well for the past week, so it is hard to imagine feeling really icky again.  Oh well, that's just part of the game, I guess. 
Oh, update on the hair situation: I AM STARTING TO SHED!!  Shave party is probably just around the corner! :)

No Chemo...For Now...

Well, the lab results came in, and I am not getting my second chemotherapy treatment today.  I am now on an antibiotic for 5 days to try to aid my immune system in boosting my white blood cell count and my neutrophils (I am currently what they call neutropenic).  My next chemotherapy appointment is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27.  Although I want to get finished with treatment as soon as possible and get this cancer out of my body, I am rather happy I didn't have chemo this week.  As I said in an earlier post, this weekend is the opening of Muzzleloading season, and I am so ready to shoot a monster buck!  I will probably end up shooting a doe or two as well (the limit is two does and one buck), as we need some deer meat.
The bad part about postponing my treatment is that I am now right on schedule for treatment the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas...I guess a person can't have everything...oh well!  I'm actually not sure if the labs are open to give treatment on these weeks...you would think even oncologists get to enjoy the holidays...

A Change of Plans

Well, I was scheduled for my second chemotherapy treatment for today, but that didn't happen.  On Monday, I went in to have lab work done, in order to make sure everything inside was on the up-and-up for me to receive treatment.  I found out that my white blood cell count and my neutrophil (the thingies in my body that create new white blood cells) counts were really low.  So, it was a no go for the Wednesday treatment.  Instead, I went in today to have another lab test done, in order to see if I was ready to have treatment tomorrow (Thursday).  The informal report, however, is worse than the one on Monday.  My white blood cell count is the same as it was (a 3, for anyone who wants to get technical), but my neutrophil count had dropped from a 0.8 to a 0.6.  I am still waiting to hear the official report from my doctor, saying if I can or cannot receive treatment of any kind tomorrow (sometimes they do partial doses), but I would be surprised if I do.
What does all of this mean, exactly??  Well, don't be alarmed, because apparently, this is just part of going through chemo.  Now, we are just waiting for everything to kind of "bottom out" and start going up again.  These low levels do, however, compromise and put a damper on my social calendar...I am now basically quarantined to the house.  I can't be around large groups of people or anyone who is sick.  Now, this is already irritating, regardless of the timing, but this week, it's extremely frustrating!!!  This happens to be Homecoming Week, and OSU has the largest Homecoming celebration in the nation.  Walk-Around is on Friday, which is basically the definition of an enormous crowd of people, so that's out.  I am also finally feeling better, and I would love to go to Wednesday night church; however, I feel like a large group of college students who have been exposed to a campus crawling with every fall sickness imaginable is probably a bad idea as well.  Stupid cancer...doesn't it know I have a social agenda???
Oh well, I guess this is one of those times I just have to "roll with the punches."  I guess the really frustrating part is that I don't feel bad and I want to go do something.  If I were laying on the couch not feeling well (not that I'm wishing misery on myself, but still...), then I wouldn't be itching to get out of the house.  Maybe I'll do something productive with my time, like clean house or expand my knowledge of Fluid Mechanics (it's an engineer thing...).  On second thought, I think my time would be much better spent watching the Rangers beat up on the Yankees...yes...most definitely the right decision!

And I'm Feelin' Good!

It has been so nice to actually feel semi-normal for the past couple of days.  I have felt better, actually, than I have in a long time, and it really is wonderful.  It is slightly disheartening, however, to know that I'll be going back down the roller coaster again in a few days, but I think that's how the next six months are going to roll.  The way everything went for the first treatment wasn't so bad, though.  I only really felt lousy for two days...if I only have to feel really icky for two days every two weeks, I will consider myself extremely lucky and very blessed.
My next treatment is scheduled for this Wednesday, October 20.  Unfortunately, this could put a huge damper on my weekend plans.  You see, this Saturday is opening day of Muzzleloader season (deer black powder season).  This Saturday will also mark day 3 after my second treatment, which is when I should feel the worst.  Some way, some how, however, I will crawl in that deer stand if I have to!!!  I am so ready to be out in nature again, waking up with the outdoors and watching all of God's beautiful world wake up around me.
On the God note, He keeps amazing me in new ways every day.  As I sit here writing this, I am reflecting on the past few months and the way my relationship with Him has evolved.  This summer, I rediscovered myself.  I spent special time with my Lord every day, and I spent a lot of time alone...or not alone, whichever way you want to think about it.  Even though it should not surprise me, I am amazed at how much God pours into a person, if only given the time.  Sometimes even without my knowledge, He was changing me in subtle ways, and teaching me to love myself for the person He made me to be.  I also learned wonderful new things about my Lord and Savior, and I fell more deeply in love with Him than ever before. 
As the fall semester officially started, my focus shifted to God's plans for my life.  I have so many interests, but I was unsure of which I was supposed to pursue as a career.  So, I began to do the only thing that made sense...seek God.  I didn't know exactly what I was seeking, but I knew that I needed to pour into God and devote time to Him.  After all, He has never once been unfaithful to me...it's always the other way around. 
I truly believe that this extension of our relationship was, at least in part, to prepare me for this new and crazy season in my life.  I don't think I would have such a peace about everything going on around me and inside me had I not experienced the growth that this summer and this fall facilitated.  Regardless, I do know how I feel now, and it is the most amazing feeling in the world.
I am completely content with my diagnosis, and that even scares me a little...it's just the way I feel, however, and I can't help it.  I have such a peace about God's path for my life, and I am 100% confident in His ability to handle my life (somehow, I think He has handled bigger problems than this...).  I think this overwhelming peace comes from knowing that my life is not in my hands.  Some people may find this a scary fact, and I did too...at first.  Once I realized that I was actually the one screwing everything up, however, I decided I would much rather my life be handled by more Capable Hands.  This is a good idea in theory, but here's the problem.  I would say I wanted God to control every aspect of my life...He had it all.  Then, slowly but surely, I would begin to take back the control of certain areas of my life, and the whole process would start over again.  I think the difference now is that I don't want control anymore--I already know I'll mess everything up if I do step in, so I'm out! 
I know God uses everything to further His Kingdom and for His glory.  That is my prayer--that He would use this situation to somehow bring His beautiful and wonderful name the highest honor and praise that He deserves.  If my story can somehow be used in such a way, I will consider myself blessed to have been a part of something used for God.  He has blessed me with so much, and I can never repay Him for all He has sacrificed for me.  I can only give my life back to Him in hopes that He uses it for His purposes.

Chemotherapy Treatment #1

On Thursday, October 7, I met with Dr. Keller for a consultation about my first chemotherapy treatment.  He showed my family and I the PET Scan on the computer, and it was amazing how many infected lymph nodes I have in my chest!  There is one large node, in particular, that is right on the verge of being considered "too big" for chemotherapy to completely destroy.  This means that if this mass is not gone at the end of my chemotherapy regimen, then I may have to have spot radiation in order to completely destroy the large lymph node.  The good news about the PET Scan and bone marrow biopsy results is that I am officially classified as stage two cancer (out of four).  Stage one means that there is cancer in one place.  Stage two means that there is cancer in two places (that's me--my neck and chest).  Stage three means that the cancer is in more than one place and below the diaphragm.  Stage four means that the cancer is in more than one place and below the diaphragm and in the organs or bone marrow. 
My chemotherapy treatment will consist of 12 total treatments, one every two weeks (6 months of treatment).  It is called ABVD, which is an abbreviation for the four types of chemotherapy drugs I will be given during treatment.  Each treatment takes about three hours, where I am hooked up to an IV drip through my port.
My first chemotherapy treatment was last Thursday, October 7.  It was very painless and all of the nurses were extremely nice.  My Big, Rachael Heister, came and visited me, bringing with her a grape slushy from Sonic!  I felt fine the day of my treatment (slight queasiness, but alleviated with medication), and I also felt pretty good for two days after my treatment.  Sunday and Monday, however, I barely moved from the couch, and I slept 12 hours both nights.  I just felt really tired and shaky and very weak, but nothing unbearable.  Monday, I had lab work done to test my levels, all of which were fine.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (today), I have felt really well!  It's nice to have some energy, even if it is not 100%.