Chemotherapy #2.

Deanna and Graham split

Thursday's chemo-drip-a-thon.

Bright and early Wednesday I left for Dr. Gaeke's so they could draw blood again to make sure my levels had come up. I was led back to a little room, gripped the sides of the chair, turned my head, and it didn't hurt! Thank God. I looked at Bonnie, the nurse, and asked if she could do it every time.

Straight from Middletown and feeling good, I took off to meet some coworkers for lunch. There's a gang of four of us that would go out every week, and since I'd taken leave, I'd been missing their comic relief terribly. We got in some great laughs, some big hugs, and promised to do it again soon. It was just what I needed.

That night before chemo, I met my grandparents for dinner at Bob Evans, where, as usual, Grandma ordered carrots, grilled chicken, tossed salad, Grandpa the meat loaf and iced tea. Graham wasn't able to go with us because of a late work night, but it was great to simply sit and chat, the three of us. Grandpa gave me some tips on some plumbing issues we'd had with the sink, Grandma talked about July 4th and how it's supposed to rain, so she'd better clean out the garage so we can all sit in there if we need to. They're adorable.

I'd had a few days of feeling good, a few good visits with friends and family, and was ready for chemo #2. Well, not really. But it was time. Deanna met me there at 9:30 and brought some Starbucks and muffins for breakfast. We kept up pretty good conversation all morning until they started the Benadryl drip... I started losing focus thanks to sleep-inducing side effects. So we turned on the TV. Deanna had a wedding to photograph that night and needed to leave at 1, Graham picked up right where she left off and took the evening shift. So boring. Tiny room. Tiny TV. Ugh. But we were out of there by 5:30, and I hit the hay as soon as we got home.

Friday I felt pretty good. In keeping with last treatment's theme, the day after is OK, day after that is hell. Same story this time. Friday was July 4th, and we went to my grandparents' house to hang with the fam. I thought about taking my clippers along, letting each family member take a pass at my head. But not yet. We left and I came home to rest, Graham boogied on the house. On the way home when he told me he would work on the laundry and the dishes, I just started crying. I felt so thankful to have this great guy taking on the load, but helpless and guilty at the same time that I was too exhausted to help.

Yesterday and today have been filled with the same lightning bug pains I had after round 1, but I'm trying to tolerate them instead of taking pain meds or steroids. The Prednisone I took before controlled the pain, but made me so, so jittery. Not sure which is worse, the pain, or pacing my living room like a nutcase. All I can hope for right now is the pain doesn't last quite as long.

Thanks for reading. Love you all.

Tara