Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Energy

Hey Everyone- How are you all doing? I hope you are getting ready for some nicer weather here in KC, finally!! I am ready, bring it on! I had my doctor's appointment last week, it went well. He was just asking about the surgery, what they did, etc. He didn't have any details about the surgery yet. So we gave him the scoop and discussed getting back on chemo, which will start next week. It will be a busy week next week. Monday I go to Omaha to get my filter taken out under sedation and then see Dr. Foster for a follow up appointment. Then tuesday I will start up chemo again, which I am Really dreading! I am so tired of having no energy and trying to function with no energy. It is sooooo hard! I had that yesterday morning and Sunday afternoon. My body just didn't want to move I had so little energy. I finally got a second wind yesterday afternoon which was so nice. I could actually do a few things without it being painfully difficult. Especially with an energy packed two year old running around the house, oh my is that difficult! I talked to my mom yesterday and just broke down crying, thinking I can't do this!
The positive side is I really don't have much pain anymore. I am working on weaning myself off my pain medication which is great! I am so glad about that.
I haven't gotten results back yet from my labs. I just called the cancer center to find out about my protime (for my coumadin, blood clots) and also my CEA tumor marker. It still may not be great, because of the surgery, we will see.
I am sorry I haven't been writing as much, I really haven't been on the computer very much lately, again, the energy thing. Anyway, I hope you all are doing well. I hope this weather helps boost my energy a bit! Have a great week and enjoy the nicer weather while we have it! love, shawndra

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Soak up the sunshine Shawndra, it does a body good and the psyche...
keep your chin up things are only going to get better from here. I'll pray the chemo goes smoothly and that you begin to regain your energy.
Take care~
Deb

Anonymous said...

Shawndra-

I am sorry that you have been feeling down latley. Please know we are always here cheering you on! Thoughts and Prayers are with you all!

The Mudge's

Anonymous said...

Take care of yourself and everything will fall into place. I hope to see you Friday!

Love, d

Lisa said...

I pray your chemo goes smoothly for you! Did you get out and enjoy today? Wow...except for the wind it was AWESOME. I mowed the lawn and planted some grass seed myself. It is so nice to see the nice green grass and enjoy the sun finally. It does make the days go by so much better!!!!

Anonymous said...

I see you in the neighborhood, and I don't know what to say. We have never met. I think everything may sound "rehearsed". My heart bleeds for you....I can't imagine the stress, pain and worry. However, you have such a great attitude, that alone will go FAR. Don't worry about little/no energy, you're healing....there will be plenty of time running crazy. You're one brave mom!

Anonymous said...

Hi Shawndra--I feel just like you! NO energy and horrible fatigue! I do chemo every 2 weeks but even on my off week I am so tired...it is hard to just talk. I hate this! I am praying for you Shawndra...Sue

Anonymous said...

I hope some warm and bright sunshine will give you that extra spark you deserve. Even though you knew recovery would be difficult, I totally understand the feeling of exaustion as you wait. Search down deep for that strength you need to keep believing.

Unknown said...

Hi Shawndra. I hope you are able to get a little energy boost for this weekend as it's supposed to be warmer and nicer than today and yesterday have been. I will say a prayer that next week goes well for you. I understand and feel for you about dreading it. It's got to be tough after the break and after all you've been through during the break to start it up again.

I thought you may enjoy this. We went to the Bon Jovi concert last night and Jon Bon Jovi took a guy in the audiences hat off and put it on himself. It was a KU National Champions hat. And during the encore, he was playing a song about loving this town (can't remember the name of it), but on the big screen, they put up a big KU Jayhawks emblem. He also made some comments about KU being the nationial champions when he was talking and you can imagine the roar of the fans when he said that. It was a good show. The man sure has a lot of energy for his age.

On another note, I mentioned a while back that my friend Laura was going to be having brain surgery on April 8th and that I would keep you posted. She did have the surgery and they did remove all of what could be seen. It was a very different color than the rest of her brain tissue which made it easier to distinguish that they had gotten it all. Of course with a brain tumor, there are branches that go in to the brain that you can't see. And it just depends on what type of tumor it is as to how long it will take to grow back. As I mentioned, Laura had 2 surgeries in 98' & 99' to remove her initial tumor and has been in remission since. So it took 9 years to grow back this time. They sent the tumor to the pathologist for testing to see if it's the same kind she had before or if it's more agressive. We are praying for the same kind so it will be slow to grow and she won't need chemo. The results should be in next week. The scary part with brain tumors is that a recurrance is usually a more agressive type and she will need aggressive chemo if this is the case. She's doing very well post surgery and is getting out some. She still needs lots of prayers though as the future is very uncertain and as positive as she is with it all, I know she has to be a little scared. And those of us that love and care about her are scared for her too. It's such an ugly disease.

I hope you have a great weekend and get to go out and enjoy the good weather that's on the way. I know I'm looking forward to it. I will keep you in my prayers as I always do and I'll be thinking about you next week as you start back on your chemo treatments. God bless you and take care. Leisa