April 10, 2007

BLUF--FIRST almost-normal day in over a week! Blessed be the name of our Lord!

We had an absolutely spectacular, glorious Easter celebration at our church--so inspirational, I felt like jumping and shouting! That's saying something for a shy, quiet, reserved Oriental like me! By the way, you can see the whole service on www.enewhope.org Just click on "Last week's service, 'Won by One.'"

Today was the first day since last Monday, eight days ago, that I've felt almost normal, albeit a bit tired. No shakey stomach, no headaches, no neural buzz, no feelings of nausea. What's really insidious about chemo is that I've had moments of respite, like a couple of hours one evening, when I felt fairly good, 75-80 on a scale of 100. But the side effects rushed back with a vengance the next morning--but not this morning!! Had almost normal meals today although portions were about 1/2 what I normally eat.

The weight loss plan? I'm down about 12 pounds which officially puts me at my high school senior fighting weight!! I hope to fatten up in the next couple of weeks before the next round of chemo. There are two schools of thought about side effects after subsequent treatments: one is that my body has adapted and the side effects will be considerably less; the other, contrariwise, is that the increased dosages and effects of accumulation will make them worse. Only time will tell.

Did I mention that my hair might fall out? If it does, I've already taken care of the "before" pictures. Stay tuned!!

It is so true that we don't appreciate what we have until we don't have it any more. Good health is a gift that I'm going to appreciate much, much more once this is all over!

Asking for your prayers for Caleb--go to http://prayforcaleb.blogspot.com for the complete, totally inspirational story. This young couple was in our premarital class and already have wondrous stories to tell about their and Caleb's journey.

Thanks for your friendship, support, thoughts and prayers--they ARE appreciated.