Checking in on Amy

It has been a pretty boring week, I suppose. The Paxlovid seems to have worked well as I have been COVID symptom free since Tuesday except for a lingering cough. Actually, Monday night we enjoyed rootbeer floats and a game of Wizard, so I definitely wasn't feeling sick! On Wednesday a nurse came to the house to change my PICC line dressing since I cannot go to the nursing clinic with COVID. She has a look at my wound while she was here, and her advice didn't exactly align with that of my doctor so I spent some more time on the phone speaking with oncology about this. It's difficult to receive conflicting advice because I find having the wound annoying and disturbing and the last thing I need is a lack of clarity on how to care for it. I am sticking with my doctor's advice for now (to leave it open all the time) and we will see how it goes. I have been put on antibiotics which makes me feel a bit better about the fact that I have a portal for germs to enter my body. Publ...

As promised, I spent a couple of days feeling the sad and angry feelings after my last post. We were looking forward to a quiet weekend as the girls had plans to attend the Hillside Festival in Guelph (a music festival) with some of our neighbourhood friends. A few weeks ago Rick and I had thought we might drive there to join them for one of the three days but under the circumstances we had decided against. We thought we might visit some friends and maybe even go out to eat on a patio somewhere. Friends, the universe had other ideas. COVID came to our house this week for the first time. We knew we wouldn't avoid it forever. I woke up congested and with a sore throat yesterday (Saturday) and felt like I might have a fever. I took a rapid test and it came up positive.  During chemotherapy treatment there are strict rules about fevers. As a patient I am under strict instructions to go to the hospital if I have a temperature of 38 ° C (100.4 ° F) for an hour OR if my temperature is 38....

This round of chemo has definitely been my most difficult. I was basically a zombie for the last three days, very tired and feeling pretty useless. I haven't had the ability to concentrate on anything much. Eating has been really difficult because everything tastes wrong/bad to a greater extent than it has before. The act of taking bites and chewing is a big chore when tastes and textures are 'off.' My mom recommended a milkshake yesterday, which still didn't taste quite right but was far and away the best thing I had tasted in three days. Today I went to have my chemo port incision assessed. It's healing VERY SLOWLY. The nurse and doctor advised that the best thing to do right now to help it heal is to leave it open. I am still processing this information. (skip the next bit, queasy friends) Being told to walk around the world with an open wound is a new thing for me. I have a sizeable, juicy hole in the skin on my chest. It looks like I've been very recently s...

What a week! Chemo #5 went as expected yesterday. I'm feeling weird and steroid-filled today. I had some serious night sweats last which is gross because chemo is also seeping out of my pours. I have had this previously and don't think I've mentioned this here. I have experienced a few hot flashes since starting chemo too, and can't really know if it's the chemo or hormone changes causing them. It has been about 10 weeks since I last had a period, which is sort of a blessing since I don't have to worry about managing cramps or anything, but it sure has me wondering what's ahead of me when it comes to hormones and managing menopause. My chemo nurse yesterday was the same nurse who looked after me for my first treatment. She had already learned about my exciting chemo port dehiscence . I guess word gets around when freaky things happen. There are so many different situations I see while I'm in the chemo suite. Two different people came in to be hooked up t...

Update one day later...we are good to go for chemo #5 tomorrow! Read on if you missed this week's excitement. -×-×-×-×-×-×-×- It has been a lovely last few days. Quality time with my sister and her family this weekend was very good medicine for my heart and soul. We lucked out with fantastic weather and the cousins made the most of the beautiful days. The dogs had fun too! They are also photogenic. ;) Chemo port rejection story... It had been about 2 months since my chemo port was put in. In that time it had a good start healing, then things regressed a bit, but with the advice of my amazing nurses things were looking a bit better again a week or two ago. Still, the incision never completely closed up (one stubborn little end just would not heal) and I have been using steri strips to help keep things in place and encourage healing. Well, over the last couple of days my body decided to assert itself and rejected the port once and for all.  !!! Skip the next paragraph if you don'...

It has been nice to be away from home and enjoy a change of scenery. We have had lots of fun and some really great weather. I don't like when summer gets too hot, so this stretch of days with mid-20 highs has been just right for me. Visits from friends have been great for us and for the girls. Cards, board games, badminton, paddleboarding, walks, campfires...lots to be grateful for. With each passing day my taste buds have been more normal. As of today I can safely say that everything tastes almost as it should. I continue to take things slow as I've been pretty tired. Being able to sleep later when I need to is definitely a reason to be thankful for summer vacation. From what I can tell the numbness in my fingers and feet is no worse than last round. My brain fog is also much improved, though I still find it difficult to focus at times. This week I brought along books to read and my embroidery. I have done some work on my embroidery in the last couple of days. I'm looking ...

  Many things have happened in the week since my last post, so I am breaking this one up to help me organize my thoughts. Side Effect Report Treatment went well last week, and my side effects are consistent with what I have experienced with previous chemo treatment. If anything, I was a little bit less tired on the weekend than I have been previously, perhaps thanks to the extra recovery week. My sense of taste is the worst it has ever been, though, so that has been really annoying. Textures and flavours are all not quite right, and I have had to give myself little pep talks in order to eat properly this week. My finger numbness feels about the same. My feet feel more numb than last time, but better when I move more. It feels like my brain fog has been worse this time around, but it is difficult to know for sure as this has not been a normal week. We have been busy, and that makes it feel like I can't keep up. Grade 8 Graduation Our family has officially graduated from Codrington S...