Third Down

Round three of chemo hit harder, but I finally feel like I'm coming out of my haze of blurred thoughts, fatigue and nausea. It's a really frustrating place for me to have to hang out. I can't follow conversations, so I just nod a lot and agree. When I do talk, I can't remember the words I need to use. Being restrained by your body that looks almost perfectly normal is a weird form of suffocation. Still, I consider myself very fortunate as to how I'm handling it because side effects could be much worse.

The good news is that I'm 75% done with the Red Devil; only one round left to go and the next chemo drug *should* be easier on my body! Also in good news, my oncologist says based on previous scans and my physical exam, the tumor is shrinking. I felt like it was too, but didn't want to get ahead of myself. That was after only two cycles of chemo!

My sister came this week and picked right up where my mom left off, organizing and cleaning, and making my house (and car) look better than it did before I started treatment. We were able to sneak in a couple fun things before I was down for a bit. Mallory also became an expert hat maker in two days, sewing some really cute and comfy hats for my peanut-sized head from a confusing YouTube tutorial. You wouldn't believe how sensitive my head feels to any fabric, so we found a lightweight waffle knit that doesn't pull or restrict. My honorary sister, Sarah, joined this weekend and helped Mal move furniture, organize and sell some stuff I'd been meaning to get rid of for ages. My set up is better for company now, and my basement looks amazing.

Evie also had her home rink figure skating competition this weekend. She didn't skate as well as she's used to, but she still took home a 2nd in Spins, which she's been working really hard to nail. She had a whole fan section of support with Auntie, Sarah and Grandpa popping in to cheer beside us. I was probably more proud of how she handled herself on the ice during her failures and afterwards than I've even been of her many achievements.

This week I plan to take it easy and slowly. I'm still tiring quickly, and I need to remember to listen to my body and rest. There's plenty of Netflix to watch and diamond art to do!