December 20, 2006 - Feeling Pretty Good!

Well it's a good day for Jim. He got chemo on Monday, and just got the pump out at 1:30 today. He's feeling pretty good. He slept a lot of the day yesterday, and although he's tired today, he's not nauseated. We are all thankful for that. Tomorrow is the tough day, but we have a lot of excitement going on with everyone coming in for Christmas.

My friend Alvida agreed to babysit BOTH kids tomorrow while I go to the airport and pick up Jim's folks, Aunt and Uncle, and my brother. We're doing a caravan up to my parents' house - about a 4 hour drive. Okay, a 5 hour drive since Jake likes to stop every 20 minutes. You know: he's been screaming his head off for 20 miles, we finally find a place to pull over, we get him out of the car and he looks at us like, "what? I just wanted to be held." Patience, patience, patience. Got any for sale?

I'm glad to see Jim feeling a little better and more able to manage the side effects. He doesn't like wearing the pump for several reasons:

1. Sometimes when he gets up at night, he forgets that the pump is hanging on the bed post. So he starts walking until the pump lines pull him back like he's on a leash. Ouch. He says it doesn't hurt but...

2. He's not really jazzed about showering while wearing the pump because of all the cords. He has to hang the pump on a hook outside the shower and it's a pain.

3. Anyone who knows Jim knows he's HAIRY. They have to use LOTS OF TAPE to protect the needle and keep it in the port while he wears the pump. If he forgets to shave his chest, when they pull the tape off it's like waxing, only less sticky so it hurts even more.

These are all things you don't think of when you think about cancer treatment. You picture chemo, snip snap, go home and you're done. You picture being sick at home, fatigue, lots of meds...but you never picture the inconvenience of wearing a pump and forgetting that it's hanging on the bedpost. I think it's some of the little things that end up getting on Jim's nerves. Annoyances in what could be an otherwise normal day.

He's upstairs showering himself silly with no pump on. He'll probably be in the shower for the next 2 hours. ;)

Thanks for all your prayers and cards. They mean so much. We wish everyone a very happy and safe holiday. Next time we blog will most likely be in the new year! New Year's Resolution: Slay the cancer dragon. We will beat it.