....and Cycle # 6 is the last one - in case I hadn't mentioned that several times before!
Today was the first time since February 15, I hadn't seen the Dr. on Tuesday!! No wonder he had to go on vacation!! He's been SO careful to monitor every little cell in my blood. He's just outstanding! Today my hemoglobin had dropped a bit more and was low enough that the nurse in the chemo lab wouldn't give me chemo until she contacted the Dr.! Those nurses!! They really want to give me a transfusion! It's very comforting! They are definitely looking out for me!
Each week for three weeks, a different nurse has been my chemo nurse and each one has looked at my lab results, then talked to me to find out just how tired I really am. The nurse today said, "You don't look like your hemoglobin is that low!" So I told her the new Lancome make-up is working! :-) She said that's not all they look at, so I assumed she was looking at my fingernails which are hot pink! Great blood flow there!
Anyway, the Dr. gave permission for chemo. I was so glad! As the nurse "unhooked me", she told me, like each nurse for the past two weeks, to be sure to call if I feel too tired. She said, "When you get that make-up off and look in the mirror, and if you're huffing and puffing, you call." I only huff and puff when I climb stairs, walk up a hill, or walk fast! Yesterday I played two games of pickleball in the sun and did fine. When my knees start shaking I know it's time to quit!
So, please continue to pray for my bones. Next week will be my next (and last) "big treatment". The one drug I will get is the one that's especially hard on the red blood cells. So, if I can scoot through next week and the week after, surely, I will make it without a transfusion! I really don't want "the schedule" disrupted! We're so close to being finished!
One of our friends in Omaha sent Steve a Scripture this morning. It is Isaiah 58: 10-12. Verse 11 was especially meaningful to me because it mentioned bones! In "The Message" verses 10 & 11 read, "If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places - firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry." Until I started these treatments, I hadn't paid attention to how many times bones are mentioned in the Bible. It encourages me to know that bones are important to the Lord, so I know He's watching out for mine!
My sister-in-law's mother went to be with the Lord on Friday. I saw on Facebook today the video clip of my brother, sister-in-law, and her sister singing at the funeral. They sang one of my favorite "old" songs....
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.
His love hath no limit, His grace hath no measure,
His power hath no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.....
Those words resonate with my spirit in a new way because after going through the events of the past few months, I know first-hand that He does give grace again and again. He has done it for every surgery, every procedure, and on every Tuesday since February 15.....and on all the days in between when I thought I would (or did) melt down! It's comforting to know that grace and strength will continue to be with me in the days and years ahead!
Thanks for your prayers that these next three weeks will proceed with no complications - that I won't "huff and puff" and that I'll have lots of red blood cells! If you're in town on July 3, come over and help us celebrate! God is good - all the time - even in the "bad times"!
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