Tuesday, June 23, 2009

To The Edge And Back....

I've been meaning to post for weeks now and just as soon as I decided to do it, I got sick again. So here is what's been happening in my special corner of the world!

A week after my spa day with Sami, I developed a wicked case of lyphedema (basically, lymph fluid accumulating in my right arm) and my arm puffed up to twice its size in some places. That kept me off the keyboard for a couple weeks! That was followed by the worst itcy rash I have ever had in my life, and nothing would relief it. That has come and gone over the past couple of months and we're not really sure what it is. It doesn't appear to be anything dangerous but it is extremely uncomfortable and at its worst I have to resort to pain pills. So that finished up April.

Moving into May, I came down with a cough that was starting to keep me up at night. I started chemo on 5/5 so I mentioned it to the doctor then but he didn't seem to think it was much of anything. So I had chemo and went home to bed. The following week I went in for chemo but was so sick I could hardly get out of bed. This time the doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics, skipped chemo, and sent me home again. One more week and I was back for chemo, cough was better but I was dehydrated. At least I thought that was all that was wrong....turns out I had a bacterial lung infection that turned into pneumonia. Off to the hospital I went, right then and there. I ended up taking in 7 bags of fluid over 24 hours, 3 bags of potassium, and a couple of bags of magnesium. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days until I felt safe going home without fear of relapse. Then I celebrated my birthday with my beautiful children. That takes care of May and the closest I've ever felt to death.

I started this update back on June 23 so I think it's about time I posted it now that I'm at a good stopping point! My many escapades in June and July will be coming up after this brief message from our sponsors....