Oncology Appointment

This morning my mom and I met with my oncologist to talk about the interferon details.  It was really helpful and I definitely came out of there feeling much less nervous than I did coming in.  The one not so fun thing I found out was that I don't have very good veins in my right arm (the only one I can use because of having my lymph nodes taken out). This means that I will have a "push" surgically inserted in my skin near my collar bone.  A push is a little circular disk that is attached to a tube that will be inserted into a vein in my neck.  The push is what the nurses will use to put in the interferon and take blood when needed.  The good thing is I don't have to be stuck with a needle everyday. :)  My oncologist assured me that the worst symptoms should be a couple hours after the infusion and on through the night.  As long as I am drinking enough water and flush the stuff out, by morning most of the effects should be minimal (except for fatigue).  I saw the room that everyone sits in when getting infusions and I'll be with a lot of older people.  I'm hoping I can weasel some of them to tell me stories from when they grew up. I could listen to those stories for hours!  I will come out of this SO much wiser! haha
I've been walking everyday this week and today I walked/JOGGED!! about 2 miles.  I only jogged probably about a 10th of what I walked, but its a start!  I'm incredibly sore now, but I'm determined I'm going to stay active during this whole thing.  And I'm taking my vitamins and trying to eat somewhat healthy...although chocolate sneaks in to that healthy diet more than a few times a day.  The word "trying" is key. :)

I'm feeling happy today. I think the beautiful weather is helping my mood quite a bit.  I'm also VERY excited to get to IU on Saturday!  The IU Dance Marathon is going on from Friday until Sunday. I have to get lots of sleep so I can't participate in the whole thing but I'm excited to be there for part of it.

My physical therapy appointment is tomorrow. The therapist will teach me how to exercise my arm so that the range of motion comes back safely and without any swelling.  I'm hoping to be able to swim a bit soon so getting my arm above my head will be great!

Thank you again for all the thoughts and prayers!

And I want to say a special thank you to our veterans.  The men and women who have served our country, the ones who are serving now, and their families.  My prayers and thanks go out to all.  Thank you especially to my friend Matt Sanders, my cousin Josh Bleill, uncle Virg Bleill, and grandpa Leo Bewley. I love you SO much!