Chemo, Cookies and Cheerios

I haven’t written in my journal in a while. I had a bad month. I am finally feeling good again. I went to work all week and did good. After the first hour I start to yawn uncontrollably and then I come home and sleep for 3 hours. I go for my 5th treatment on Monday and I am starting on Taxotere so I am a little nervous about what the side effects are going to be. With the Adriamycin and Cytoxan I have had mouth sores, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, headaches, bone aches, acid reflux, and hot flashes about 100 times a day! I have had no appetite but have managed to gain 9 pounds! The doctor said it is from the steroids. Jeff is all about me gaining wait. He says I need to stay healthy. I feel like a bloated toad. I have tried to write in my journal but it has been difficult. I am trying to keep my positive attitude but it’s hard sometimes. My eyelashes and eyebrows are starting to fall out so when I look in the mirror with no makeup on I think I look like an alien.

My friend Patty that lives down the street came over to visit the other day and she gave me a blanket to snuggle on the couch with. Her mom made it and it is just beautiful! It has the breast cancer ribbon and roses embroidered on it. There is a picture of it above. I just love it. I am always curled up with it that is until a hot flash hits and it goes flying across the room along with my whatever I have covering my bald head at the time. Then 2 minutes later I am freezing and scrambling to keep warm again.

Jeff knows I have been miserable lately and he has been cleaning and organizing stuff. Well today he did the sweetest thing. I gave him some stale Cheerioes that have been around a while and told him to go throw them in the yard for the birds. When he came in, he came upstairs and told me to go look out the window. He wrote “I LOVE YOU TRISH!” in Cheerios on the lawn. I couldn’t believe it! He is the kind of guy that tells me he loves me 100 times a day, but to write I love you in Cheerios! It was sweet. All I could do was hug him and tell him how special that was to me. He was so happy that I was happy! He made my day. Then I told him I have been waiting for that romantic moment for 22 years! LOLOL!

I have been making cookies all day today. I am taking some to the nurses tomorrow when I go for chemo. My mom is making some too. She makes the oatmeal fudge no bakes and they are so good! I made oatmeal raisin, oatmeal chocolate chip and chocolate chip. I am hoping that I feel good enough this week to make my sugar cookies. I was going to today but I ran out of energy. We decorate them as a family for Christmas. It is so fun!

I am going to go take a peek at Jeff’s Cheerio art work again before the birds eat it. What a sweetie!