Wednesday, April 29, 2009

You Asked How I Am Feeling?

Did you say CHEMOMany of my friends and family ask me how I am feeling. And their question is sincere for they know I've been doing chemo since February for ovarian cancer.

So the answer is that the first few days after a chemo session I experience some aches and joint pains and a bit of listlessness. Once I get past those first few days I feel pretty decent and have a goodly amount of energy.

My blood counts fluctuate, of course, due to the effects of the chemo but that doesn't seem to affect my sense of well-being. But because the white blood count plummets I am a bit leary about catching some cold or other illness which might, in ordinary times, be mild. My lack of white blood cells would cause any illness to be much more severe for me. I don't want to be a total recluse and so I try to watch the white blood count and be out and about when it is at its best.

The photo? That's genuinely me! My daughter brought her DS1 which has a camera feature that allows you to distort the photo with a stylus. I think this one should be titled, "Did you say "Chemo?"!!!!!! When she and my grandson were here last weekend we sat on the sofa, taking and altering self-portraits, laughing up a storm. This was one of the funniest!

Today's verse is Psalm 5:11.

6 comments:

Diane said...

Um...you have pretty green eyes? Or maybe blue - hard to tell. The picture is a riot - it almost looks as if it's a reflection in an old toaster.

Or my reaction when I have to get up early.

The pastor friend who is doing chemo had blood work today - his white count is nice and high, but platlets are still low. His energy is a bit better, but he loves not having to be in isolation anymore.

cinnamongirl93 said...

Glad to hear your feeling well. That's great news and a wonderful report!
The picture looks like the picture on your blog. Very interesting.

Laurie M. said...

That is one of the craziest looking things I've ever seen!

Glad chemo's not all that bad. Thanks for sharing a bit of your journey.

Renna said...

That picture is hilarious! I'm so glad you're handling the chemo as well as you are.

McVal said...

Hi, The picture is kind of crazy! My son loves distorting pictures too. That's how I feel today too.

BTW: I had replied to your email and realized today that it was a no-reply one. Anyway, I live near Ames.

Michelle @ Give a Girl a Fig said...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog. I said a prayer for you...and hope that the chemo does its job. And that picture..? Scary!! Oh..and by the way...there's something to be said for the generations...gray matter is good. Glad to meet you.