I woke up this morning in excruciating pain, no joke....I felt like I was having a heart attack, but on my right side...so I knew it could not be. My chest was tight and I could barely move. It hurt to breathe. Where they had inserted the Mediport was killing me. All of the pain meds wore off.
I call my parents at 6:00am, my mom answers the phone and tell her I need them to take me to my appts today. I get up and get a new icepack, take some pain meds and lay back down until my alarm is set to go off.
I get ready, still in pain and 40 min until my appt for my Chemo class, my parents have not shown up....they are usually early for things...and I was starting to wonder what was going on. I call my dad's cell, and he was still at home. They did not "know" (forgot) that I had the 9:00am Chemo class. They only thought I had the 11:30 follow-up meeting with my surgeon. UGH!! I was tired, in pain, and irritated. NOT a good combination. I tell my dad to forget it. My mom calls back and I end up yelling at her through tears. Telling her what appt I am going to.
Feeling incredibly guilty while I drive still in pain I go to my oncologists office where I thought the Chemo class was. When I get there, I was told the class was across the street. Of course I got in the wrong lane, traffic was horrible...and it was making me late for my appt. I hate being late.
Chemo class was informative, and I learned a lot. I was able to ask questions. I felt a bit more reassured of the process.....despite not having my time line for Chemo set out. The Nurse who gave the information was super informative and super nice. She was reassuring, calming, and really was available for everyones individual needs.
I then went over to the surgeon's appt, met up with mom and dad. That appt went well. My incision from my sentinel lymph node surgery is healing well. She said I won't need to see her again until closer to the end of my chemo procedure. This is where we will talk about the mastectomy or partial mastectomy and pick a plastic surgeon. I know who I want to be my surgeon is what I am thinking....
ugh, thinking I still need to write my letter to him.
Mom and Dad, love them both......drive me to work, after we eat lunch at one of my go to restaurants near my home "The Coyote Grill." I get tons of facebook messages from my friends, which always uplifts me. Makes me smile and keeps my spirits hi. Knowing the support I have, and knowing that so many people are praying and thinking of me.
I missed this posting - I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Frustration and pain make *everything* worse. I'm sure your mom understood - I'm glad they could be there for you. Any chance you can invite them to join a Google calendar where you can put all your appointments? It works for John & me to keep track of what the kids have going on (when he checks it - ha!)
ReplyDeleteHang in there friend, you'll all get in the swing of things when schedules are set.
Virtual hugs!!
Thanks, yeah, She said she understood. I still felt so bad!! I need to have them write it down on her calender when I talk to them. I made her do that last night when I told her about the start of Chemo. :-) You right, it is only as good as if they *check* it ;-)
DeleteThanks for the hugs!!!
would it help you to feel less guilty if you talked to a cancer-supporter? I have a very dear friend who's husband is fighting stage 4 colon cancer that has spread to liver, lungs, etc. He started chemo last October and the latest scan showed the 9 remaining tumors have not grown or spread any more - so they are celebrating that. Here is her blog if you want to read it -and let me know if you want an email introduction - she lives in Reston and might be able to give you the "care-taker" perspective and how you can "treat" your parents so you won't feel so guilty about the occasional melt down. :-)
Deletehttp://embracingtherollercoaster.wordpress.com/
I will check out her blog as well. Thanks for thinking of this.
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