I'm Home!

Wow, I feel so incredibly blessed to have so many wonderful people praying for me! I've been contacted by so many family members and friends who have told me that their churches are praying, their Bible studies are praying, their co-workers are praying, message boards members are praying--it's just amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I got home from the hospital this afternoon. The first thing I did was go outside to see the puppies, and swallowed some kind of bug! Probably a gnat, but it made me cough and gag and my throat still feels funny. Weird.

I had my first cycle of chemo yesterday. I'm doing okay with it. They gave me pre-meds to help prevent nausea, and they worked pretty well. They sent me home with a whole sack full of medicines.

In the next few days and weeks I can expect to experience some continued nausea, fatigue, loss of hair, and possibly sores in my mouth and wherever there is soft tissue. The chemo targets fast-growing cells, and the cells in your hair, mouth, etc. are included. It all sounds distressing, but I can handle it, keeping in mind that these toxic chemicals are helping to make me well.

My doctors, nurses and techs at Wilford Hall were incredible! They are so kind, knowledgeable, and efficient. They know exactly what they are doing and I feel very confident that I'm getting the best care possible.

Father Kloster came to see me this morning. He stayed and chatted for quite awhile, then gave me Holy Communion. The time spent with him was incredibly precious to me. He also blessed my medals and rosaries, one mine and one Mom's that she brought to me yesterday.

While he was there, a little lady from the Chaplain's office came to see me. (I had three different visits from people from the Chaplain's office and received Communion from one of them, also). When Father opened the door, she had the most surprised look on her face. :o) She was German, and had a wonderful accent. Fr. Kloster is of German heritage, and recognized her regional accent immediately. They had a short conversation in German and it was fun to hear them and see their happy faces. She left, saying that I was good hands. :o)

Later in the morning I had yet another surprise visit, this one from the Chaplain from where my husband works. He had been visiting another patient in the hospital, who told him that I was there (someone Ron knows). So he came down to see me, too. We chatted briefly, and he asked if he could pray for me. He put his hand on my shoulder and prayed a beautiful prayer for my healing, and for the comfort of me and my family during this stressful time.

So you can see why I feel I had a blessed morning. :o)

I'll have 6 cycles of chemo, then they will collect my healthy bone marrow stem cells and give me another round of chemo. Then they will give me back my own healthy stem cells, and I'll be cured! All of it will take 8 to 10 months. I'll have 21 days or so between chemo cycles.

Of course this all depends on how my body reacts to all this medication.

Thank you to all of you have been and are praying for me. I feel your love and support and it helps immensely. I would be wonderful if a miracle happened, and I didn't have to go through the whole regimen, but God has a plan for me, and His will be done. I know that I can do anything through Him.