Liz writes:
"I had my first chemo treatment on Tuesday this week. Emma came with me, and it was so nice to have her for company and support. We watched Flight of the Conchords videos on my cool new ipod (thanks Sara!), and that made the time pass with a lot less stress. The treatment was strange, but went smoothly. After accessing my port, which didn't really hurt at all, I was given two pre-meds (one for nausea, one for bones), and then the two chemo drugs. The whole thing took three hours. I got a bit queasy that afternoon, which continued on and off for a few days (the nausea meds really kept it in check), but am generally feeling surprisingly good. The day after chemo I had to go back in for a shot of Neulasta (to stimulate white blood cell production), and was told I might feel bone pain after, but I didn't. I seem to be experiencing a few little side effects now that some days have passed...fatigue, shakiness, dry mouth, blurry vision...but nothing major. I've been told the fatigue will likely worsen with each treatment, but I'm just thankful that I'm not experiencing anything really debilitating at this point.
A huge thank you to all our meal fairies this week...we've been treated to some wonderful dinners! And also to my home help fairies, who kept me company, made it possible for me to rest and relax, and even get out in the sun for a walk, while Griffin was taken care of and my house was straightened up!
Good news on the weaning front. After a weekend of trying the Supplemental Nursing System idea, but not really actually doing any weaning, I nursed Griffin one last time on Tuesday morning and then went off to chemo...he had still not been willing to take a bottle, and the SNS only worked if I did not cover up completely with the tagaderm. All that night Nathan worked with him, and developed some kind of mysterious technique, and by morning Griffin finally was willing to take a bottle from him. It was so hard for me to hear him crying and not be able to do anything to comfort him...the hardest night of my life. But the next night was better...and by Thursday morning he was even willing to take the bottle from me! It is a far cry from nursing, and I will always mourn the loss of our nursing relationship...but it is very dear to me now to sit and rock him and hold the bottle for him...at least I am still able to feed and comfort him in this new way. He's been getting donated breast milk (thank you milk fairies!) and raw goat milk (thank you mama goats!)...we are working on getting more donations so hopefully the majority will be breast milk.
Love you all,
Liz"
p.s. from Jessica H.:
Liz mentioned that it would be easier for her to do online research if she had a laptop. Perhaps someone has one they are not using or could look for one on Freecycle or Craigslist?
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