I want to apologize to all of my (4 and then some) blog followers. I am not much of a writer, in fact, my husband often has to proof read my blogs, because my grammatical errors are atrocious. So please forgive me now, because I am not letting him proof read this before I post:). He is sleeping!
I woke up this morning (4:45am), feeling the need to share a more personal journey; my friend Marni has been telling me to share as a dietitian and friend, in order to relate to my patients and clients more. You can check out Marni's blog at http://trimarni.blogspot.com/. She is amazing and even though I am a registered dietitian has tought me so much about nutrition and exercise!
Today I start chemo, yep that is right, Chemotherapy, the stuff that makes you feel like $%^& and possibly makes your hair fall out. First I need to inform everyone that I do not have cancer, but a rare form of lupus, lupus nephritis. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disorder that may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, and other orders. In my case, lupus nephritis, the lupus attacks my kidneys. There are many forms of treatment for lupus, such as nonsteroidal anti-imflammatory drugs (ex: advil/motrin), antimalarial drugs, corticosteroids, and in rare, more serious cases, cytoxan treatments (chemotherapy). I like to think that God thought I was STRONG enough to handle the rare, more serious case of lupus!
As a dietitian and health care professional, I thought it would be interesting to share my journey with lupus and what it is like to go through cytoxan chemotherapy treatments. AND seeing as I am a dietitian, I figure it would be wise to share with you all the foods I can and cannot eat and how the side affects play a role on my nutrition. I will also share about my exercise routine, the people I meet, the care I received, and how I am striving to be a great mom and wife, even when I am not feeling well!
Day 1-August 23, 2011:
I have my first treatment this morning at 8:30am. I did cytoxan chemo before, when I was 17. Because I was a pediatric (child), I was admitted inpatient and at the time (1997) the treatment recommendation was a much longer/drawn out process (once a month for 6 months and then once every 3 months for 3 years). Today I am an adult, and apparently somewhere along the way somebody said adults do not like to look at colorful painted walls with rainbows and fun farm animals, and white walls would be more appropriate. BORING!
My treatment this time will be done at an infusion site, which is often at a hematology/oncology clinic. The treatment takes a little over an hour. I get my own recliner and , my own t.v., my own nurse, my own IV pole, and my own white wall to stare at! Also, in the attempt that I would be too tired to cook this week, (and because of my OCD behavior), I planned out meals (easy enough) for my husband to cook. He is a great cook and really knows how to make the kitchen look like a bomb went off:), but he always seems to make the kitchen look spotless when he is done. My husband is amazing! Our 5 year anniversary is this Friday!! I will leave you with a cute story: One of our songs is Forever and Ever, Amen, by Randy Travis. There is a line in the song he sings to me: "They say time takes it's toll on a body, makes a young girl's brown hair turn gray. Well, honey I don't care, I ain't in love with your hair, and if it all fell out, well I'd love you anyway." AND he still loves me:).
