I am so thankful for the many people who are encouraging me and praying for me on this journey. Your prayers have definitely been felt and God continues to be faithful.

Let me catch you up. The first treatment was a learning experience! I was very nauseated and had a terrible headache for about 5 days. Thankfully this went away by Tuesday. A week after my first treatment, they did lab work to check my white blood count. I was extremely neutropenic. My neutrophil count was in the 260s when it should have been around 1500, which means my body could not have fought off an infection. I went back on an antibiotic for a few days and had to be careful around other people. Thankfully, I didn’t catch anything and when they did my blood work this past Thursday, my numbers were extremely high. My total white blood count was over 6000 and my neutrophil count was over 3000. The Neulasta shot worked!

So, I had my second Adriamycin/Cytoxan chemo on Thursday. This one was much better (if you can say that about chemo). No nausea yet, just a slight headache from the Cytoxan. They slowed the drip down to combat the headache and that worked as well. Hopefully, we can slow it down even further to keep the headache away for good. I am a little more fatigued with this treatment so I’m learning how to deal with that.

I guess the biggest thing I’ve had to get used to is being bald. My hair started coming out yesterday in chunks, so I knew it was time to shave it off. I’d been putting it off, even though I new it was something that was going to happen. FYI…My brother, Chris, had a little too much fun shaving my head last night. I think he was giddy the whole time, not that it took that long. I went from short hair to no hair in the span of about 10 minutes. Having no hair, I did learn that I would need to wear a cap at night, so I would be so cold. I’m also still getting used to looking in the mirror and seeing a bald head shine back at me. I haven’t decided yet exactly how I feel about it. I guess time will tell.

My 43rd birthday is tomorrow. I never expected to be on this journey last year, but God has me here for a reason. I hope and pray that I can be an encouragement to someone else on their journey. I am so thankful again for God’s faithfulness and your prayers. I am humbled that so many people are praying for me. Tomorrow is going to be a great day! God has this in His hands!

Prayer Points for Today:

• That the headache would subside completely
• That my neutrophils will not drop so low this week
• That the Neulasta shot will work again
• That I will not develop an infection or fever this week
• That the fatigue will get better