This past week or so has been hell around our house. A day after I went back on chemo Carly, Andrew, Penny and I all got sick with some kind of short lived stomach bug. We spent about 3 days just trying to get through. There was upchuck everywhere. All the beds got ralphed in until we were out of sheets. On one night Carly and I slept on the floor together and Andrew and Penny slept together in Carly's bed. I say slept but of course I don't mean the wistful, restful kind. It was more of a fitful semi-quietude punctuated by a chorus of frequent dry heaves. Needless to say, everyone in the house being sick at the same time really sucks.
Penny and Carly seemed to recover much faster than Andrew and I, and were somewhat able to take care of us is our sorry state. Of course at the same time, I was dealing with all the side effects of chemo and ended up becoming quite dehydrated. In hind sight I probably should have headed to the hospital for some hydration but I ended up just staying home and trying to stick it out. So of course I got very weak, lost a bunch of weight, and at times felt light headed and delirious. My ongoing drain pain also seemed to get worse during that time. I couldn't move without feeling pain and my only comfortable position was lying on my right side. The pain meds I was taking didn't help much unless I took lots and then I just got high and fell asleep. Now getting high and falling asleep may not sound that bad but, like everything, it starts to wear on you after a while - plus it got in the way of watching the Olympics. On one occasion I took a bunch of pain meds and fell asleep on the couch downstairs while the kids played. When I woke up, Andrew had retrieved the pump soap from the bathroom and had emptied the bottle, on himself, on his clothes, on the couch and on the floor. He actually woke me up pointing to the empty bottle and asking for more. At least the soap smells better than barf.
Right now Penny and the kids are in Fairmont Hot Springs for the week enjoying some skiing and swimming. Since I can't ski, swim or even walk I hopped on a plane and came to Victoria for the week to spend some time relaxing/recovering with my parents. Hopefully things will improve while I'm here and I can go home refreshed and ready for round 10 of my chemo which should be a go for one week from today.
Penny and Carly seemed to recover much faster than Andrew and I, and were somewhat able to take care of us is our sorry state. Of course at the same time, I was dealing with all the side effects of chemo and ended up becoming quite dehydrated. In hind sight I probably should have headed to the hospital for some hydration but I ended up just staying home and trying to stick it out. So of course I got very weak, lost a bunch of weight, and at times felt light headed and delirious. My ongoing drain pain also seemed to get worse during that time. I couldn't move without feeling pain and my only comfortable position was lying on my right side. The pain meds I was taking didn't help much unless I took lots and then I just got high and fell asleep. Now getting high and falling asleep may not sound that bad but, like everything, it starts to wear on you after a while - plus it got in the way of watching the Olympics. On one occasion I took a bunch of pain meds and fell asleep on the couch downstairs while the kids played. When I woke up, Andrew had retrieved the pump soap from the bathroom and had emptied the bottle, on himself, on his clothes, on the couch and on the floor. He actually woke me up pointing to the empty bottle and asking for more. At least the soap smells better than barf.
Right now Penny and the kids are in Fairmont Hot Springs for the week enjoying some skiing and swimming. Since I can't ski, swim or even walk I hopped on a plane and came to Victoria for the week to spend some time relaxing/recovering with my parents. Hopefully things will improve while I'm here and I can go home refreshed and ready for round 10 of my chemo which should be a go for one week from today.
Well, that's all for now. Back to my Olympic viewing position on the couch.
3 comments:
I cringed at your post. Being sick yourself is bad enough, but having to take care of sick kids on top of it must have been exausting. Hope you can catch up on some much needed rest in Victoria, and enjoy watching the Olympics.
What a romantic Valentine's/Family Day weekend you were all treated to??! Sorry to hear you were sick en masse like that. Your pump soap story struck a chord - I posted a pic of Will a few years ago, not sure if a link will work in the comments here but it only takes a minute, those rascally rabbits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetwilliam/489665377/
Hope you are enjoying pre-Spring on the coast.
Hope you're all getting some well needed rest! Nothing like staying with your mama to get feeling better:) It's amazing to me that throughout all the puke, pain meds., etc... you still have such an awesome sense of humour:) Hang in there!
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