Today I had my support group meeting. Every first and third Thursday of the month, I meet with about 10 women that all have cancer and we talk with a psychologist about different topics. Today was about relationships.
We covered a lot in our 2 hours together. We talked about everything from communication challenges between spouses to how to handle when others want to help or when they expect too much of you. I found several of the women mentioning how lots of people think once you're done with chemo or whatever treatment regimen you were given, many around us think, "Oh, they're done, they should be back to normal now." That's not the case. It's a stereotype I believed until today. I knew my body would take a week or so to feel better, but these women were saying it was more like months and sometimes even a year. I'm not discouraged, just thankful, because now I can communicate with others better now that I know.
When we talked about communicating with family, mothers became topic. I almost cried when talking about mine. There was one woman who said she had the expectation that her mom would come and help out or at least offer when she found out her daughter had cancer and she didn't. It was heartbreaking to hear of a momma who for whatever reason wasn't there for her daughter when she clearly needed her. The woman was saying she doesn't have a great relationship with her mom and she thinks that's why she isn't helping her today.
I hugged my Mom long and hard afterward and told her how thankful I was to have her here with me during this time.
After my group, I had labs. So I went to get my labs done assuming we'd be there for another 4 hours getting platelets. My labs came back showing the important numbers had gone up. Not much, but they had gone up and I didn't need platelets right now. I go back in the morning to test again. I'm thankful I have a lidocaine cream, because even with a port, being stuck one day after another can be tender.
Oh and good news ... I mean great news! I don't have to have the shots anymore for right now. So tonight, I don't have to dread 9:00 and Mom doesn't have to give them anymore for now. We were both happy about that one!
This Saturday, we're going to this place called Butler's Orchard. You get to pick your own strawberries and blueberries. We're pretty excited about doing that family outing.
So things to pray for ...
- My counts continue to rise on the levels that need it the most
- I continue to gain weight
- Continued blessing and strength for my husband and mom who are doing extra to take care of me and Jonathan.
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