About a week after I left the hospital, I had to go in and get the staples removed. I couldn't believe how much easier it was to sleep after that was done! The doctors also discussed the treatment options to ensure that all the cancer cells were killed. It was decided that I would start chemotherapy in about three weeks which would allow my body enough time to heal before bombarding it with the chemicals that would hopefully leave me cancer free for the rest of my life.
When I went to the clinic for the checkup, I was using the walker still because it was still difficult for me to walk upright without it. This was embarrassing for me since I was only 43 at the time and I thought only old people had to use those contraptions, but I guess it was better than depending on a wheelchair. Some of the other thoughts that were going through my head at this time included: "Why me?", "It can't happen to me because I'm too young!", "What did I do wrong?" and similar thoughts.
I got my hair cut short a few days before my first chemotherapy session thinking that I didn't want my long hair falling out all over the place. It was cut short, but not shaved. I don't think I could get myself to shave my head even though I knew eventually I would be bald anyway. I had several people trying to talk me into buying a wig and others telling me I didn't want to do that. In the end, I decided to go with hats and scarves because it was less...pretentious. I think if I was teaching or something I would have thought differently, but my doctor wouldn't even let me work while I was in treatment.
On the day of my first treatment, one of my coworkers took the day off work (I think he was off for the whole week, actually) and he and his wife drove me to the hospital and spent the whole day with me. They made sure that I had everything I needed for the whole day! The whole thing took over 5 hours and on the way home, they were worried that I would be sick because the last person they had know who had gone through chemo was sick all the time. Fortunately, there were some very good anti-nausea medications by this time. This was some time in October.
I had to go in every week to get blood drawn so they could make sure that my counts were not too low. I know one of the treatments was scheduled to fall the week of Thanksgiving and they let me wait a week on that one so that I would be able to enjoy the holiday. Unfortunately, they didn't let me do the same thing the week of Christmas. It was about this time that I finally started losing my hair (after the third treatment).
My life was a pretty dull routine during this period. On the days that I went for my blood draws, I drove myself around. After I left the lab, I would go to visit my two employers so they would know I hadn't forgotten about them. First I would go to the grocery store (my part time job) and then I would go to my full time job. On these visits, I always wore a mask because my sister-in-law was worried about me catching a cold from someone I encountered. Once I left there, I went to the Red Cross where I was a volunteer with disaster services. I would spend time there helping catch up some of the paperwork that was backlogged. I was never able to do that when I was working 60 hours a week so I loved the fact that I could go there a couple of hours a day sometimes.
I remember the day that I was at the doctor and they said my hair was coming back. This was a couple of weeks after the last chemo session. I thought it was the last remnants of my old hair because I was never totally bald. I couldn't believe how soft it was--like a new born baby. If you shave your head and it grows back it feels stubbly; but if your hair falls out from chemotherapy, it comes in soft. It was a great feeling! By the time it started warming up, I had enough hair that I didn't feel a need to continue to wear a head cover of any kind. I did look like a boy/man because my hair was so short, but that was ok! It just meant that I didn't need a comb.
In the fall, I was sent to Western North Carolina with the Red Cross to help with the flooding caused by one of the hurricanes that year. When I was in the hotel, I finally had to ask them for a comb because my hair was starting to grow a little bit! I hadn't needed a comb in about 8 months! I was finally getting back to normal!
One thing I forgot to mention about my full time employer. I could have been over 4 months without income because I only had about 200 hours of leave accumulated. Between my coworkers and some friends in another department, over 500 hours of leave was DONATED to me! I got my full pay the whole time I was out of work. During the last month before returning to work full time, they allowed me to work 20 hours a week (only 4 hours a day and they gave me a 30 minute break after 2 hours). I didn't tell them that I was also working at the grocery store on the weekends, but I did. It felt really good to get back into earning again!
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