Appt.'s and happy news

What a crazy week around here! Lots of Doctor appt.'s and they're not ending anytime soon! As much as I complain about our health ins., I'm unbelievably grateful for it because we don't have to pay a dime for any of this. Thank you, Mark, and thank you, Navy!

We started off on Monday with an upper abdomen ultrasound. Since I'm pregnant I can't have "normal" cancer staging done like PET and CT scans because of the dangers of radiation to the baby. The U/S is safe to use and they were checking for tumors. I kept hoping the tech would slide the scanner on down so I could get another peek at the baby, but, well, she had one job to do and that was what she was doing.

Tuesday was the day I had been dreading: The Bone Marrow Biopsy! (I feel like scary movie music should always follow that phrase.) The Dr. had me take an anxiety pill an hour before and a Percoset when leaving the house. Arrived at the oncology office for the "procedure" and met Lisa, the wonderful PA. She chatted with me about what to expect, then had me lay down and get started. Now, I'm the type of person who likes to know every single detail about what's about to be done, but if there's a needle, I DO NOT want to see it. Lisa thinks the same way. Love her! So I can't tell you what the needles looked like. She numbed me up which hurt for all of 3 seconds, then numbed my bone, which hurt for one second more. Then I felt NOTHING. Lisa explained that since your pelvic bone is the largest in your body it's the best to pull from and since I'm small, it'd go quicker. So I laid on my left side, curled up, while we talked and she put needles in my back. Dr. H, my amazing oncologist came in to say hi, ask how the fam was, etc. and since Lisa was pulling the marrow at that time, he held my hand! I didn't really need it since it was more pressure than anything. They bandaged me and I said "That was it?!" My blood pressure was a little low so I had to hang out awhile. When I sat up is when the night got fun. The drugs kicked in and I remember almost nothing. Here's what apparently went on: I called my mom,Mark said I was hilarious, we got home, I threw up, crashed on the couch, he made dinner, I wanted none, he made me tater tots which I scarfed down, I talked to my mom (again) and my sister, Anya snuggled me, Mark cleaned the bathrooms, he put her to bed, I sang her "the Winnie the Pooh song" through the phone since I couldn't get off the couch, watched some tv, and ate some ice cream. Like I said...I remember NOT ONE SINGLE THING. The biopsy site is clean and good today. Doesn't even hurt anymore.

Okay, yesterday was the appt. with the lymphoma specialist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I'll be honest. After Exeter, I was a little disappointed with D.F. I know it's a phenomenal cancer hospital, but it was pretty dreary and depressing. Exeter is all windows, built around a zen garden, and I love the light. Oh, well. I was just in Boston for the second opinion, not to be treated. The specialist was great! Very positive. He thinks I should not only be able to have a healthy baby during chemo, but go full term. He's not concerned about what "stage" I'm in because the R-CHOP chemo that's used to treat NHL kills all the cancer cells in the body, except the brain. So I could be stage 1 or stage 4 and it's supposed to do the same job. We discussed what to expect from this type of chemo (definite hair loss, nausea, exhaustion, potential heart problems down the road). We also talked about the need for a high risk OB and special ped. for the baby since we'll both have a lot of problems with our white blood cells and risk of infection. For me, it'll be during treatment, for the baby, it'll be a lot of testing for the first year. I'll go more into detail of that stuff when the chemo gets going.

Tomorrow I meet with Dr. H to go over my chemo regime, what to expect, how to handle emergencies, etc. Wed. I'm having my heart checked to make sure I can handle the chemo, then they're putting a PICC line in my arm. Some chemo patients have it injected directly into their veins. Dr. H isn't a fan of this. Some have a port put in, but it's a slightly invasive surgery with a couple of risks not great for the pregnant crowd. So the PICC line is a happy medium. It stays in my arm for the next 6 months, part of sticking out, part running up my arm inside my body and the chemo gets put in through there. Then Thursday chemo begins!

All in all, a positive week and I'm ending on a positive note. Dr. H called tonight and said the u/s showed no tumors and the preliminary biopsy result are back and no cancer is showing in my marrow!! Yeaahh!!

Thank you's and lots of love this week to:
Kelly T. for the card- I forgot to include you last week!
Jenny J for watching Anya, cleaning my house, and the kickass chicken pie!
My family back home because I know this is not easy for you to not be with me (and it's not easy for me either!!). I love you guys so much!!