We have had a busy couple of days in the Pratt household. My sister's wedding was on Saturday. It was an absolutely amazing day! Our day started at 9am with all the women getting our hair and make up done. Sophie even had her hair curled. It was a really relaxed morning of getting ready. When the photographers arrived we got my sister dressed and then headed over to my parents' house for some pictures.
The ceremony was beautiful. A few little glitches, including the ring bearer dropping the ring into the grass, but those are the things that make it memorable. We had the pictures done at Painted Rock vineyard. It was a beautiful setting and I can't wait to see the photos!
The reception was at my parents and everyone had a blast. The kids had so much fun running and playing together. Sophie lasted until 9pm! There was a lots of dancing and catching up with family and friends. It was great.
Will and I were both pretty exhausted on Sunday, as was Sophie. We decided to go to the waterslides in Osoyoss so that Sophie would have a little nap. What a fun day! Liam and Sophie both had a great time. Sophie talked the entire time she was so excited. It's a small waterpark, but the slides were a good speed for the kids. That night Will and I went for dinner to the Wild Scallion to celebrate our anniversary.
Yesterday was chemo day. The events of the weekend kept us busy enough that I didn't really worry too much leading up to it. I was pretty nervous yesterday morning though. We got our c/t scan results. The doctor said they were overall good. Not really much change. There was no spread (YAY!) but still the same number of liver spots (BOO!). The two biggest ones had diminished in size though. We know the chemo is working and as there was a 3+ week span between my last scan and the start of chemo,we are assuming that more progress was made then what we can see. There is no change to the treatment and we will rescan again in about 2 months.
I gained another pound! Slow and steady. The doctor said that the chemo is all based on weight so the more I weigh the more drugs I get. Bring on the fat!
I'm feeling so-so today. I went for a walk and had a nice nap this morning and we had a pretty relaxed afternoon. My husband is making me my new favourite food as we speak. Zucchini fritattas. I'd never had them before but found a recipe yesterday that we modified slightly and oh my goodness they were good. I ended up eating the whole batch.
Hoping that I am feeling better tomorrow.
Tuesday 24 July 2012
Friday 20 July 2012
Well That Was Easy
So I had my ct scan this morning. As the day got closer, my nerves got worse. I tried really hard not to be anxious about it, but I was. It was suggested that I imagine it as a photograph, just a picture of that time, as part of a longer journey. Whether the results are excellent, okay or not so good, that is just what they are that day. It doesn't mean they will be the same in a month or a year from now. Putting it into this perspective, seemed to help a fair bit.
Anyways, this morning came and I wimped out and took an Ativan to help me get through. We got to the waiting room and were greeted by the receptionist and tech who did my ct scan the first time. It brought back lots of memories and feelings. They are very nice though and they made me comfortable. The great news came that I could get the injection through my portacath and not an iv! YAY portacath! I wasn't actually all that nervous about the iv, but I really didn't want a bruise on my arm for the wedding. The scan itself was fine and we won't hear results until next week.
I feel a huge sense of relief that this is over. I don't know why I was so worked up about it. I know I will be very nervous Monday waiting for my doctor's appointment, but I am going to try not to think about it over the weekend.
Now the fun starts. Kristie's wedding is tomorrow!! Rehearsal starts in a couple of hours. I am so so so excited. We started the festivities by going to the spa yesterday afternoon, which was amazing. I also bought a nice dress that actually fits me to wear tonight. I haven't bought any clothes in smaller sizes because I just don't want to. I don't want to be this thin for long. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy a dress or just borrow one from my sister. I am really glad I did though. I feel great about myself in it.
If I could just get started on the speech I would be all set....
Anyways, this morning came and I wimped out and took an Ativan to help me get through. We got to the waiting room and were greeted by the receptionist and tech who did my ct scan the first time. It brought back lots of memories and feelings. They are very nice though and they made me comfortable. The great news came that I could get the injection through my portacath and not an iv! YAY portacath! I wasn't actually all that nervous about the iv, but I really didn't want a bruise on my arm for the wedding. The scan itself was fine and we won't hear results until next week.
I feel a huge sense of relief that this is over. I don't know why I was so worked up about it. I know I will be very nervous Monday waiting for my doctor's appointment, but I am going to try not to think about it over the weekend.
Now the fun starts. Kristie's wedding is tomorrow!! Rehearsal starts in a couple of hours. I am so so so excited. We started the festivities by going to the spa yesterday afternoon, which was amazing. I also bought a nice dress that actually fits me to wear tonight. I haven't bought any clothes in smaller sizes because I just don't want to. I don't want to be this thin for long. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy a dress or just borrow one from my sister. I am really glad I did though. I feel great about myself in it.
If I could just get started on the speech I would be all set....
Monday 16 July 2012
Just Another Week
I have been wanting to write a post for a few days now, but I just didn't know what to write about. This has been another great week, but nothing really interesting has happened. I guess that is a good thing!
The chemo treatment seemed to go well again (so thankful for this). I felt well again by Thursday and my "sick" days weren't too bad. I was just tired and had less energy than usual. I had a pretty good appetite all last week, so hopefully I'm still gaining a bit of weight.
The hardest part by far was the mental battle. It's frustrating to not have energy and feel like yourself and it's hard to listen to your body and take a rest. It's also hard having the fear in the back of your mind. I try really hard to just be grateful that I feel good and be thankful for each day, but it's hard to not be scared. There is no point in worrying because it won't do any good. I just really wish that someone could tell me in one year (or 2 or 3) that I would be cancer free. I can get through the treatments and do it all physically I just really wish I could know the outcome. But, no one knows what lies ahead for them, so I just need to accept that I don't know my future and continue living each day to the fullest.
The last few days have been fun summer days. We've spent lots of time just playing in the backyard and trying to stay in the shade. Sophie took me kayaking. She explained to me how to paddle and even gave me a demonstration. It was pretty cute. She wanted her and Liam to go by themselves, but somehow I didn't think that'd be a good idea.
This should be a fun but busy week for us. My sister is getting married on Saturday, so there is lots to do to get ready for that. Well, actually, all I'm doing is going to the spa for the afternoon:) We're taking the kids to see Sesame Street Live on Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to watching them dance and sing. Hopefully Liam does it butt shake/foot stomp dance. Also I have my ct on Friday. I'm sure I'll be a mess of nerves that day, even though I won't get my results until next week.
Anyways, I hope everyone reading this is doing well. I sure appreciate your continued prayers and well wishes.
The chemo treatment seemed to go well again (so thankful for this). I felt well again by Thursday and my "sick" days weren't too bad. I was just tired and had less energy than usual. I had a pretty good appetite all last week, so hopefully I'm still gaining a bit of weight.
The hardest part by far was the mental battle. It's frustrating to not have energy and feel like yourself and it's hard to listen to your body and take a rest. It's also hard having the fear in the back of your mind. I try really hard to just be grateful that I feel good and be thankful for each day, but it's hard to not be scared. There is no point in worrying because it won't do any good. I just really wish that someone could tell me in one year (or 2 or 3) that I would be cancer free. I can get through the treatments and do it all physically I just really wish I could know the outcome. But, no one knows what lies ahead for them, so I just need to accept that I don't know my future and continue living each day to the fullest.
The last few days have been fun summer days. We've spent lots of time just playing in the backyard and trying to stay in the shade. Sophie took me kayaking. She explained to me how to paddle and even gave me a demonstration. It was pretty cute. She wanted her and Liam to go by themselves, but somehow I didn't think that'd be a good idea.
This should be a fun but busy week for us. My sister is getting married on Saturday, so there is lots to do to get ready for that. Well, actually, all I'm doing is going to the spa for the afternoon:) We're taking the kids to see Sesame Street Live on Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to watching them dance and sing. Hopefully Liam does it butt shake/foot stomp dance. Also I have my ct on Friday. I'm sure I'll be a mess of nerves that day, even though I won't get my results until next week.
Anyways, I hope everyone reading this is doing well. I sure appreciate your continued prayers and well wishes.
Monday 9 July 2012
And on we go
Today we started our 4th chemo treatment. When we walked in, we were asked "How are you doing today", our response, "Besides the fact that we're in oncology right now, we're great". Obviously if I could snap my fingers and get rid of the cancer I would, but I don't see this as a bad time in our lives. I am feeling so healthy and have so much energy. I am appreciating everything in my life much more than I did in the past. There is always that little bit of fear in the back of my mind, but most of the time it is far outweighed by happiness.
While we were in the waiting room, we were chatting with another couple, who we have seen during our previous treatments. The man asked me for how long I had been suffering. I really didn't understand the question and thought he meant how long after the chemo am I sick for. It wasn't until his wife clarified it, that I realized he wanted to know how long I had been having chemo treatments. It just made me so thankful for how well my body has been accepting the drugs. I definitely have not been suffering for the last 6 weeks. There have been a few bad days, but over all, especially the last 3 weeks or so, life has been great. I went for a hike with my dad a few days ago, and I think I surprised him that I could keep up.
I was extremely nervous to find out my blood results. I tried to reason with myself that we'd had good results the last few times, it was the same chemo drugs, I am still eating the same good foods and doing my relaxations and going for walks and therefore that I should expect the same results again. It's hard to reason with yourself when you're scared though.
The doctor said that my blood results were continuing to improve. I still have one liver enzyme that is high, but it has lowered once again. He said this was all positive and that we should assume that when I get my ct scan late next week that we will see improvement. As soon as we left that appointment my stress significantly decreased.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. It's a long day of being in and out of the hospital though. Happy to be home now. Hopefully a couple days to rest and recover and make good use of Will being at home for a few days. We just got a dehydrator so I have a long list of things for him to make for me:)
Oh and I almost forgot. On the official scale I was up 1.25lbs!!
While we were in the waiting room, we were chatting with another couple, who we have seen during our previous treatments. The man asked me for how long I had been suffering. I really didn't understand the question and thought he meant how long after the chemo am I sick for. It wasn't until his wife clarified it, that I realized he wanted to know how long I had been having chemo treatments. It just made me so thankful for how well my body has been accepting the drugs. I definitely have not been suffering for the last 6 weeks. There have been a few bad days, but over all, especially the last 3 weeks or so, life has been great. I went for a hike with my dad a few days ago, and I think I surprised him that I could keep up.
I was extremely nervous to find out my blood results. I tried to reason with myself that we'd had good results the last few times, it was the same chemo drugs, I am still eating the same good foods and doing my relaxations and going for walks and therefore that I should expect the same results again. It's hard to reason with yourself when you're scared though.
The doctor said that my blood results were continuing to improve. I still have one liver enzyme that is high, but it has lowered once again. He said this was all positive and that we should assume that when I get my ct scan late next week that we will see improvement. As soon as we left that appointment my stress significantly decreased.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. It's a long day of being in and out of the hospital though. Happy to be home now. Hopefully a couple days to rest and recover and make good use of Will being at home for a few days. We just got a dehydrator so I have a long list of things for him to make for me:)
Oh and I almost forgot. On the official scale I was up 1.25lbs!!
Thursday 5 July 2012
Going Up
The numbers on the scale are rising. According to our home scale I've gained 3 pounds since last week! It's not surprising based on the amount of food I've been eating, but it's obviously been awhile since my weight has gone up. I'm trying to balance eating tons of fruits and veggies but also eating lots of fat.
We have added lots of nuts and seeds to my diet and are not shy with adding oil to things. I have two big food discoveries for the week. I made a "sour cream" out of pine nuts and sunflower seeds, it was a really really good dip after I added dill to it. It definitely made eating raw veggies more appealing. The second was ground pine nuts on my "pasta" (spaghetti squash with sauce). It looked and had the same texture as parmesan cheese and added some good flavour.
Food has become such a big part of my life. It's something positive I can do for myself and it seems to be working. It takes a lot more time and effort to make fresh and home made food, but I am starting to enjoy doing it. Today was our veggie delivery day from Covert Farms. There was cabbage in it so I googled a recipe and just made myself a really yummy cabbage salad. I never would have thought to use cabbage before, it just sounds yucky, but I really enjoyed it.
That's enough about food. The rest of my week has been good, nothing really exciting to tell. We are enjoying the nice weather and the kids were finally able to play in the kiddie pool without freezing. My energy is still really high and I feel really good. Looking forward to a great weekend before starting chemo again on Monday.
Sophie is doing a bike race on Saturday. Her cousins, Leah and Olivia, are also in the race. It should be a great time. I won't be surprised if they manage to ride their run bikes holding hands. Or they might ditch the bikes and dance all the way to the finish line:)
We have added lots of nuts and seeds to my diet and are not shy with adding oil to things. I have two big food discoveries for the week. I made a "sour cream" out of pine nuts and sunflower seeds, it was a really really good dip after I added dill to it. It definitely made eating raw veggies more appealing. The second was ground pine nuts on my "pasta" (spaghetti squash with sauce). It looked and had the same texture as parmesan cheese and added some good flavour.
Food has become such a big part of my life. It's something positive I can do for myself and it seems to be working. It takes a lot more time and effort to make fresh and home made food, but I am starting to enjoy doing it. Today was our veggie delivery day from Covert Farms. There was cabbage in it so I googled a recipe and just made myself a really yummy cabbage salad. I never would have thought to use cabbage before, it just sounds yucky, but I really enjoyed it.
That's enough about food. The rest of my week has been good, nothing really exciting to tell. We are enjoying the nice weather and the kids were finally able to play in the kiddie pool without freezing. My energy is still really high and I feel really good. Looking forward to a great weekend before starting chemo again on Monday.
Sophie is doing a bike race on Saturday. Her cousins, Leah and Olivia, are also in the race. It should be a great time. I won't be surprised if they manage to ride their run bikes holding hands. Or they might ditch the bikes and dance all the way to the finish line:)
Monday 2 July 2012
Awake
I've been up since 5:30am. I didn't get up early because I have anywhere to go or because I wanted to enjoy the early hours of the day, but because our dear and darling children wake up at 5:30 (or 5:00) EVERYDAY. You are probably thinking what a nice wife I am, taking the morning shift so that Will can get extra sleep. He works hard during the day, he needs the extra rest. Or you might be thinking, seriously? That's not fair, Will should get up early, Melissa needs the rest. Well neither are true. Will has gotten up every morning with the kids for the past 2 months. At first, I was napping most days and really needed the extra hour or two of sleep to get through the day. Now, it has turned more into habit. Also, I read that sleep helps with healing and that to get better I need lots of rest. I am going with that reason, not because I like my sleep and am a little bit lazy.
Anyways, I keep saying that one day I will get up and let him have a "sleep in"...Sleep in, means 7am. But every morning when Liam starts crying or Sophie yells, I give him a nudge and go back to sleep. I decided that today was the day. Yesterday was my brother in law to be's stag party.
They left at noon and Will called me from outside at 1:30am because he was locked out. He went straight to sleep so I haven't heard any of the stories yet. I'm sure they had a great day though. I am so happy that Will was able to have a day with friends and no stress or responsibility. Also, I won't feel quite as guilty today leaving him with the kids while I go for a walk, out for lunch and maybe for a paddle board:)
Hopefully all of you had a great Canada Day yesterday. Ours was pretty low-key. We had pancakes and waffles for breakfast. In an attempt to make the whole family's diet healthier, Will switched the Aunt Jemima pancake mix for a healthy buckwheat mix (I had coconut flour waffles). As Sophie was eating them, she looked at us and said "These don't taste as good as last time. I like the other ones." It was pretty funny. After that we just played at home for the morning. We spent the afternoon with my mom and sister. I even made dinner for all of us. I honestly never thought I'd be cooking for them, it is usually the other way around.
I'm still feeling really well and am looking forward to this week. I'm going to try and eat lots and hopefully do a bit more exercise to get some muscles back.
Okay, I should probably go get some breakfast ready for these kids.
Anyways, I keep saying that one day I will get up and let him have a "sleep in"...Sleep in, means 7am. But every morning when Liam starts crying or Sophie yells, I give him a nudge and go back to sleep. I decided that today was the day. Yesterday was my brother in law to be's stag party.
They left at noon and Will called me from outside at 1:30am because he was locked out. He went straight to sleep so I haven't heard any of the stories yet. I'm sure they had a great day though. I am so happy that Will was able to have a day with friends and no stress or responsibility. Also, I won't feel quite as guilty today leaving him with the kids while I go for a walk, out for lunch and maybe for a paddle board:)
Hopefully all of you had a great Canada Day yesterday. Ours was pretty low-key. We had pancakes and waffles for breakfast. In an attempt to make the whole family's diet healthier, Will switched the Aunt Jemima pancake mix for a healthy buckwheat mix (I had coconut flour waffles). As Sophie was eating them, she looked at us and said "These don't taste as good as last time. I like the other ones." It was pretty funny. After that we just played at home for the morning. We spent the afternoon with my mom and sister. I even made dinner for all of us. I honestly never thought I'd be cooking for them, it is usually the other way around.
I'm still feeling really well and am looking forward to this week. I'm going to try and eat lots and hopefully do a bit more exercise to get some muscles back.
Okay, I should probably go get some breakfast ready for these kids.
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