jenny's belly

Chemo Starts Tomorrow

Twelve hours from now I'll be in the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for the first chemotherapy treatment of my life. Am I nervous? Surprisingly not as much as you'd think. I'm ready for it to start.

When all your energy is focused on one thing and you've put in weeks of testing and interviews and various bodily tortures you're ready. :)

I'm not completely sure what to expect, but I will meet with my oncologist, Dr. Bhargava before I get the chemo. I think he'll even bring me down to the treatment floor. I wish I'd been able to see the space before I'll be in it. I should have stopped at the floor at earlier visits, but I never thought of it before now. Oh well!

Anyway, here are some charms already attached to the bracelet:--> from cousin Susan, a "prayer box" which she gave me when she first heard about the cancer. It didn't occur to me until recently that I should add it to the bracelet! I'd never heard of a prayer box before, but the idea is that you put your troubles inside and then they're in God's safekeeping. :)
--> from cousin Amy, a four leaf clover. Doesn't it look real? I wonder if it is... Amy said her husband carries one with him, and now I'll be able to do the same!
--> from cousin Kathy, a wine glass with red garnet as the wine. It should be an empty wine glass, because I had WAY too much fun in the tasting class we took a few years ago. If the wine was good I, um, didn't waste it. hehehe

I'm so glad I'll be able to wear the bracelet tomorrow. The jeweler did a nice job putting them all on. He changed the rings on many of them so they won't pull apart after wear.

Here are some to be added to the bracelet later:--> from my grandmother, a madonna. My grandfather told me this evening that this is a charm my nana had as a child. How fantastic is that?! This picture doesn't do it justice...
--> from my grandfather, a sailboat. I think he would tell you that sailing was his life. I remember him on that boat all the time! I wonder if my younger cousins remember it too...
--> from me, a snoopy charm. Hehehe. And only because they don't make one for Lucy. :)

A quick FYI for my family: please know she is doing well, but my grandmother is in the hospital right now. She woke up with some pains in her neck (sometimes a warning sign before a heart attack) and she spent the day in the emergency room as doctors tried to stabilize her blood pressure and wildly fluctuating heartbeat. She was mad (why do I have to be here, what are all these stupid wires for, why can't I go home since I feel fine, etc) the entire time, so you know she feels okay. :)

She is in ICU which is good because that means they're watching her closely. I hope they decide to put a pacemaker in because I think it would make her feel so much better.

I'll update news on my nana and my chemo tomorrow. Thanks for all of your prayers!

posted by Jen at 9:57 PM