Sunday, January 30, 2011

Making friends with Chemo

Hi to Kristi's fans,  this is Mom.  If you aren't yet a fan, you should be.  Kristi is a young woman who is making the very best of a bend in the road of life that most of us would not want to travel. She makes you think cancer is not so bad.  She is strong in her faith and in tenacity to overcome.  In Robert Frost's poem he suggested to take the road less traveled by and that makes all the difference.  I hope that was the author.  It's been a long time since I studied that.  Well "the difference" you suspect would be a good thing.  But cancer is the road less traveled by and you don't get to make the choice.  I am sure anyone who gets to hear the words,  I am sorry but IT is cancer,  is shocked.  Even if they were close to expecting it themselves you still think there must be someway to avoid the usual treatment.  And some do, but not Kristi.  She got it all.  I hate chemo. It is a poisen really.  Her Dad and I sat with her for 6 hours on Friday as they slowly dripped 5 different bags of fluids into her.  It didn't come easy either.  She endured 4 sticks before they found a vein that would allow this to all work.  She had been stuck 4 times the day before in order to get a good vein for fluids because it turns out she was severly dehydrated.  I had to make friends with chemo.  If my child is doing it I am going to do it with her.  There were 25 people sitting around the outside of a very large room in recliners with their IV bags on a stand by them and a chair or two for a friend or family member next to them.  They were people from every walk of life and in different stages of treatment.  The room was cheerful and painted yellow and they had warmed soft tuzzy blankets in "the freezer".  That's what it looked like so we laughed about getting the warm blanket out of the freezer.  It was really a warmer with a large stainless steel door.  There was hot tea, graham crackers and saltine and p-nut butter crackers and cokes and a water cooler and friendly people experiencing the same thing you were.  The nurses were stationed in the middle of the big room.  They were outgoing and friendly.  Your neighbors in the next chair were friendly.  It wasn't so bad and they have ways of calming some of the side effects and we thank God for the people that researched and invented that.        Now about Kristi herself.  She is strong and has a big God.  Yes!  Also her big God and her doctors are helping her through this.  She is MUCH MUCH BETTER THIS WEEKEND.  They gave her fluids the day before chemo.  She got more fluids on Friday before chemo and another bag after the chemo and went back the next day for more antinausea IV fluid and just magnesium, postassium water through the IV and Praise God they got the vein the first time on Sat.  She is able to take a half pill of the antinausea meds at a time this weekend and this helps her to be awake much more.  Today was Alyssa's 5th birthday and everyone pulled together to make her a wonderful birthday and we had a nice dinner and opened gifts and Kristi didn't have to miss any of it and even felt like having tea with friends after the party( at her own house).  She's still up as I write. Praise God for his unspeakable gifts.  She had a good day.  Yesterday she was tired and had some unusual pains and rested some but even rode over to a park in the car and sat on a bench and watched the children (mine and theirs) play.  I have a better feeling as I go home about chemo.  It is necessary and can be done and I don't hate it like I did.  I asked the nurse what was in the bag of chemo and she told me Kristi's was metal...some is a bark and some is made from a certain mud.  Good grief.  Who ever thought that up??  Thank you God for Doctors and nurses and radiologists and physicists and scientists that HE uses to help the people we love.  They have put in a lot of time and years to be there for us.  And the need is great.  When you walk through a storm hold your head up high.  There is a dawning of a new day coming... That's the way Kristi is looking at this and after all her middle name is DAWN, like the beginning of a beautiful new day with all the potential of being a great day.  And Remember You Never Walk Alone.

5 comments:

  1. Mom - Thank you so much for writing here. It is perfect as only you could say it. Love you lots! ~Kristina Dawn :)

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  2. Great post Mom!! I agree with Kristi.. perfectly written! Glad you could come and befriend the dreaded Chemo as it is one of many tools God will use to heal Kristina Dawn... so that a new day will shine brightly and we will all REJOICE in HIS Name for what HE HAS DONE!

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  3. I loved the post mom! Thanks for sharing what you saw and how you felt. It makes it all VERY real when you go to an apt.

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  4. Awesome post Kristi's mom! I'll admit the last few lines gave me goosebumps and made my eyes well up with happy tears: "There is a dawning of a new day coming... That's the way Kristi is looking at this and after all her middle name is DAWN, like the beginning of a beautiful new day with all the potential of being a great day. And Remember You Never Walk Alone." Thinking of you Kristi!!

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  5. Patsy - That was beautiful. So glad you got to spend time with your girl and get a better understanding of her world these days. And we are so, so, so glad that she is feeling a little better. Love from the Lenderinks to all of you.

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