2 down, 4 to go

yesterday, i visited the chemo unit for my second round of chemotherapy. i was a little apprehensive because a couple of variables were up in the air. since we were footing the bill, i was concerned about what the exact charge would be. luckily, we were armed with a fair amount in the benevolent account that was set up for this, and because so many friends, family members, and complete strangers donated to The Cause after they received my sister's letter, i felt we had a good chance of not being turned away due to lack of funds. and i was right! we even have enough for future rounds of chemo! i can be healed! i never thought i'd be so eager to be shot up with toxins, but i was. thanks again to all who have contributed and continue to lend their support not just financially, but through comments on this blog, funny emails, photos, and voice mails that cheer me on. my recovery is possible because of every single one of you. jeez, i'm getting misty-eyed again.

secondly, i was concerned that my treatment would be postponed if my white blood cell count was too low. it wasn't! i believe that my mom's good cooking and a visit to Josh the Fabulous Acupuncturist were what put me in prime condition to receive the chemo. and receive i did. we were there from 9:30am to 6:30pm, but it went well! (the only down side to the day was that i didn't get the scheduled visit from either of my oncologists while i was there.) i even felt good enough to walk home, eat dinner (homemade papas con chorizo tacos), and catch up on some emails. this morning, i still feel good and i haven't even had to dip into my special stash of happy anti-nausea pills yet! i'm resting and relieved that it's going this well and i'm optimistic that it will continue to go well.

this really is a team effort. it takes a village to heal a sandra.

at the chemo unit they handed out snacks. it doesn't take much to make me happy.


at the beginning of the day, all these chairs were filled with cancer patients in addition to two other rooms of chairs and people in the waiting room. by the end of the day, this was my view. being the party animals that we are, we were the last to leave. nothing like closing down the chemo unit. dude.