So the past couple of weeks have had moments of normalcy in the Thompson household. School is back. With that comes getting the kids ready for school, making lunches, evening meals, and many of the elements that we have been used to doing here. It’s been nice.
In between those moments, Amanda has been spending a number of her days receiving every increasing amounts of Vitamin C injections, hyperbaric ‘dives’ as they call them, and is using an ultraviolet blanket. We’ve nicknamed the blanket her “hot pocket,” as it looks more like a giant case than a blanket. It’s hard to tell if any of it is having an effect good or bad as it still feels like a potato wedged at the top of her leg. However, one positive sign that we are focusing on is that a week ago she was able to put her leg up on a bar stool height chair and tie her shoe. This is a first in a while.
Amanda lost her hair. That was a hard moment for her. Now, when she looks into the mirror there’s a constant reminder of the scary fight she’s been thrown into. Or even moving around as she can feel the wind against her scalp, which is still a very new experience. We try to find the moments of humor in it with an occasional joke – mostly on her end, I try to avoid them completely. She’s also pointed out that the stubborn stragglers of hair remaining are like atennae that do nothing but make her cold when she walks around the house.
Thursday is when we start the second round of chemo. Amanda’s naturally getting anxious, as we’re not sure what the next two types of drugs will do to her. Our hope, and from what we’ve heard from others who have gone through this protocol, is that this round will not be as damaging to her body as was “the red devil.” We also feel better prepared with our game plan with little things like taking the name brand Nexium instead of the hospital provided generic, which doesn’t work for her acid reflux. She has her ‘bored bag’ filled with games, coloring pages, and books still packed from the last time and wants to actually use it!
Speaking of books, a big shout out to the author Kiersten Modglin and her staff! The kindness of others has always been our undoing during this process. A friend of Amanda’s put a post on a Facebook group about recommendations for good books to read. She mentioned Amanda’s preferences and predicament when posting. One of Modglin’s staff happened to be part of that group, saw her post, and must have mentioned it to Kiersten. She ended sending out all of her books, and each one addressed to Amanda and signed by her. How generous is that!!
The gifts that all of you have sent warm her heart each and every time, so know that we appreciate it very much. The same goes with all of the texts, emails, and Facebook messages. I know she’s great about responding to any gift giver, but please have patience when it comes to texts and other messages. We have received an overwhelming amount of support, and want to do our best to respond. Please keep it up and we will do our best to respond!