New week and new perspective

 My last update was a little bit of a downer. Fear not, I have not stayed in that mindset...for the most part. This last round of chemo was odd. I really didn't have much cold sensitivity. It was there, but manageable. I could actually wash my hands without pain. One effect that has been bothersome has been the neuropathy in my feet. My right leg feels kind of like dead weight from the knee down and the last two days, my left foot has felt the same. I woke up Friday with that feeling in both of my arms too. Thankfully, that didn't last too long. I plan to bring this up at my appointment on Friday. 

One of my frustrations through this whole ordeal has been my inability to work out the way I would like. However, I pulled out my handy phone and looked at my actual activity. 

So, what you see here is my logged "workouts." That top line looks a little blah, unless you know the context. April 27 was an all day work day at the end of a chemo week. I didn't get a break to do anything. I came home exhausted, but got up and on a plane the next day headed for California. So, that next day is a traveling day. I have the two hikes logged. Both of those required a big time rest day. Then May 3rd was a travel day. May 5 was supposed to be a chemo day, but my numbers were very off. This could possibly be why I needed so much rest after the hiking days. I will confess, some of these may be me taking the dog for a walk (probably the 15th), but that is activity.  The 12th-14th was chemo. Don't get my wrong, I am in the stage of hard chemo fatigue, but even the little activities give my mind and body a boost. 

The real struggle has been figuring out what my body can and can't handle. The heat has been a challenge. Usually, I love it. At this time, my body does not. I can be doing great and feeling great at whatever form of exercise and then all of a sudden, I get knocked down hard. Of course, some things have been hard with the neuropathy in my feet. I read that activity is supposed to help, but it seems to make it worse. I am more likely to trip when my legs are tired from a workout. I almost fell getting out of bed a few mornings ago. 

Thanks to the holiday, I do not have chemo next week. I am glad for an extra week and hopefully feeling a little better each day. I have my Signatera blood draw next week. This is the one that looks for the circulating tumor DNA. I will probably go get that done Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Friday, I have my oncologist appointment. Then I also have my pre-chemo blood draw. I am hoping to have "normal" numbers. I know it is a long shot, especially since I have felt a twinge of a sore throat the last 2 days. I know my CBC numbers will have some abnormals, but hopefully, my metabolic panel will actually be normal. 

Tomorrow is my long day, so I have been showered and in my pjs resting since about 6:00. I am starting to feel like my grandma. She was already showered and dressed for bed before Wheel of Fortune came on. In the coming week, please pray for more energy and the issues with my feet. Also, pray for good blood work on Friday. The delays are putting me really close to Samantha's wedding. I want to feel good and be fully present that whole week, not curled up on the couch struggling to move. I also want to be able to wear heels, but with the neuropathy, that may not be an option.

Y'all, thanks for following along and for all of the love and support. I appreciate your comments...even though many are anonymous and I don't know who is commenting. I also appreciate your prayers, emails, and texts. Having such an amazing group of people rooting for me helps keep me going on those hard days!