Chemo 7

Tomorrow, we find out if the new chemo is working. If the tumor continues to shrink (cross fingers and toes!) we are down to only 4 more weeks with chemotherapy. I can't frick frackin' wait. The whole process has become deeply normalized over the last few weeks. I am used to tiring easily, taking on little tasks instead of large ones, needing lots more help than I would prefer (thanks again to everyone who contributed to the bulb project!). All of a sudden, though, this interminable phase feels like it is shifting into the final stages. We have appointments with the surgeons next week to discuss the nuts and bolts of the surgery. It is time to find a radiation oncologist and get that organized. We are thinking about December, and trying to predict what sort of help I will need and for how long.

Personally, I'll soon need to adjust to a whole new set of changes to my ability to do things. I've been obsessed with finishing all the projects left in the house - paint that door, patch that crack, fix that threshold, organize that closet. My dad has been my hero, doing the big stuff and providing the knowhow to do things right. I can do light work, as long as I take lots of breaks. So I don't know how the surgery/radiation combo will change my ability repertoire. Or for how long. It will be great to get my higher brain function back online, but the physical limits don't sound like a whole lot of fun.

I just need to remember that this is all temporary.