Tummy Breaks

My stomach is just not happy.

My oncologist advised me to take a break from the drugs for a few days.

I have to be honest, I skipped the drugs this morning because I just could not deal with my upset stomach.

I am so wiped out that I had to cancel swimming lessons today!!  I just could not drag my sorry little *** out of bed!  I also worried that teaching in the hot sun might cause dehydration.  I really do not want to end up in the hospital, and I am losing a lot of fluids....  I am drinking all day long, but I do not know how much I am retaining.

I felt so good yesterday, and today I just feel like a wet dishrag!

I slept for several hours and still feel drained.

At least, I am catching a few extra moments with my girls!  (my son is on tiyul with sayarut)

My stomach feels so awful! (I have not even mentioned my cracked hands and mouth sores!)

I hate this!!


Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Eurovision 2010

I love watching Eurovision and I love watching with friends.

This year, several friends from our neighborhood joined us, increasing our fun!

JB is now officially a "regular" -- she has been joining us for at least three years!*  This year, her husband joined us as well, which was really a pleasure!  We are often guests in their home for Shabbat, but I do not host much on Shabbatot anymore, so it was nice to be able to host them both for this!

My friend, CV, who now lives in Shlav Bet (the neighborhood just below us) and her daughter also came, which enhanced the fun for me (even more) and for my eldest daughter. 

This year, all our kids watched with us, which was really special.  It is interesting to see how they "vote."

Our family rates each of the songs as they are shown.  We inherited this tradition from BB, with whom we used to watch Eurovision, oh, so many years ago! (even before we had kids!)

Since Eurovision begins AFTER our kids' normal bedtimes, I did insist that our two younger kids go to sleep right after the songs, without watching the voting.  They were not happy about leaving the party, but the voting takes at least an hour and a half.  As is, they went to bed hours after their bedtime!

Watching Eurovision is an experience; it is so nice to share that experience with family and friends!



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

* In Judaism, three years constitutes a chazakah (an "established pattern").

The Best Favors

Apropos my recent post about friendship, I will share with you one of the best truisms I learned from my friend, IS. (my phrasing, her idea)

"The best favors are those that are no big deal for the giver and a really big deal for the receiver!"



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

From Each According to Her Abilities, To Each According to Her Needs

We each have our own gifts and our own weaknesses.

We form our friendships based on our commonalities, but I am finding that my deepest friendships are strengthened by our differences.

Friends with different views challenge us intellectually.

Friends with different interests expand our horizons.

And friends with different abilities help us when we cannot do it ourselves.

My friend, Bracha, from Sde Eliyahu called the day before my radiosurgery and offered to come stay with us over Shabbat and help with whatever we needed. 

We were also invited to spend this Shabbat with my in-laws.  I love going to my in-laws, especially for Shabbat.  We were there just last week!  But I really wanted to be home this week, in my own bed.

There are not many guests who give more than they receive.  Bracha is one of those.  The best part is that she thinks that she is getting more than she receives.  Imagine that!

I am still not sure what I am giving her that matches what she is giving me, but that is the beauty of friendship.  Good friends strengthen each other; together we are better people.



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

The End of The Day... After the Radiosurgery

(I posted earlier about yesterday's radiosurgery.  See below)

I woke up today (Thursday) feeling much better!  Still, Moshe worried about me staying home alone.  I reassured him that I would not be alone all day.  My friend Leah, from TriLcat, (whose blog I can't seem to add to my blogroll -- can anyone help with that??) would be coming over in the middle of the day, for several hours.

Neither of us realized my eldest daughter would also be home most of the day. I spent some nice time with her in the morning, when she finally woke up. 

Then Leah arrived, with bagels and lox and ingredients for milkshakes!  How amazing is that!!

As if that weren't enough, she loaded the dishwasher and kept me company while I tidied up a bit.

We talked, ate, laughed, and played games.  FUN!

By the time she needed to go, I was ready to rest.

I waited for the bus with her, then crawled right into bed.  I did not sleep, but I rested all afternoon. 

When my youngest daughter came home, I spent some time with her, working on her Bat Mitzvah invitation.  She was so tired from her tiyul shnati (two-day class trip) that she fell asleep in the middle.

Then, my son came home, and we also spent some nice time talking... until he ditched me to go play on the computer.

I spent the rest of the day watching a movie (Down with Love - funny chic flic, with a twist), writing, and chatting on the phone.

It is the end of the day, I have a mild headache, and I am tired.  But I feel good.



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Stereotactic Radiosurgery -- Everything You Wanted to Know....

Moshe woke me at 6:00 am, Wednesday morning.  I wanted to snag another ten minutes of sleep, but my stomach already demanded attention. (euphemism for: my first round of diarrhea)

Given my already upset stomach, I decided to skip that day's dose of Tykerb (Lapatinib) and that morning's dose of Xeloda (Capecitabine).  I prayed that would be enough to curb the diarrhea and prevent any unpleasantness during the actual procedure.

The instructions were to wear comfortable clothes, so I actually chose my clothes the night before and slept in them!  (you know, like we did for our kids when they were in gan (kindergarten))  I wore the softest black pants and an extra large, bright purple T-shirt, because purple makes me happy.  **TMI Alert** (I even wore purple underpants.)

I remembered to bring almost everything I needed to the hospital.  I even brought my laptop, so I could "live blog" the experience.  OK, that was a little overambitious!  I did not even turn on the computer!

I did forget all about bringing food.  Luckily, my in-laws (Moshe's parents) were planning to join us, and my MIL prepared tuna and egg sandwiches. (She makes such great tuna salad that even I ate half a sandwich!)   When they heard that I wanted candy, they also made sure to stop by the candy store and pick up my favorites:  licorice and gummy bears.   YUMM... 

My friend, AK, had arranged parking passes for us, so we had no difficulty parking right next to Machon Sharret (the Cancer Institute at Hadassah).

We went to room 60, a special room in the radiology ward, for lucky patients like me.  Most of the day, we had the room to ourselves, because the second stereotactic radiosurgery patient did not need a frame and was free to leave the area.

My sister arrived just a few minutes after we did (and managed to find us, despite there being no mobile phone reception!).  She brought cards and crossword puzzles.  She also went to get me ice-coffee, when I was finally ready to eat something. (Even after a dose of steroids, it would be many hours, before I was hungry enough to eat my MIL's delicious tuna.)

Nadia, the nurse, opened my port (had I realized she would be using my port,* I would have put on Emla (a topical anesthetic), but she was quick and precise and it did not hurt too much) and drew some blood, then hooked me up to a saline IV with Zantac (to reduce acid reflux) and Dexomethasone (steroids to prevent swelling).  She sent Moshe to bring the blood tests to the lab.

Just after Moshe left, the neurosurgeon, Dr. Shushan, came into the room to ask and answer questions.  I wished Moshe would have been there, but at least my sister was with me.  Then the doctor and nurse started to prepare for attaching the frame.  I did not want them to do it when Moshe was not there, but they wouldn't let him be in the room anyway, so....

Dr. Shushan injected Lidocaine in the four locations where they would be attaching screws to my skull.  The nurse had already given me an oral sedative (Vaben).   Just before the doctor injected the Lidocaine, she injected an additional sedative into the IV. They said it would not hurt much.  I am sure it did not hurt them. 

I asked for more of the sedative.  They gave me more, but still not enough.  The last Lidocaine injection was especially painful, it burned.  Then they screwed in the frame.  That was also quite uncomfortable, to put it mildly.

Once the frame was in place, I did not see Dr. Shushan again.  From that point on, Dr. Vigoda, the head of radiology, took care of me.

I felt pressure from the frame, but no pain.  At least, not in the beginning. Over the course of the day, when I felt pain, Nadia gave me liquid Optalgin (YUCH!!!) and I took additional Algolysin, from my personal drug store (with permission, of course).

I tried to sleep, but it was difficult to find a comfortable position with the frame.  My sister teased me, calling me "the bride of Frankenstein."  The shape of the frame reminded us all of the helmets in the original Battlestar Galactica. 

I gave up trying to lie down.  Instead, I sat up and played cards with my sister and mother in law.  My sister kept beating us at Palace (this Israeli card game that she learned from my youngest daughter, who really likes it).  After a million games, I finally won one.  I called it quits and suggested we watch some TV. I tried to relax, but still could not find a comfortable way to lie down.  Finally, with help from Nadia, who strategically arranged the pillows for me, I managed to rest for a bit. 

I expected that by the time I awoke, it would be time for the radiosurgery.  There was something malfunctioning with the machine, so I had several more hours to wait.

My friend from radiology, Tamar, came in to visit/check up on me, several times.  She was really very helpful, and reassuring! 

There was also an English speaking nursing student, Jody, who was very pleasant and helpful.

While we were waiting, we looked for funny programs on TV to help pass the time.  We found some silly shows; they were good for a few laughs.

Another thing I forgot was to bring music for during the radiosurgery.  Tamar brought a CD of musical highlights that she thought I would appreciate -- perfect! 

When they finally called me in for the procedure, I got to listen to all the best songs from West Side Story, Annie, Annie Get Your Gun, Cabaret, etc.

Then, it was over.  They took off the frame -- also not the most pleasant experience, but not too bad.

I was glad it was over.

I wanted to go home right away, but they made me wait.  I felt fine... until I did not.  I had a brief wave of nausea and a headache.  I took more pain killers, ate more candy, and felt better.

I really wanted to pop into my friend's simcha (celebration) -- my friend, MT, married off her final son last night.  But I forgot to bring nice clothes with me!  It was just as well. 

After 13 hours in the hospital (12 within that frame), I was finished.
Overall, the day's events constituted a pretty harrowing experience.
By the time we got home, I crawled into bed. 

My head hurt, and I was exhausted, but I called my mom to tell her I was home and OK.  I knew she would appreciate the call.

Then, I closed my eyes, had a brief conversation with God, and fell fast asleep.


(For more information, see yesterday's brief summary)


Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

*In Israel, nurses need special certification to be able to open a port.  I did not realize that Nadia was an oncology nurse and would be certified.

Stereotactic Radiosurgery -- brief summary (more tomorrow)

I arrived at the hospital at 7:10 in the morning.

They attached the frame to my head at 8:00 in the morning.

They took off the frame at 8:00 at night.

I left the hospital fifteen minutes later, at 8:15.

13 hours in the hospital.

12 hours in the frame.

My head hurts.

I am tired.

There were three tumors that grew, not two.  They zapped them all.

In three months, we'll do an MRI to check the results.

I'll post more details tomorrow.

Gotta' go to sleep.

I am glad it is over.


Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA