Hi eveyone ,thought i would write about the july from hell. It started off all inoccent then wham ,on the 4th,a call came to say a cousin of mine had died unexepectedly This was made worse by the fact he was the third person to die this way in the same family in just over three years. [all brothers of a similar age ] The following day another call comes my mums eldest sister who had been unwell for a short time was now given a few hours to live . My poor mum was in a state because her sister lived in eire & she hadn't seen her for a year so we arranged for her to fly out She was panicking bless her because my first chemo session was due a week or so later & she had wanted to be there for me ,i thought she needed to go more though . When she arrived she had another shock the mother of my cousins who had died was very unwell she was addmitted to hospital ,within a few days was diagnosised with lung cancer in both lungs & her liver so she was in a bad way .Both my aunts lost their fights on 24th 29th resectivly & if that wasnt enough my brother rang me to say his brother in law died suddenly on the 24th as well of a heart attack [same as my cousins] then while all this is going on another aunt is called in to see her doctor a routine mamogram had shown something & the wanted to remove it. Luckly it turned out to be benign so some good news at long last.This week i have felt a bit unwell due to the chemo & i am sure every thing else on Wedsnesday i had a few appointments at the hospital for wigs,boobs etc but just couldnt motivate myself had to canncel the hair one, when i got up there i felt really strange like i wasn't me couldn't concentrate on anything & i felt so shakey my temp was fine but i did feel like i had one. strange isnt.by the time i got back from the hospital my head was throbing so took soome pain killers & went for a lay down i had imformed oncology how i felt .During the evening my daughter noticed spots appearing on my face,neck &ears but i just thought it was because i was a bit run down [wrong]. Thursday morning woke up feeling terrible i tried to get out of bed & my legs had a mind of there own i didn't get as far as the bedroom door ,ended in a heap on at the bottom of the bed. To cut a long story short i have folliculis the hair folliclues are having a fight with me .On antibiotics now & feeling better my white cells had tumbled which is what caused it Was suposed to meeting up with old friends tonight for a meal in town not sure i will go, a saturday night in town at the best of times isnt my idea of fun. I think i wll see if they would like to come here instead .I am going to rest today & get some stentgh back maybe do a painting. I love water colours i'm not very good but i enjoy it so thats all that maters. Hope everyone is well. One last thing could eveyone please raise a glass to my family members Tony,aunt Maureen,aunt Pat & bob god bless thankyou love treeze xxx
FormerMember
Yes, I think easily that qualifies as one of the worst months in any family's history. Your family must be feeling like you are in a personal war zone without anything to fight back with.
Your reaction after the chemo is really alarming, but of course as we each have no idea what chemo feels like until it happens, of course you would not realise that feeling so lousy was not just a normal part of it. I hope that the anti-biotics clear up the folliculus (I have never even heard of that - is it down on your list of side-effects on the form of consent?) Hope the anti-biotics kick in soon, as "normal" chemo is enough for anyone to cope with
Please keep us posted about your treatment and how you feel. Lots of love, and my deepest condolences, xxxx Penny
You must feel like the only tree left in the forest. And not all that well yourself. You need to rest. Arrange a later bash (if you must) for when you are feeling better, somewhere nearer home.
I am so sorry that your mother has had such a terrible time too. If you can tell her that you are feeling a bit better, but you are resting, she can get on with what she has to do. Thank God it is in Ireland. They are so kind there. When my aunt died in Ireland, her landlord/executor and his wife, took me out to dinner after the wake, and then I found out that his own brother had also died suddenly that day.
Sometimes it happens that a family has a mass loss in a short time. The only comfort I can offer is that when it is over, the rest of you will almost certainly be fine for a long time.
It is also a feature of families that when the oldest son dies, his mother often dies within a few months. My grandfather lost his mother that way. He was 14, and his grandparents died (on the father's side), then a year later, his eldest brother died, his sister left to get married and when his mother died, his father took the rest of the family across the county so he lost the home that he had known all his life. His next older brother went off to university, and his father then died and he was left to wind up the "estate". Then about 15 years later, after the Boer War that he fought through, he lost his 3 year old daughter and his wife in the same week. He had a very quick nervous breakdown, and was out of hospital in a month, and was fine and lived as a curmudgeon (much loved) until he was 94.
You don't need complications at this time, but can't avoid them, so rest as much as you can until it is time for the return of the fray. It may be, that your storm of losses weakened your fight against the poison, so you had complications. I expect that they will check you over before your next chemo, and if you aren't up to it, they will postpone it or think again.
Rest, relax and try to have some small enjoyment to comfort you.
