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Two Down...

 We're two treatments down now. Here's a general update of how it's going:

-The first round we were bracing for it to be worst case scenario right away. That was not the case. We were so grateful. He had a lot of nausea but was able to mostly go about business as usual without it affecting things too much. 

-The little amount of hair that Sid started this whole thing with us hanging in there and holding strong!

-Chemo in general brings the main symptoms of nausea, tiredness, poor immunity, etc. Two symptoms that are specific to his drugs are neuropathy and cold sensitivity. Sid is experiencing this mostly in his hands and face. His hands tingle a lot and when they - or his face - are exposed to cold, it's painful. Last weekend we were out in the snow and the flakes stung when they landed on his face. Our house will be unusually warm this winter. 

-The cold sensitivity is not limited to his exterior. If he eats or drinks anything cold it can cause spasms in his mouth and throat. Imagine that sharp zing you get in your tongue and jaw when you eat a piece of really sour candy; that happens with anything that's colder than room temperature. If it's immediately after chemo it happens with pretty much anything he eats or drinks. We're almost a week after chemo and this has subsided quite a bit. This morning he ate cereal (refrigerated milk) just fine.

-We had some encouraging news in regards to the symptoms. We were told that the nausea and fatigue levels that Sid experiences should stay fairly consistent. That proved mostly true for the second treatment. It was worse, but not terribly so.

-However, the neuropathy and cold sensitivity are likely to get progressively worse. I'm not sure if that means they will become more severe or that the affects will last longer after treatment. 

-Our last visit with Dr. Nevela (Sid's oncologist) was optimistic. That occupation can't throw out hopeful statements lightly and they were noticably absent in our original visit with him. Due to Sid's ability to use targeted therapy and immunotherapy, we saw a shift. This last visit we were told about the general good results from the treatment plan Sid is on.

-Both of us have had moments where the weight of everything is heavy on our mental load. On my hardest days, a friend/neighbor inevitably reaches out and let's me know that I'm loved and cared for. I feel a bit chastised that I haven't been so intuitive for others prior to this. To those of you that followed a prompting to reach out, thank you! 

-The kids, for the most part, are handling things quite well. I may need to figure out play dates on treatment weekends so that I can take a pause to recharge and they can get their energy out. They are amazing and it is a privilege to be their mom.

-Before Sid started chemo we were able to get family pictures. Our friend, Chelsey Buttars, worked some serious magic. She is so talented! I'll just end this post with an assortment of pictures of my favorite people.




























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