06-06-2008, 04:49 AM
Morning from a very chilly Monteseel.....I can see snow on the peaks of the Drakensburg!
Thank you one and all...it is great to see you all on this thread!
Disting...........thank you...a lady from reach for Recovery came to see me in westville hospital. We laughed so much. She gave me this foam ball (temporary insert) that you could pin underneath your clothes to walk out of hospital. Well that set me off...it looked like one of those things that you stick a black nose on, water and grow watercress out of the top which then looks like hair :rofl: I gave mine the name T.I.T (Thomas Ingnatious Tite) and there was NO WAY I was going to walk out of Westville with T.I.T under my T shirt. The volunteer who came to see me was such a nice lady and very supportive. I told her i intend writing a book.....but I would write it under another name .........Ivor Titoff.........as you can imagine, my session with Reach for Recovery was so full of fun and laughter. The booklet's she left were very informative, especially the excercises for me to regain the use of my arm.
Look forward to a chat.....
Update sent to family and friends yeaterday....:thx:
Hello family and friends
Again another group email I am afraid......but I know you do not mind and I truly appreciate that..
Well, Mags looked after me really well over the weekend and we got out and about stopping every now and then because the queasiness would set in. Had lots of laughs and really enjoyed the people and places we visited. I am getting a dab hand now at showing off my battle scars to all and sundry!
Don't feel at all self conscious going 'boobless' and it's funny because you now start to look at other women in a totally different way........are they real or what.....the boobs....not the women!
Meals have become a real challenge because I have very little appetite and could only manage the plainest of the plain food in the beginning after the chemo. A week on and now I can eat baked potato, cheese, tomatoes and beans on toast :o) Mags bought me yogurt which I am now also enjoying so I can see a pattern beginning to develop here as to how these sessions with chemo will work out and so next time I will be more organised for those first few days afterwards and then the next few days as the body tries to re-adjust.
My biggest excitement was yesterday afternoon when I popped in to the place in Davenport that supplies wigs and hairpieces. I chatted to a lovely lady who showed me a number of wigs and low and behold she has one that is so like my own hair but a bit thicker. I tried it on and I thought to myself, "I can do this"! On her walls were pictures of Tina Turner and so i have found the spot where all the celebrities come for their wigs...cool hey! The wigs don't come cheap. The one I like is around R2800.00 and it is not even real hair but the quality is excellent....it does not look like a rug or a squirrel that has curled up on my head for the day!
The thing with the hair loss for me is the fact that I don't want people to look at me and feel sorry for me. I don't feel sorry for myself and I do not need pity. I know in the past I have done this myself when I have seen women with bald heads trying to keep on headscarves, so I know it happens. I want my life to carry on as normal and so the wig will give me the ability to carry on my normal daily work and life. At home it is a different thing...that is my space and if I want to walk around bald, I will do.......but with temperatures as they are at the moment.....I think I will need a beanie!
So, as soon as the hair begins to depart, which should be late next week, I put in the order, I have the hair shaved off and the wig applied. I don't want to be in a position where I am at the till and the locks fall onto the scanner or at the farmers market and the locks get mixed up with the fresh veg...... :o) So as the scouts say..BE PREPARED!
I went for the first blood test today and the nurse actually hurt me this time but she said it was scar tissue from all the injections. I cannot have needles in the left arm as that is where the lymph nodes were removed from and that arm has to be protected from any potential for infection. The tests are wired through straight to Hopelands then 3 days before my next chemo (June 20th) they take blood tests again to monitor how your body has recovered........
I went to site today to see our volunteers building in Ntshongweni. I have a box pf paper face masks which thank fully I did not have to use as most of the kids were in school. Cold and flu plus TB are very active in our communities at this time of the year so I need to be extra careful.
I know the chemo is having some kind of affect because I could previously stay on site all day but today I left early afternoon and came home and had a lekker nap.........or is that age catching up with me? :o)
Well, that is all for now. Thank you for all the emails and support in prayer and positive thoughts......one hill over...5 more to go!!!
Sue
Thank you one and all...it is great to see you all on this thread!
Disting...........thank you...a lady from reach for Recovery came to see me in westville hospital. We laughed so much. She gave me this foam ball (temporary insert) that you could pin underneath your clothes to walk out of hospital. Well that set me off...it looked like one of those things that you stick a black nose on, water and grow watercress out of the top which then looks like hair :rofl: I gave mine the name T.I.T (Thomas Ingnatious Tite) and there was NO WAY I was going to walk out of Westville with T.I.T under my T shirt. The volunteer who came to see me was such a nice lady and very supportive. I told her i intend writing a book.....but I would write it under another name .........Ivor Titoff.........as you can imagine, my session with Reach for Recovery was so full of fun and laughter. The booklet's she left were very informative, especially the excercises for me to regain the use of my arm.
Look forward to a chat.....
Update sent to family and friends yeaterday....:thx:
Hello family and friends
Again another group email I am afraid......but I know you do not mind and I truly appreciate that..
Well, Mags looked after me really well over the weekend and we got out and about stopping every now and then because the queasiness would set in. Had lots of laughs and really enjoyed the people and places we visited. I am getting a dab hand now at showing off my battle scars to all and sundry!
Don't feel at all self conscious going 'boobless' and it's funny because you now start to look at other women in a totally different way........are they real or what.....the boobs....not the women!
Meals have become a real challenge because I have very little appetite and could only manage the plainest of the plain food in the beginning after the chemo. A week on and now I can eat baked potato, cheese, tomatoes and beans on toast :o) Mags bought me yogurt which I am now also enjoying so I can see a pattern beginning to develop here as to how these sessions with chemo will work out and so next time I will be more organised for those first few days afterwards and then the next few days as the body tries to re-adjust.
My biggest excitement was yesterday afternoon when I popped in to the place in Davenport that supplies wigs and hairpieces. I chatted to a lovely lady who showed me a number of wigs and low and behold she has one that is so like my own hair but a bit thicker. I tried it on and I thought to myself, "I can do this"! On her walls were pictures of Tina Turner and so i have found the spot where all the celebrities come for their wigs...cool hey! The wigs don't come cheap. The one I like is around R2800.00 and it is not even real hair but the quality is excellent....it does not look like a rug or a squirrel that has curled up on my head for the day!
The thing with the hair loss for me is the fact that I don't want people to look at me and feel sorry for me. I don't feel sorry for myself and I do not need pity. I know in the past I have done this myself when I have seen women with bald heads trying to keep on headscarves, so I know it happens. I want my life to carry on as normal and so the wig will give me the ability to carry on my normal daily work and life. At home it is a different thing...that is my space and if I want to walk around bald, I will do.......but with temperatures as they are at the moment.....I think I will need a beanie!
So, as soon as the hair begins to depart, which should be late next week, I put in the order, I have the hair shaved off and the wig applied. I don't want to be in a position where I am at the till and the locks fall onto the scanner or at the farmers market and the locks get mixed up with the fresh veg...... :o) So as the scouts say..BE PREPARED!
I went for the first blood test today and the nurse actually hurt me this time but she said it was scar tissue from all the injections. I cannot have needles in the left arm as that is where the lymph nodes were removed from and that arm has to be protected from any potential for infection. The tests are wired through straight to Hopelands then 3 days before my next chemo (June 20th) they take blood tests again to monitor how your body has recovered........
I went to site today to see our volunteers building in Ntshongweni. I have a box pf paper face masks which thank fully I did not have to use as most of the kids were in school. Cold and flu plus TB are very active in our communities at this time of the year so I need to be extra careful.
I know the chemo is having some kind of affect because I could previously stay on site all day but today I left early afternoon and came home and had a lekker nap.........or is that age catching up with me? :o)
Well, that is all for now. Thank you for all the emails and support in prayer and positive thoughts......one hill over...5 more to go!!!
Sue