Haaaapppppy Birthday!

This has been a very, very busy month. It's been interesting fitting my workouts into the week. I'm working out 6 days a week now! But, this weekend, I will play and visit with friends. I turn 30 on Sunday and it feels very significant that I am training for something so important during this significant birthday.

On Wednesday, I sat with Mary Crist for a few minutes while she received chemo. The Atlanta Cancer Center where she receives chemo is very nice. It doesn't feel clinical. It has faux hardwood floors and comfy recliners sat in circular groups. It feels more like a living room than a medical center--wonderful! Mary Crist is good about explaining her treatments and letting us know what's going on with her, but I have trouble hearing it. Her cancer scares me, a lot, so I appreciated the comforting design of the chemo room.

Before her treatment, she received high levels of benadryl to help prevent possible allergic reactions to the chemo. She said it made her sleepy for a little while, but then it made her legs twitch. She also received rotuxin, which targets her B cells (fast growing cells). This helps the rest of the chemotherapy target only B cells which reduces her physical reaction to the chemo and helps the chemo target her tumors. Her hair is getting much thinner, but she still has it. Despite the thinning hair, Mary Crist is looking more and more like herself again. The swelling that she had from the cancer--both from retained fluid and from the tumor--has gone. It's nice to see this change.