Water, Diversions, and Kid A's Assessment

I've had 3 topics on my mind this week and I can't pick which one to write about. So I guess I'll share all 3.

Water

I believe in drinking water. Lots and lots of water.

I'll give you one example why. When my cancer was diagnosed, I underwent 3 different scans to try to determine the spread of the cancer. Each of those scans required an IV injection. I dislike IVs. I swear I always get 2-3 pokes to get the IV in and it hurts and the injections hurt going in. Yuck :(.

Two months ago I had a couple more run-ins with IVs for my follow-up scans and things were different. (If you're wondering, I don't get arm IVs for my chemo. That IV goes through a Port that was surgically inserted 2 inches below my collar bone.) For the first time ever the nurses claimed to see "4 good veins" instead of just 2, the IVs went in right the very first time and they barely hurt at all. I was shocked. I asked the nurses what made the difference. The answer: HYDRATION!

Before I started chemotherapy I drank 5-6 cups of water daily (not too bad, I thought). Then I attended a pre-chemo prep class where the nurse gave several tips and tricks for dealing with chemotherapy. One of her suggestions was to drink 10 glasses of water everyday. Everyday since I have consumed 9-10 (or more) cups daily. This is hugely important to flush the chemo toxins out of the system, to ease the burden on the kidneys and liver and to maintain good bowel function. But it was when I got those IVs that, well sir, I became a believer.

To get all my water in, I follow a simple trick. I try to drink 2 cups (16oz) with every meal and snack. I snack between each meal so for me the schedule ends up being: 7am, 10am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 8pm.

Even if you are not an awesome water drinker, if you are faced with a medical procedure - especially a surgery - be sure to HYDRATE! Start a couple days before, continue in the hospital, continue at home for as long as you can. Your blood (and many organs) will thank you.


Diversions

On the balcony of Studio C with R, grandma, S and David.

I had a unique and fun opportunity on Friday. My old boss, David (pictured above), invited me and Anthony to speak to a small group of BYU students about our college and professional careers. David and his students work at the BYU Broadcasting building so after the meeting he took us on a tour of the facility.

At the BYU CougarEat.

This particular Friday I woke up feeling very agitated. The chemo was getting me down physically and mentally and I was feeling frustrated with my limitations. For a while I considered cancelling the outing and wallowing in my misery all day. But I hate to back out of a commitment, so on we went. And it turned out so happy. I was delighted to see my old boss again. I enjoyed sharing my thoughts with the students. I thrilled to get a behind-the-scenes tour of this cool building. I relished the opportunity to share a memorable experience with my grandparents and children. In fact, this was the first time I've ever taken S to BYU and it just filled my heart with joy to realize that I got to do that at least once with all of my kids (hopefully many more to come)! My Friday went from being miserable and hard to being overwhelmingly happy; and that feeling carried with me for the rest of this week (my weeks reset on Wednesdays :o).

Sometimes the best way to fight the blahs is to enjoy a good DIVERSION! Be with people. Get out of your head. Do something to put a smile on your face.

Just to share, here's a bit of my talk. My parental advice to my college-age children:

1. Know your core values and allow your goals to adjust around those.
2. Pray about every big decision and learn how to get spiritual guidance.
3. Have a high work ethic - in school or on the job - learn how to work and how to stick to it. This is what employers value.
4. Get outside your comfort zone - challenge yourself - even if all you can do is “show up” and see what comes of it.
5. Be flexible - allow for serendipity and spiritual guidance - you can’t see the whole picture the day you start college so you adjust as you go.
6. Be happy - don’t take on so much stress that you fail to enjoy the friendships and the dating and the memories - it is such a unique and wonderful time - go live it.
7. Learn how to communicate - speaking and writing skills will set you apart.
8. Learn about life from those around you - some of my favorite times in the world were non-work-related conversations with my professors and bosses.
9. Go for your skills and interests. If you know you are great at X, then do it! You’ll like it more.

Kid A's Assessment

Yesterday afternoon, Kid A crawled in bed with me for a bit while I was napping. As he combed my hair with his fingers he looked me in the eyes and said to me:

A: Mommy, your cancer is still a little bit bad, but it's mostly better.

Me: (Smiling at such good news - hey, children have insights we adults don't often get) Why is that, do you think?

A: Because you have good medicine.

Me: Any other reasons?

A: And because you have good blessings.

Me: Anything else?

A: (Hugging me) And also everyone in this house cares about you a lot.

Do you love this boy as much as I do?! Oh my dear children. You give me such motivation to fight this challenging disease!