Megan update 10/31

I have copied the update on my cousin to my blog. I just read this today and it makes all the problems I am having turn into completely meaningless events and actions.


Megan update: Oct 31

So many of you have ask how things are going with Megan, so I am sending this update and for some of you, this is new news.....but we have finally gotten a bit more organized. Her battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma is well underway.....

This past Wed, she had her third of 12 treatments....she is on a two week rotation, with a blood check in between ( and if there is nothing that crops up in the mean time). Her white cell count continues to be down, so she is on preventative antibiotics. Her veins are becoming hard. This week the only vein they could use was in her hand…which is really small, extending the normal 5 and a half hour treatment. And it was extremely painful, as one of the drugs creates a burning sensation when administered.

The decision was to put in a port now, and she is scheduled for surgery next Wed. Since she in on blood thinners due to the blood clotting she had after the first treatment, she'll have to come off those, and with the potential for clotting and her depressed immune system, we are concerned….yet confident that this is what needs to be done to maintain her treatment schedule that the Dr. said was so imperative for success.

She is really tired for a few days after......but she seems to have become more in tune with her body, and when she tires, she makes time for a nap or at least rest. So far the nausea medications have helped her avoid the vomiting, though she sometimes feels queasy.

She had been losing hair for more than a week. She finally decided that it was getting too annoying -- all over her bedroom, bath and bed, and it was thinning in the back..and it was time to move on...so Sunday, she decided to shave her head...I was on stand by to go there....but I think in the end, I think she thought it would easier for her with her friends than with her mom.....

She has met a girl who has the same cancer and is nearing the end of her treatment-- she is from Buffalo, but also goes to USC. She has been a great help, sharing her experience, tips, and what to expect-- good and bad. She offered to go with her to have it done.....in the end, she, her roommates went to this girl's apartment and they had a group cut ...and then shaved it. Afterwards, she showed her how to tie scarves etc.

She sent me a text picture of herself-- it made me cry......not that she had no hair, but that she has to go through all of this...she is still gorgeous and looks spunky..she has a cute head.... She said she thought she would cry when she did it, but she didn't....said it was a big relief of worrying about how she would look, how she would cope. They took a few pictures throughout.....and she was smiling in the picture I got, so I think they were making it as positive as possible.....Her current Meganisms ( which is what I am calling them) comments over the past week or so were......"After all, It IS only hair and it will grow back" and "it sure won't take long to shower and get off to class: AND " should be easy to pack when I travel--don't need to take shampoo, blow-dryer, flat iron -- I should have lots of room in my carryon".

And Travel, she may.....she is scheduled to go to see Bill at Notre Dame, and has sneaked in a trip to Maryland before Christmas, assuming she is still feeling up to it. I think those things are helping her keep going.

You have to love the resiliency she has that makes her so special....we should all be so fortified.

Again, thanks for your expressions of concern and prayers. Please keep them coming. Specifically, we are praying that her heart and lungs remain un-affected by the Chemo, and her physical resiliency stays strong as we enter the colder sickness season and that she continue to have focus enough to continue to do well in class. It's her Junior year, and she is really getting into the meat of her classes.

Blessing to each of you!

Take Care and HUG your KIDS, SPOUSE and FRIENDS and tell them how much you appreciate them…..we certainly appreciate YOU!