Shingles, chemo, and more

Saturday, August 17, Chris started getting a rash on her back and side. Her brother and sister were both visiting and the three of them had just gone for a hike, so she thought that she had a case of poison oak. It kept getting worse and started to be pretty uncomfortable.

The following day Chris, Chris' brother and sister, and I all went to a hat party that our beloved Kate held for Chris. About 25 people came and they all brought hats for her to wear during her chemo 'baldness'. They were all terrific and we had a ball.

One of the hats, made by Dale (our hair stylist) and his companion Glen was a Carmen Miranda-style hat consisting of all kinds of fruit, piled about a foot high! It is outrageous and gorgeous and Chris ended up having a lot of fun with it. First, she wore it to do a little shopping at the supermarket! She also wore it to one of her chemo treatments to show everyone, including the doctor, and now they always ask about it She even wore it to Costco when we stopped on the way home from a treatment. She sure got a lot of attention, and it was fun.

Back to the rash... it wasn't until Tuesday night that it occurred to her that it might not be poison oak after all, but rather shingles. Mortified, she went to our doctor immediately and found out that it was, indeed, shingles. There is a drug that is supposed to help reduce the symptoms, but it is supposed to be started within 72 hours of the outbreak; she didn't get it diagnosed for 4 days, but took the drug anyway just in case.

Chris was in agony for about four weeks and could barely lie on her left side because of the shingles or on her right side because of the surgery. We discovered an over-the-counter cream that was a local anesthetic and would help relieve some of the symptoms. The bad news was that it was $75 a tube!! I found it at another pharmacy for $96, but Costco could get it for 'only' $43.

Then came the mouth sores, which lasted for about two weeks during the height of the shingles. She went through hell, but maintained a good attitude through it all, complaining very little and showing great bravery. Anne, one of our dear friends said, "What's next? Locusts??"

In the middle of all of this I, too, developed a shingle-like sore on my abdomen and I thought, "Oh, boy... now it's MY turn." Chris said she thought it was a "Sympathy shingle"! I went to our doctor immediately and she said that it was, indeed, like shingles, but that she wasn't going to call it that because there was only one sore; shingles typically has many. She gave me the prescription anyway, and the sore went away in about a week. I found myself truly frightened that I was going to have to go through what she was going through, and I knew right then and there that I wouldn't be able to be as brave as she had been.

The most recent chemo treatment was last Thursday, October 3. Saturday night it began and all day Sunday, Monday, and most of Tuesday she was so weak it was all she could do to get up and go to the bathroom. I brought her meals when she felt like eating and ice chips, and she is starting to move around a bit more.

We have a couple of 'family radios' that are like walkie talkies and she keeps one at her bedside and I carry one everywhere I go. That way, she can get me if she needs anything. Considering the size of our property and the area in which I walk the dogs, I could be just about anywhere on five acres or so all around the house. With the radios, she can get me no matter where I am no matter when she needs something. On top of all of this, she has developed a nasty cough and sounds like she has been smoking for about 40 years. I called the Oncologist, who prescribed antibiotics in addition to the antibiotics she is already taking. Add hot flashes to the mix and now you've got a poor baby that's pretty miserable. But smiling. It's really amazing.

The next, AND LAST chemo is Oct 24. She is not looking forward to the treatment, but IS looking forward to it being over.

After the chemo is the radiation regimen, which we believe will be every day, Monday through Friday, for about six weeks. They usually start about four weeks after the last chemo, but there is a little complication; the plastic surgeon would like to do one more small surgery which he feels should be done BEFORE radiation begins. The reason is that radiation may 'toughen up' the tissue in which case he wouldn't be able to do this procedure for about a year. If he does it BEFORE the radiation, not only will we get it out of the way, but the result will be better than waiting a year. The timing will be tricky, though, because he needs to see her before scheduling the surgery and we only have a four week window.

There doesn't seem to be anything simple about any of this, does there?

This update was posted on Thursday, October 10, 2002 at 12:11:00 PM (USA Central Time)
Last updated on Thursday, October 02, 2003 at 12:16:27 PM (USA Central Time)