Day 21 First Chemo Round - My Sister's Visit

If there is a silver lining to this disease, it is that my sister and brother-in-law made the long, long trip from their home to my area of the province. I was so excited to see them today that every time I heard a noise outside, I was looking out the window or asking my hubby or son "Is that them in the driveway?". I think I was becoming annoying in my impatience and excitement to see my baby sister.

Finally, I truly did hear car doors shutting and there she was! I've spent the whole afternoon visiting, laughing, lamenting and laughing again. We've enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner with all the fixings. I've enjoyed doing some of the cooking while visiting with my sister. I've been able to talk to her about my down days where I question whether the chemo is worth doing. That quality of life is just as important as quantity of life. Then deciding that I need to stay the course of treatment. We discussed whether marijuana would be an option for controlling nausea. We discussed whether I could smoke it and I don't think I could. Could I ingest it? Maybe. Could I take it in pill form? I don't know....I'm already tired of taking pills. So maybe marijuana cookies? I don't know. For now I'm willing to do the regular treatments that are being prescribed.

My sister brought a box full of envelopes of various sizes. She said it was a family project and my nieces and nephew helped her with it. Each envelope has a sentence saying "Open when you feel/need ................."  I'll keep this box close to where I sit in my living room. If there's a day that I need to laugh, I'll open the envelope that says "Open when you need to laugh." I am very touched by the love and care that have gone into creating this box.

My bond with my sister runs deep. She is adopted and I remember when she was little. Affectionately, I called her my "Chubby Chicken". We have a deep and lasting bond that has survived the many years that we have lived in cities so far apart, we rarely see each other. But we have supported each other over the years through phone calls and through electronic communications. We've visited each other whenever our holidays and family commitments have allowed us to do so. Today was a very special gift of time. My sister and brother-in-law stayed and we enjoyed a social time after dinner while we did Scotch tastings from hubby's collection of Scotch. I tried one sip and my tongue immediately let me know that Scotch is currently off the list of foods/drinks that I can enjoy. My tongue was stinging until I used the mouth rinse that I use 4 times a day (water,baking soda and salt) to rinse and spit. I continued to enjoy our time around the Scotch table because there were stories to enjoy together. I also liked seeing the reactions of our son, my sister and brother-in-law.

The evening came to a close too soon but I also recognized that I was tiring quickly. My sister and brother-in-law are camping north of the city. Hopefully we will get together again tomorrow before they leave early on Tuesday. Today was a real gift and blessing.