Happy Saturday, dear Tribe!

Cynde had her first round of chemo post-surgery yesterday and, so far, so good. Everything is moving in the right direction.

Sometimes it feels like things are moving slowly in the right direction, but the right direction is good. Very, very good. And we will keep holding onto that.

Science is pretty cool.

The advancements being made in cancer therapies continue to astound us and fill us with gratitude. Chemotherapy is pretty harsh stuff. It is designed to kill cancer cells, but that also means the whole body can feel the effects.

When we think of chemotherapy, we tend to think of days of intense nausea, not being able to keep food down, and the whole body becoming weaker as it battles not only cancer but the side effects of treatment.

But as the science of killing cancer has advanced, so has the science of taking care of the whole body while doing it.

Cynde is on some pretty powerful anti-nausea drugs designed not only to calm the Tum but also to help stimulate her appetite and help her sleep — all pretty important things when your whole body is fighting some terrible cancer.

Chemo can also cause peripheral neuropathy — damage to sensory, motor, and autonomic nerves.

We watched Ryan suffer from increasing neuropathy, and it affected his ability to walk, eat, hold things, and balance. It’s difficult to rely on your feet to move you through the world when you can’t feel them.

Fortunately, cooling gloves and socks are now being used during certain chemotherapy treatments to try to reduce the risk and severity of neuropathy. And apparently, they also feel kind of nice on your hands and feet.

Cynde went with Suzzipads.

We kind of like the name, too. 🙂

Cynde and the Suzzipads at the infusion center.

And then yesterday, after chemo, a nurse came in and put a patch on Cynde’s arm.

This patch is basically a tiny infusion robot. It hangs out on her arm for about 27 hours after chemo and then gives her a little needle prick and delivers medication that helps boost her white blood cell production, making it easier for her body to fight infection during the time after chemo when those counts can drop.

Once the medication has been delivered, its job is done.

It’s like a little med fairy that hangs out on your arm, gives you a boost, and then goes on its way.

Cynde and her med fairy.

As we move into this chapter of recovery and next steps, it’s easy to get impatient. To want to feel better right now. To yearn for life to return to something resembling “normal.”

I say that without pretending to know what Cynde is really going through or what it feels like to be in her body right now.

But personally, I really look forward to the day when cancer doesn’t take up quite so much space.

When Pops and Nonnie can talk about their next vacation instead of infusion therapies.

When appointments aren’t the things around which everything else gets scheduled.

When life gets to be boring again.

Until then, we will keep moving in the right direction — even when it feels slow.

And we will be grateful for science, med fairies…

and Suzzipads. 🙂