One Down...

Well, my hands and feet are almost healed from the allergic reaction I had to my previous chemo treatment on Sept. 5. All the skin has peeled off the palms of my hands and my toes and heels. I am happy to report that the plagues of Job appear to have left the Patton household. Believe me, it was a tough couple of weeks but I am so much better.

Yesterday I had my first chemo treatment with the new drug called Taxol. It is an eight-week program, and I take this treatment every Friday afternoon for seven more weeks now. Since I take it weekly, the drug is obviously milder, and I have already discovered that the side effects are so much milder than what I have experienced with past drugs! They gave me Benadryl during my treatment, to prevent an allergic reaction to the drug, so I actually napped through the last half of my treatment. But I was fine by the time I got home and just spent a relaxing evening in my recliner.

I have to take steroids with this drug, so the worst was last night - I wasn't able to fall asleep until 2:00 am. But I slept in this morning and had a great day. I actually ran errands and did some chores and had one of the most normal Saturdays I've had in a couple of months. It was lovely.

So I have a good feeling about this new treatment plan, despite the fact that I have to go every week. The main concern is that my red and white blood cell counts remain within range so that I can take my treatments on schedule, so please pray specifically for this for me. I want to be FINISHED with chemo on November14 if at all possible, so we will pray toward this goal.

I want to thank so many of you, my sweet friends, who are serving the Lord by sharing His love with me. Your weekly cards with notes of concern and love, gifts, food, prayers, and many other kind acts humble me, and I pray that you, the giver, will also be blessed for your obedience to serving God by serving others.

It's funny...I fought so hard to avoid taking this weekly chemo drug because I just didn't think it would work well for my schedule, etc. But God's plan is so perfect and I am amazed at how good I feel - at least so far - and I am reminded, once again, to allow Him to be in control. He is good...all the time.