No Hair, Don't Care!

There's a motto around this floor of the hospital, "quiet and boring." This basically means that that you're doing pretty well if you're not having any major problems that require attention. I'm happy to say I've been pretty quiet and boring for the past week or so. Although, there was one little hiccup last weekend, but we got over it. I was receiving a platelet transfusion, which I've gotten many times. When the transfusion starts, the nurse always says to let them know if you have any itching, headaches or shortness of breath. When the transfusion started, I was fine. About 15 minutes into it, the bottom of my feet started itching, then my hands. The nurse checked me out, and then went to go get some IV Benedryl. It turned out I had an allergic reaction to the platelets. In the time it took to get the Benedryl, which was pretty quick, my entire body was itching really bad. I wound up getting the IV Benedryl, what a trip! Literally within seconds of it going through the PICC line I was loopy. It makes your brain feel weird and you can feel it moving through down your arms, to your hands and finally through to your feet. Its the same dose as the pill I usually get, but it goes straight through your veins so it works super quickly. I fell asleep within minutes. They're not really sure why I had a reaction to this bag of platelets, but each bag can be a little different. Sometimes the number of preservatives or additives can be different and just cause funny things to happen. Every time since I've gotten platelets they use the IV Benedryl, I've been getting some good night's sleep!

Last Friday night was eventful, I got a haircut and I have no hair! For a few days before I cut it, it was falling out on my pillow, all over my clothes and when I put my fingers in my hair clumps would come out. That was super hard to go through and see. The first time I saw the clump, I called my mom crying. She was so nice and went straight to the store to get me some scarves. I knew then that it was time to get it shaved. I have been told by many people that once you start seeing it falling out, especially in clumps, that its best to take care of it because then its your choice and on your terms. Turns out, they were right! At lease for me, anyway. I feel so much better now that it is gone, I don't have to see it everywhere and now I can get used to it. I do have my wig in the hospital and I tried it on one day, but I've mostly been just wearing scarves or hats. Its not really practical to wear a wig here, I lounge around in pajamas all day and nobody cares what my hair looks like. Quite frankly, I don't even really care that much anymore either, we'll see how that changes when I'm out of here :)

Something I've found interesting about the whole hair thing is seeing people on FaceTime for the first time. I like to give people a warning if I'm wearing a scarf- I don't want to startle people with such a drastic change. Like I've said in past posts, I personally think losing your hair kind of makes cancer look real on the outside. I live this everyday and am pretty used to it, but for people who I talk to who haven't seen me since cutting my hair might be a little taken back when they see me. It doesn't bother me, I just don't want to make people uncomfortable.

I haven't lost my eyebrows yet, and don't know if I will. I was talking about it with my social worker last week and she told me about a program called Look Good Feel Better. This is a program that provides women with cancer tips and tricks for dealing with issues regarding their changing looks. I have noticed that my eyes are looking different. They're darker and kind of pink near my eyelashes. I guess that's to be expected given the beating my body is taking. This organization gave me a new bag full of nice makeup, and they're coming here tomorrow to show me how to use it! I'm so excited, I actually have a plan tomorrow. I was really excited about the makeup because I was going to throw mine all away. Its best to start new just to make sure things don't have bacteria or germs floating around. It turns out that this program is usually for women who are completing chemo as an outpatient and meet as a group once a month. The social worker reached out and asked if they would come see me because I'm stuck here, I'm so appreciative! The nurses are so excited too and can't wait to see how it comes out.

As of now baby Emma is kicking up a storm! I haven't heard anything from the OBgyn's, so I guess no news is good news!

As always, thank you for the love and support!

Kristin

 Here's a picture of my dog and her cousin because I love and miss her, she's cute, and I don't want my face to be the thumbnail for the blog! (My aunt is taking excellent care of her!)

 New Hair!