The real Week 5

It can't be Week 5 already!  Seems like just a couple of weeks ago this whole ordeal came to a head.  Anywho ...

Little sister had a pretty rough week this week in that she was totally plugged up (because she didn't follow doctor's orders to take a laxative and drink massive amounts of water after her first treatment), and no amount of trying different types of stuff would undo the plug.  She was nauseous and in a great deal of pain in the upper abdominal region (diaphragm).  No amount of advice anyone gave her on how to get things moving would make her listen.  It wasn't until I had to undergo a colonoscopy prep that she finally listened.  She followed the prep I had to do - not to mention she ate food from Micky D's, and voila!  No more tummy ache!! :-)  Which also meant no trip to the hospital for a roto-rooter job.  She is [almost] one happy camper.

This week also brought out a side of her I thought I would never see.  She is starting to become angry with this disease because of the almost constant pain in her hips and legs (cancer is in the bone marrow), the ever present lack of energy, and anger toward herself for being stubborn enough when the symptoms first reared their ugly heads by not going to a doctor.  (Shades of our mother before she was diagnosed with colon cancer.)  She actually starts to cry when she talks of these things.  Oh my God!  She is human after all!!  I feel helpless at times like this because I have no sage words of wisdom for her having never had cancer myself, and she won't let me hug her ... although, she is slowly starting to cave on this one because she knows I am a touchie-feelie person.

She also had tears in her eyes yesterday when she ran her fingers through her hair and a huge clump was in her palm.  Almost three weeks had passed since her first treatment and she still had all of her hair; she thought she was going to be one of the lucky ones who fall into the minority of being able to keep their hair.  My "Cancer Kid" (as she calls herself) is finally realizing that she is mortal after all.  I think that is one reason why she is in such a foul mood today.  To this I say, "About time, little sister."