6 Days Since Chemo

The first few days after Steve's chemo treatment were uneventful. He didn't feel too bad. Tuesday is when he started to feel really tired and that night the bone pain began. He woke up many times during the night due to the pain and a reoccurring nightmare. He was very tired and upset by Wednesday morning. The bone pain came and went throughout the day and into the evening. He slept a little better last night but still had some disturbing dreams. We weren't told that any of the treatments would cause nightmares But anything is possible with the amount of drugs he's receiving.

I'm not that crazy about giving him shots everyday. I asked him if he would give himself the shots and he said "No way!" There were a few times that I had to stick him a second time because the syringe stuck to my hand when I wanted to adjust my grip! Gives me chills.

I am very squeamish when it comes to shots, getting blood taken and so on. So it does not come easy for me to give shots to Steve. We all know that the Lord prepares us for trials and temptations. We are never sure how a current trial is going to strengthen us for a future trial. But I know they do. I can personally attest to it.

The Lord began preparing me for this season starting in 1998. My second son, Andrew, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was 12. He took quickly to giving himself his shots and testing his blood sugar. But over time he began experiencing Hypoglycemic seizures. They would always occur in the middle of the night when he was sleeping. There was nothing he could due to stop them. It was up to us to give him a glucagon shot to stop the effects of the insulin and bring him out of the seizure and the low blood sugar. The glucagon kit has a very large glass syringe that contains a liquid that you inject into a small vial with a dissolvable tablet inside. Once it dissolves you draw all the liquid back into the syringe and then inject it into the patient. I have to say these times were very intense. We were never sure when the seizure started or how long it had been before one of my other sons were awaken by the sounds Andrew was making. On a few occasions he didn't wake up from the seizure soon enough and we had to call the paramedics.

Eight years later my youngest son, Timothy, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was 15. His diagnosis blew us all away. We never even thought that another one of my kids would get this disease. Timothy was also quick to give himself shots. Thankfully he has never had a seizure. Did these past trials make this one any easier, not really. This one is tough for many other reasons. But I learned that I am capable of doing what ever I need to do to help my children and my husband. And what I'm called to do may feel overwhelming at the time, I may even want to resist it......but I know I'll get through it. Especially because the Lord is with me.