Chemo day was tough but the day after the treatment, I felt surprisingly ok. I had this extra boost of energy.  My sister warned me to take it easy and not to overdo it because I'll have a false sense of energy.  I couldn't help it and took complete advantage of the energy. We had an action packed Memorial Day weekend with plans to see family and friends.  I didn't feel "sick" and didn't want stupid cancer to get in the way of our plans.  I quickly learned I did not have the same energy level and had to pace myself. Towards the end of the weekend, I was wiped out!

The week ahead was a busy one with a biopsy to place a clip/marker in the infected lymph node and the placement of a port on Tuesday and chemo on Thursday. As the long holiday weekend wrapped up, I got more nervous. I wasn't so much scared about the biopsy as I had a similar procedure done before.  I just wished they placed the clip/marker when they originally tested the lymph node. I was scared about the port placement. The port is a device that allows the nurses to draw blood and administer chemo without having to access my veins each time. Numerous people have told me the port is the way to go. I just wasn't convinced since it was an invasive procedure and I have never had surgery before!

The procedures on Tuesday went well. I was sore and for the first time, I felt sick!  After the procedure, I was in a fog and it took me a bit to recover from the sedation medication.  I didn't have the strength to change back into my regular clothes and asked the nurse if I could just leave with what I had on. She was kind enough to help me change into a clean johnie and sent us on our way. 

As I was being discharged, we received a call from Katherine's school. Katherine had a fever and we needed to go get her. It has been a tough stretch for the Caos.  Katherine has had a fever off and on for nearly 2 weeks.  She had a physical on Monday, the 23rd, and had started showing signs of not feeling well.  We returned to her doctor on Friday, the 27th since her fever spiked again and we wanted her to be seen before the long weekend. 

I called her doctor's office on our way to get her and they wanted to see her.  We picked her up and since I had a johnie on I sat in the car and waited.  Mike took her in and for the next 15 mins, it felt like an eternity.  It is the absolute worse feeling when your child is sick and you are helpless.  Mike came out and said her symptoms were different from the last visit so her doctor thinks she may have caught something else.  We were given lab orders to take to the hospital in case her fever spiked again.  In the back of my mind, I kept praying that it is just a bug and nothing worse.  We were struggling as is and to have another patient would have been too much.  

Katherine and I laid low on Wednesday.  I was still sore from the procedures.  Luckily Katherine started to perk up and we were able to send her back to school on Thursday, chemo day!