Tuesdays with Sheila

Tuesday was another chemo day for Sheila. After a 5 a.m. spin class (her, not me) and a morning smoothie I picked her up at 8:15 for the trek to Swedish Medical. Once again she went through the routine like the star that she is although this day was a bit different.

Our first stop was at the dermatologist to have stitches removed due to a mole removal she had more than a week ago. She is fine, THANKFULLY. But it was quite a scare--the mole had a lot going against it in terms of color, shape, size, etc. but again, NO WORRIES now.

Then the usual routine began--to the lab, see the doc, and then to chemo (pop a pill, receive anti nauseau meds and then the "cocktail" of chemo begins). We spend a lot of time swapping stories, flipping through mags, over hearing conversations of others--some people shoot the breeze as though they were chatting over coffee and others share their very difficult struggles and diagnosis and how hard it is to traverse the path they're on. Sheila handles each step with such grace.

Her white blood count was down some yesterday so she was only able to receive half of her chemo treatment but as one lovley, upbeat, and courageous patient also getting her chemo treatment pointed out to me after we expressed slight disappointment, "A half treatment is better than no treatment; always look for the silver lining in this process."

Sheila went in for a shot early Weds. to help boost her white blood cell count. I shot her a text to check in on her. Her reply: "Doing well! Got shot first thing this a.m. to boost white cells. Feeling Fine!"

Clearly, Sheila is seeking the silver lining herself. Rock on, sister, as you continue to Stomp This!