Team Watson: Day Two - well, technically Day Three

Technically, Amanda took her third dose of chemo tonight. My post title says day two because of the timing of her medications and when we start to see the effects of the mediation. Without wanting to confuse anyone, I'll try to explain.  The first day, which was Monday, she is given her IV medication at the clinic and then she takes chemo medication orally at home before bed. So Tuesday, my post said day one because that is when we start to see how the medication makes her feel, but it was actually day two of her medication. She takes a total of five days of oral chemo medication here at home. So from here on out, these last few days are usually the roughest for her. I would like to ask for prayers that she will continue to tolerate the medication well and that she will not feel any worse over the next few days.

As we continue into her treatment plan, I get the impression that we should expect each round to be a little harder on her body. Even though we are managing the symptoms well with additional medications, her body is still going through a battle and that battle will take it's toll on her. So seeing as how we are in round three with nine more to go, it definitely makes me constantly check myself on my anxiety level when I think about possibilities. Again, it is a constant reminder to just take it day by day and not to borrow trouble.

Last night Amanda did not sleep soundly. She had some discomfort and I couldn't find the medication I was looking for, so she went back to sleep saying that was the best remedy. (That's my girl!) From that point on, she just tossed and turned, so I was on high alert all night. This morning, however, I was able to find the medication with no trouble at all. I felt terrible! She just laughed at me and said, "Mom, it was dark - you had a hard time seeing things."  Sweet girl. So after a late start to our day, she continued to take it very easy throughout the morning with her eyes set on one goal - ROCK.

She wasn't feeling well this afternoon, and by the time we had arrived at the stables, she was so worked up over how she felt, she was afraid to stay. Ms. Judy, Amanda's amazing physical therapist at ROCK, convinced her to just go out and try it for a short time, and if she still felt bad, we could go home. It took one touch of Piggy and she was hooked. Bright eyes and all smiles, she kept giving me the "Phil Robertson" thumbs up as she rode by. I'll admit it, I shed a few tears seeing her on the horse and looking so happy.

It was very interesting to watch the class. I knew that they would do physical therapy on horseback, but actually seeing it happen was pretty cool. The craziest thing they did was called "around the world" where they would actually turn around in the saddle in a complete circle while the horse was moving. There are some pictures below showing Amanda riding backwards! They had no reigns today, so they held on to the saddle blanket if need be, but she did great. Miss Piggy is a smaller horse, and Amanda has long legs, so it was a little comical watching her try to swing her legs around without hitting Piggy in the head. She was also wearing shorts that were slippery so that added to the difficulty. The good thing is that since Piggy is smaller, Amanda wouldn't have far to fall! Amanda will have another physical therapist walking next to her at each lesson, who also happens to be a nurse, to assist and evaluate her as she is on the horse and be another set of eyes for Judy on how Amanda is tolerating everything.   I love that.

All too soon for Amanda, class time was up. She helped remove the saddle and brush Miss Piggy to wrap up her day. She ended up doing a good workout today! Another great perk is that we finally got to see the mustang named Freedom they have from the Mustang Make Over Challenge. I recommend seeing the documentary called "Wild Horse, Wild Ride" if you haven't seen it. It follows trainers that take wild mustangs and they have 100 days to train them and then take the horse to compete in Ft. Worth where they will be auctioned off at the end of the competition.   Pretty amazing stuff. So we have been looking forward to meeting one of those mustangs and today was our day.

Tonight, Tom and Brandon are on the Logic School Retreat with Grace, so Amanda and I picked up the tents from the school and met up with the group to drop them off. We didn't hang around too long, it had already been a long afternoon, but it looked like everyone was having a great time. As we headed home, Amanda was quickly fading from her long afternoon and ready to collapse. After a quick bath and a short movie, it didn't take her long to fall asleep tonight.

I am thankful for today. I'm praying for a good night's sleep tonight and that she will have a good day tomorrow as we prepare to head out of town for our little get away.

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!