Vulnerable But Not Neglected

 July 21 (Tuesday)...

One of the last duties added to my job before I resigned from my position was a class to teach about protecting our Vulnerable Adults. I loved teaching this class to our staff and volunteers. I felt as church, wanting to protect those who are participants in our various ministries, we should want to provide the best care for all who come through our doors. The class gave some helpful lessons in what a Vulnerable Adult meant and how to protect them from harm. 

I would always start every training with the following line...

"We never know when we will be the one considered a Vulnerable Adult. There are many ways to fall into this status and we will need others to care for us in a compassionate way."

I would then joke that I was in fact a Vulnerable Adult as an overworked staff member. 

Oh how I foretold my status and how quickly it truly can change!  

So I am now thankful that, although vulnerable due to my health, I am well taken care of by family and friends. I am truly blessed. 

So my update for the last two days is pretty simple. The radiation treatments continue to go well. I have no side effects from the radiation. I feel like I have to be town down to have my build itself back up. So my back continues to be a discomfort. But I am learning to work around it in small ways. 

Due to my lack of hair, the mask for radiation does not fit as snug as they like so they have to adjust it during the treatment. It is not comfortable but I know it is only a short time so I make it work. 

Mike continues to be a cheerleader for the cause. He takes me back to the treatment room and encourages me to relax so I can make it through the procedure. I am so thankful for my radiation team. 

The chemo round side effects are similar to the first round with fatigue, sore muscles and slight nausea.  I have been watching for signs of lower white blood count and I do believe my counts are down at this time. I now have inflammation of my glands so I think I am starting the downward slide. I now try to stay away from extra people. Not hard since i was already trying to stay away from people.  I have blood drawn on Friday so I will see if I am right about my body’s reaction. 

Meals continue to come. We enjoyed MOJO soup from Brenda Mark on Monday. And a fabulous stew from Don and Judy Francis today. We cannot thank all of our friends enough for taking this burden off our plate (pun intended).   

I was happy to hear from my dear friend, Holly Gonzales, today also. She called at just the right time as if she knew I needed to hear her calming voice. More on why that was needed in a later post when we work out details about a situation not specifically related to cancer. Regardless, I was glad to talk to a kindred soul at that moment. 

God bless to all!!