Has It Already Been A Week?

Originally published on therockinahardplace.wordpress.com

I can’t believe it’s already been a week since my last post. OK, I’m lying. It has actually felt like an eternity.

One thing that has been pretty consistent with the chemotherapy is that the first seven days following a treatment have been the toughest. For both Monica and I, it is a physically and mentally exhausting seven days…albeit for different reasons.

In Monica’s case, she’s just been filled up with chemicals to destroy cells and then is given a number of shots to stimulate growth of new cells. In short, it does a number on her little body and she’s incredibly fatigued. She wants to help out as much as she can but is limited in what she’s able to do. It doesn’t go away but at least by the time the second week of the cycle rolls around she’s feeling slightly less fatigued and slightly more functional.

In my case, in those seven days I’m just trying my hardest to be Superman, only without the super powers. I’m trying to leap over tall buildings in a single bound but keep smacking right into the side of the building. You know, like Wile E. Coyote trying to run through one of the Roadrunner’s fake tunnels.

I want to do EVERYTHING and feel like I keep falling short. I want to make sure Monica is taken care of, that Aidan is taken care of, that I don’t fall too far behind at work, that I keep everyone updated on what’s going on, that I’m able to help friends and family with their “things.” Of course, the harder I try to keep everything in order and running smoothly the quicker Murphy’s Law takes over and chaos ensues.

In the moment, the chaos is incredibly frustrating. In retrospect, it’s somewhat comical. Moving forward, I have to accept that simply staying afloat is acceptable.

Monica and I are both in survival mode right now but in a few months we’ll be looking back at this period of time and laughing. And even if we’re not yet ready to laugh, we’ll be able to look in the rear-view mirror and say, “did THAT really just happen?”

(PS. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of you who took the time to leave a comment on last week’s post. Monica read them all during the second day of her treatment last Tuesday. And she’s read the couple that came in since then. It means a lot to her that so many people are cheering her on. Thank you!)