Tag: support

Faith through my eyes, Minute DevotionsLeave a comment

Minute Devotions: A burden shared.

leilaarmstrong

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ – Galatians 6:2 One of the greatest blessings in life is having people around you that love you and care for you. People that champion you and will be there to support you when you need it. When Moses had to keep his arms raised all night to win the battle, it was only through the support of Aaron, his brother, and Hur, a companion, that he was able to do it because when his arms got tired, they stood either side of him and raised his arms for … Continue reading Minute Devotions: A burden shared.

cafe storiesLeave a comment

Cafe Crying

leilaarmstrong

I am a sympathetic crier; if I see someone crying, or am talking with someone who is crying, or watching a scene in a movie and the character is crying, I tend to get emotional with them and start crying. I even cried in the movie UP when the wife died and he got all sad and heartbroken (yes, it’s an animation but it was romantic and lovely and he was lonely without her!). I get even more sad and emotional when I see someone crying in public, because crying in public is not something that most people set out … Continue reading Cafe Crying

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

Tell me something I don’t know.

leilaarmstrong

I was having a chat to someone a few days ago and we were talking about mums chemo journey and how she’s coping with it. We chatted about how hard it must be for mum to go through and I made the observation that it’s been hard on all of us. Interestingly, my statement was sort of shut down. I was frowned at and got told that “Well, it’s hardest for her because she is going through it.” I smiled and agreed that yes, it is hardest for her and slowly retreated. The comment bugged me for a few reasons: … Continue reading Tell me something I don’t know.

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

Control freak.

leilaarmstrong

And it begins: the side effects have hit mum in full force and she is struggling. The vomiting, the body aches, the headaches, the loss of hair. It’s all happening and it’s killing me. Bit by bit my heart is breaking as I watch this treatment take over my mum’s body. I’ve repeatedly asked myself if we’re doing the right thing with the chemo and then I remind myself that we need to do it to help prevent it from coming back. I also keep reminding myself that we are not fighting off cancer, we are just trying to prevent … Continue reading Control freak.

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

Normal.

leilaarmstrong

This week is our treatment free week -woo! Mum doesn’t need to do anything this week: no blood tests, no chemo, no nausea injections. She can just chill out and be. Which is great because her first treatment has knocked her about some. She’s more tired than usual (that’s normal with chemo) and she is feeling nauseous (also normal with chemo but they’ve given her meds for it). But she’s a strong one and is coping well, shaved head and all. The hardest thing has been keeping up all the little things, like staying out of the sun and regularly … Continue reading Normal.

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

The great shave.

leilaarmstrong

Yesterday at mums first chemo session, the nurse told her that she would definitely lose all her hair. While some people keep all their hair during chemo, this particular chemo definitely takes it all. And that was hard for mum to accept yesterday. Yes, it’s only hair but it’s a part of her identity and it’s hers. I could see it in her eyes yesterday that she was struggling with it. My brother spoke to her last night about it and helped her decide to shave it off before it fell out, so this morning, mum asked me to shave … Continue reading The great shave.

mum's cancer journeyLeave a comment

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

leilaarmstrong

So mum starts chemotherapy next Thursday at 9:30am….sheesh but things are moving quickly! It’s a good thing I suppose because it doesn’t give mum too much time to think about it and let her imagination get the better of her. When we spoke to them yesterday they explained that the need for chemo was because her cancer was a grade 3, which is the highest level apparently and also the most aggressive. They said it reproduces at a rate of 75% but thankfully in mums case it hadn’t moved anywhere. They discussed the potential side affects of chemo, which was … Continue reading Hair today, gone tomorrow.