Texas wildflowers were so amazing this past spring! Though I wasn’t able to get out among them in person, I enjoyed the vast views on our drives to and from College Station. And my dear friend, A., sent me plenty of incredible photographs taken on her property.
After one long infusion of a chemotherapy drug in the clinic, I’m now taking an oral drug at home for 2 weeks. It’s so toxic that Bill has to wear disposable gloves to place them in the dosage cup, then wash thoroughly with soap and water. He even added a biohazard symbol to the dosage cup to keep it separate from the other cup he brings my regular meds in. Or is he just being silly?
First page of my new sketchbook journal, first sketch done during my first chemotherapy infusion. On handmade 100% cotton paper with uneven sizing. And the drugs seem to make my hands shake — a lot! So, this is officially called my wonky journal. Seems appropriate for my wonky year of battling cancer!
And now that I’m no longer working on a toned paper, I finally get to play with my Christmas gift, the Grow Untamed palette from Art Toolkit! I absolutely love the deep red case and the handmade paints from Letter Sparrow! But I just can’t live without a cool red and turquoise so I added quinacridone magenta and Paris green from Letter Sparrow. Then at the last minute, threw in my regular ultramarine blue and transparent red oxide for rich grays.
My first infusion went very well — until it was finished and the nurse was flushing the port. Suddenly my throat tightened and I was unable to catch my breath, one of the possible side effects. The small cubicle was immediately filled with doctor and nurses, I was given oxygen, and steroid drugs added through the port. Apparently an anaphylactic type allergic reaction to the chemo drug. All turned out well; they will simply need to make adjustments next time to my pre-infusion meds and slow down the infusion time.
Today I feel amazingly well — no nausea (yet!) and the best night sleep that I’ve had in months! Very little discomfort of any kind. But I myself am a bit wonky at walking, back to using a walker. And anything I touch that is cold makes my fingers tingly numb; I can’t drink anything cooler than room temperature either. These are temporary and will clear up. I have been told that chemo is accumulative and symptoms change but so far, so good.
Our daughter Kristen recently did some pruning on the baby apple trees planted in the south pasture. So she brought some of the trimmings for me to sketch.
Yesterday our daughter Kristen brought me a snipped bloom from the lime tree growing in a large pot on their front porch. I was lying down resting at the moment, so I laid it on the bedside table . . . only to open my eyes a few moments later just in time to see our silly cat, Scottie, trying to eat it! It was rescued and I sketched it today. 🐈⬛
His decision was “yes!” — eventually, in “cat time”. Then I decided to draw the brush (getting the perspective a bit wonky). But it’s taken a very long time to actually finish the sketch. Like specialty doctors’ office visits and medical tests, everything seems to go in slow-motion lately.
