A Christmas to remember

Well I hope that all of you had a magical Christmas filled with friends, family, food, fun and festivities.  Ours was perfect on the holiday end, but my health concerns have not been as smooth.

I started catching a cold around December 20th and woke up Monday the 21st with a wretched sore throat.  I was set to have chemo that day, so I ventured to Fargo.  After reviewing my blood work, Dr. Gitau told me that my white count was reduced to 1200.  The low threshold for treatment is 1500.  I couldn't proceed with treatment, but he was hopeful that my counts would go back up, and we'd have treatment on the 28th.  I was only mildly concerned at the time because I would still get 2 more treatments in by the time we went to Mayo.  I was also happy I wouldn't be dealing with chemo side effects over Christmas.

After my canceled treatment session on the 21st, I spent the day with one of my besties Leah.  We went to lunch, a movie, shopping, her son's basketball game, and dinner with her son Brendon.  It was awesome spending the day with them.  My cold was getting worse, so I had to cancel my "girlfriend Christmas" on the 23rd.  I wanted to get some rest before the big festivities.

The night of Christmas eve, my parents hosted our annual Olson Family Christmas party, where my dad's whole side of the family is there.  We eat appetizers, open gifts and play an exchange game. This year I added a photo booth that turned out to be a great success.  I have hundreds of silly pics of everyone.  The kiddos thought it was exceptionally fun.

Santa arrived Christmas morning and brought Arya a beautiful barn and farm set, complete with gates, fences, feeders and animals.  This Mommy loved her morning with just baby and my husband opening gifts.  Later in the morning, Grandma Deb and Grandpa Tom stopped by to see Arya's presents.

For lunch or what North Dakotans would refer to as dinner, we went back to my parents' house for a Christmas with just our immediate family.  We stuffed ourselves full of Mom's waikiki meatballs then opened our gifts.  The kids were having a ball, and us adults did as well, especially seeing the kiddos' faces.  Also, if you run into my Dad Ron Olson, give him a high five for the amazing ring he gave to my Mom.  If you see my Mom Lelony, ask to see it.

After a quick afternoon nap, we went over to my in-laws Tom and Deb's house here in Fort Ransom. We again ate ourselves full of ham and all the fixings.  After our nice meal, we opened gifts and stockings.  Again, seeing Arya's face was the best part of the day.

My mom, sisters and I headed to Fargo early for some after Christmas deals.  I have an obsession with Christmas decor, so this day is like my Black Friday.  I didn't go TOO overboard, but I did buy all the trimmings for the tree decor Mom, Alayna and I will be donating for next year's SVACA/Community Club Christmas event.

Then Monday the 28th came, and Tim and I were back in Fargo for my rescheduled treatment.  He left to run errands and I proceeded to get my blood work and wait for treatment.  I was shocked when I found out that my white count had not only dropped, but it had dropped down to only 200.  I turned into a wreck, and Tim quickly came back to the hospital for my doctor's input.  I didn't meet with Dr. Gitau directly as he was with patients, but the nurse practitioner was in contact with him.  They kept telling me that this is a common yet serious side effect of the chemo.  They said there isn't a whole lot I can do but give myself time to allow my bone marrow to produce more white cells.  I also have to be EXTREMELY cautious now for infection.  I'm sure all the activity over the Christmas week didn't help my counts, but I also have to live my life.  My cold is still present, but it is mostly just a runny nose at this point.  For the next week, they want me to stay put in my home, get rest and eat healthy, and most of all avoid anyone who may be sick.  I, of course, stated my worries that holding the chemo would let the cancer potentially advance, but they said that I already have a build-up of chemo in my system.  This is where we weigh chemo good vs bad effects.  With any luck, my numbers will be up again next week, and I can proceed with treatment.  We've had to cancel any New Year's Eve plans we had, as well as plans for my 33rd birthday, but bringing up my counts is of the utmost importance right now.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying hard that my cold will go away, and my white count will go up so that I can get treatment on the 4th.  That will mean that I only have 1 more treatment before Mayo, but hopefully it's enough to show some improvement on my January 18th scans.

Overall, we had our perfect Christmas, but the struggles of my disease were always on our minds. Myself and my family have all been in good spirits, and we made sure that we just appreciated eachothers' company over the holidays.  After all, family, friends, faith and love are what is important at this time of year.

With love, faith, humility and gratitude for all your support-Jenny