Update! Sorry it took so long!

Unknown

Thankyou so much for everyones private messages and e-mails. its been overwhelming in a good way. im just having a hard time getting back to everyone but i promise i will! this is Jesse by the way! Jenna has been doing ok. Just very tired and very sick. I need some advice...how do i get her to eat??? the site of food makes her throw up even like 3 or 4 days after her treatment. she goes weekly and every 3 weeks gets 2 different chemos. its been exhausting! Esp trying to work, cook,clean,take care of her. but i honestly can say it only makes me love her more and more! I hope everyone is doing great! I will start getting to everyones private messages thanks for everything! Will update soon!

lady342008

Hey Jesse, It's GREAT about all that you're doing to help Jennarose. I think you should ALWAYS call the doctor with your concerns. After my surgery I couldn't think about eating for 3 weeks. The only thing I was eating was Jello and soup. I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks.

I would not stress so much about her eating solid foods. Even just SMALL amounts of different jello's she likes, broth, sipping on healthy shake maybe watered down some so it's not so thick and heavy. I would DEFINATELY give her a table spoon of Gatorade every 15 - 30 minutes. How are her spirits? I wish I was there to help out and give you a break I would do it in a heart beat.

My thoughts and prayers are with you ALL. Don't stress about keeping up with everyone on here you have A LOT ON YOUR PLATE. We definately understand and will wait patiently in prayer for you all.

Love and Blessings, Sharon Give her hugs from us PLEASE...... A HUGE HUG FOR YOU AND ALL YOU'RE ARE DOING.

BonnieR

Jesse thanks for the update and I have been wondering what is happening with Jenna and then say a prayer.

Talk to her Dr and/or chemo nurse about eating and feeling sick. Some woman can start losing too much weight and that is not good. There are many medications that can help with this. I know the smell of food made me sick when I was doing the taxol.

Give Jenna a hug from all of us here. Prayers N Hugs Bonnie

mopar

Jesse:
As everyone has said, eating is a major issue when going through this. Little bits maybe every 1/2 hour or so is better than nothing. As for the nausea, there are so many things she can take for that. I hope that they give her premeds the night before chemo as well as during and after. Zofran, for example, worked well for me. But it has to be taken before the onset of nausea, as a preventative. When you lose weight that fast you are primarily losing muscle weight, and that's not good. Try some protein shakes with ice cream. Maybe freeze a power shake into popsicles so Jenna can just let it melt slowly in her mouth, which would also give her the fluids she needs. Protein is vital for tissue repair and recovery. I bought a snow cone machine and used it a lot, little bits at a time. It also helped because I had horrible mouth sores, no taste buds, and my tongue was often swollen.

I can imagine the schedule you are keeping. Don't worry about writing everyone back personally. We all understand. We only write personal notes to let you know we are thinking of the both of you and praying for you. A quick post here once in a while will keep us up to date and make it easier on you.

God bless you both! Our love and prayers and HUGS.
Monika

saundra

Dear Jesse and Jenna. I am glad to hear from you. Know you are busy as can be. All of the hints are given by the other ladies. I drank an Ensure each day to add to my nutrients. Then I added a scoop of ice cream. Nausea was not bad for me as the premeds at the time of chemo and starting the antinausea medication as soon as i got home worked for me. I hope Jenna is getting these. We will be praying that this subsides soon. Saundra

kris43

Jesse - thanks so much for giving us an update. I think of Jenna so often and wonder how you both are doing. The ladies all gave excellent advice as always. And really, we don't expect you to send emails individually - at least this way we can all hear at the same time how you are doing. You are doing a super job - it's hard work being a caretaker - but I am sure Jenna would do it for you if the roles were reversed. In sickness and in health - right? My best to you both and know you are in my prayers always. Kris

challen14

kris43 said:

Jesse - thanks so much for giving us an update. I think of Jenna so often and wonder how you both are doing. The ladies all gave excellent advice as always. And really, we don't expect you to send emails individually - at least this way we can all hear at the same time how you are doing. You are doing a super job - it's hard work being a caretaker - but I am sure Jenna would do it for you if the roles were reversed. In sickness and in health - right? My best to you both and know you are in my prayers always. Kris

Hi Jesse, Please tell Jenna to hang in there, as things will get better. Do you know what kinds of meds she's taking for the nausea? What kind of chemo is she getting? I know when I'm on the chemo and feeling bad, there is usually something that will stay down...I just have to figure out what it is that I crave.
It takes an angel to be a caretaker, so you hang in there too. By all means, call the doc if things don't improve. Best wishes to you both and blessings too. Charlotte

sblakeley

Sounds very much like what I went thru, I went for Bleo and Cysplatin every three weeks with etopicide in the mix as well. I had four or five antinauseas that helped. If I can remember there was zofran, this one that had three pills in a pack and was very $$, ativan (this helped when nothing else did as its also antianxiety), benadrill was also used to help with reaction and thats all from the top of my head. I still have all the notes at home just not with me.

As for eating tips, they had me eat meals from a childs plate, to make it less overwhelming and easier for me to finish. I lived for the entire time on boosts and a sirian(sp?) dish my neighbor made that was lentels and wheat germ, sound gross but its not bad and its easy going down with protien.

Also do not hesitate to call her doc especially if she has cramping (think labor type pains) in her stomache, I had this problem twice when my white count bottomed out (literally was 0).