Shortly before Zach's second session of chemo the world got a little bit shinier. Zach's hair had started thinning out little by little (due to the chemo, not due to him inching closer and closer to his 30's) and he decided to have the upper hand and remove it himself. We went out to dinner that night as a kind of "Fairwell Hair" party, after which we came back and shaved his blonde locks off with a pair of clippers. I won't lie...we were both a little emotional about it. I don't think we said more than a couple of sentences throughout the process, but Zach said that it really did feel good to be in control of the situation instead of the other way around. I'm so proud of him for being the kind of man that doesn't take the tough stuff lying down. I've included a picture of his newly shiny head for your viewing pleasure- he makes one hot baldie, if I do say so myself. Which reminds me...a big THANK YOU goes out to those of you who have sent him sock hats...they're helping keep the chill away in this 30 degree weather. He wears them so often that sometimes I honestly forget that his hair isn't there any more!
Despite the aforementioned chilly weather, Zach had a GREAT couple of weeks leading up to his second chemo session. We were amazed at how he hardly seemed sick...in fact, I'm pretty sure that he's never been better at Wii in his life. There really aren't a whole lot of updates to be had from that time period because it was as normal as can be!
Zach's second session of chemo went well- they put us in a big corner room and we had a new nurse that was incredibly friendly. She took great care of Zach, and the fact that she could talk football didn't hurt! The session was a little bit shorter than the first one (by about an hour) and even smoother as far as medication goes. During the first session he had to be checked every half hour to make sure he wasn't having a reaction, and this time we knew he would take the medication without any problems so we were able to all relax a bit. His blood tests are still coming back with high numbers, which means that his immune system is still rockin' and rollin'. Lastly, for those of you who were wondering, we didn't watch a single minute of swordfishing. It was all ESPN and CSI this time, which is far more tolerable. :)
Zach's Doc was able to provide us with a full chemo schedule (he'll have 6 sessions total) that runs through April- it's so incredibly nice to be able to look at that sheet of paper and think, "this is the day we can all breathe a sigh of relief!" At this point his doctor is unsure of whether or not he will need radiation therapy, so Zach will be meeting with a specialist in the near future to determine how that will be handled. Surgery has been ruled out, which is HUGELY great news- the power of prayer is at work once again! Since Chemo 2, Zach has been feeling a bit flu-ish. He's had some tiredness, some nausea, and similar (mostly mild) symptoms that thankfully haven't restricted his ability to go about his normal day-to-day life. His cravings for Chinese food definitely count toward the more desirable of his symptoms....his cravings for pickles, not so much. He's starting back on the upswing the past couple of days, and we're confident he'll be feeling back to almost-normal in a day or two.
All in all we're still feeling so blessed that everything has gone smoothly. We continue to get a lot of support from family and friends, and we've met a lot of young people who have 'been there' through their own battle with cancer (or that of their spouse). Thankfully, Zach has such a joyful heart that it's not difficult at all to be optimistic about this situation- he's one in a million for sure. But all of you single ladies, tough luck...he's still mine, bald head and all. :)
-Kristin
