Mouse in the house

Fatigue doesn’t mean laziness

Hey there, it’s me, Kathy. So how was your week? With this snow do you really believe that the groundhog didn’t see his shadow? I think there was two of them in the hole and he pushed the other one out and said, ‘’Ha, that will fool them.”

My week started with a wham. I got all my stuff ready for the flea market on Sunday and the truck would not start. Not a good sign. I called Wayne to come over to help me. He lives in New Glasgow and I live in Westville. He came over to drive me to the flea market. Then he came back for me when it was over.

It’s a good thing that we are able to leave our stuff that we didn’t sell there for next week.

I am still down to one pain patch and I didn’t need any break through pain medicine this week, only Tylenol Arthritis, four a day so that’s a good sign things are looking up. I don’t even like to take too much Tylenol since it can affect your liver if you overuse them. Even though they are an over-the-counter medicine they can still be dangerous if they’re not used properly.

I want to talk about fatigue this week. Fatigue from battling cancer is not the same tiredness that everybody gets from just being tired. It can affect the way you think as well as the way you feel.

Don’t ever think of yourself as lazy. There is no way you can control the tiredness that comes over you. It is a side-effect from your cancer. People tell me to get up, you have to get moving. If my body tells me to sleep there is nothing I can do to change that.

If I try to fight the fatigue I pay for it the next couple of days. There is a lot of different reasons that cancer-related fatigue can start. The number one is the fight that you are fighting. You fight for your life and there is no fight harder than that. Of course it will wear you out even if you don’t know you are fighting, your body inside is fighting like crazy.

The treatment you are getting can last a long time after the treatments are done. They are still working to make sure the cancer stays away.

Stress is another reason we are tired. Stress can be as big a battle as the cancer. Other reasons include your hormonal changes, you’re worried or sad, and poor nutrition (with some treatments you just don’t feel like eating).

The topper for me is pain. Other reasons include anemia (when you don’t have enough red blood cells), and infection.

Try to eat well, which is the one thing I have trouble with. Keep well hydrated and drink at least four cups of fluid a day. Try for six even but that’s hard for me to do. If you have trouble sleeping at night, try reading or listening to soft music. Do not play on your computer device or text on your phone - that only stimulates your brain and keeps you awake. Have a warm bath or a warm cup of tea before bed. It helps.

A lady from Glace Bay wrote and asked about my grandmother Florence Daye. Yes, people called her Flo and yes, her maiden name was Slade. She worked at the Cape Breton Hospital for 35 or more years. And when I was young she lived in Bridgeport. Her husband was Tom, I was the first grandchild so yup, I was spoiled.

I was cleaning my craft room the other day. When I moved a bag of yarn a little mouse ran away.

I’m not sure which of us moved the fastest.

I jumped on the chair (didn’t think I could do that anymore) but I don’t know where he went. I knew I was having trouble from fainting. I called Wayne and asked him to come over right away with a baseball bat. He set traps. I called my father all in a panic and he said the mouse is scared of me too and that he is only cold but the traps will get him.

Well so far they haven’t. All cleaning in there comes to a halt until the room has been declared safe. I’m not going in there. And even then, when I do I will be on high alert. I will wear my yellow knee rain boots. I’ve heard lots of stories from dad over the years where you had to wear your work socks over your pants working down in the coal mines because the rats would run up your pant legs. Oh great I hope that mice don’t have the same tactics.

Weight-wise, I’m at 142. It’s not moving much but it’s moving in the right direction.

Tip of the week: The weather man is saying we are going to have a freeze the next couple of days so be very careful walking and driving.

Dad and Janet will be over this week if the weather is good. Dad hates driving in icy conditions. I guess we all do.

Have a good week folks. And don’t put your winter coats away for a few more months yet.