This is the nurse trying to find my port - I hate needles. I don't look too happy to be there. I wasn't - I was scared to death of my first chemo treatment.
Wow! That hurt! I didn't have any numbing cream to put on my port that first time - having a needle stuck into your chest sucks!
The nurse flushing my port - it makes the back of your mouth taste like a skunk!
Dr. Bott - my oncologist
Talking to my dad on the phone while I waited to get my chemo drugs for the first time.
The drugs. I'm hooked up now. When the nurse hooked my first drug up (it was just an anti-nausea drug), I started crying.
So far, so good. Not sick yet.
Talking to Shelley - the social worker at the cancer center.
My mom, Barbara. She was my chemo partner. She came with me almost every time.
Falling Out...
On day 17, my hair started falling out in clumps. Here's a hand full. Bummer.
Shaving My Head - My sister, Kris, helped me with this...
My sister, Kris, braided a small part of my hair before she started cutting.
Then, she cut off the braid - that was the first cut.
Here I am, looking at my braid.
Rick is looking at my hair as Kris starts to cut.
Here we go...
Kris had just finished chopping all the hair off - it would be easier to shave it this way. This is when I started to cry. You can see Alex (14) standing, watching in the hall.
The first strip is the hardest.
There is nothing like shaving someone's head - it makes you sick.
I covered my face with a towel - to keep the hair off and to catch the tears.
Almost there - the longest haircut of my life.
Kris wipes the hair off.
The end result.
Rick sees my head.
The boys looking at my hair. Still pretty emotional.
Matthew, Alex, and Michael hugging me.
