One of THOSE days...

It has been a long day for Shayla in this, Round 3 of chemo. It started off great with a good night's rest, and even a visit at the hospital from Morgan and Sharrie. Then things took a turn for the worse for Shayla.

The pain...

About 3:00 this afternoon Shayla began to feel hot in the face, especially on her nose, cheeks, and left eye area. She didn't have a fever, but those areas of her face were red and warm to the touch. The achiness continued and included her teeth on the left side of her mouth. She also said it felt to her as if the tumor was 'sliding backward behind her eye', not painfully, just weird; pressure. It got to the point that she was in tears. The nurse gave her some Tylenol, but that didn't help so she was finally given some Tylenol with codeine after the nurse called the doctor back again. She got a Priesthood blessing and that, I know, helped bring the relief she needed. Later, as she was resting, she turned her head and had a look of quick surprise on it. When I asked, she said she had a sudden burst of heat behind/in her left eye. I am concerned about these unexplained symptoms and hope she will have relief soon. For now she has an order for stronger pain medication to be given in her IV if needed so she can rest well.

The 'WHY' of it is a mystery. The nurses don't really know, the doctor on rounds today didn't really seem concerned (Grrrr!), and yet, here is our child in pain and discomfort with some pretty strange symptoms! So, this is one thing we are considering, and an idea confirmed (to me) in the blessing she got from one of her grandpa's at the hospital: The chemo's job is to destroy cells, both good and bad, but hopefully mostly the bad. Since the tumor is dying and shrinking, then the body is trying to clean up the mess the tumor leaves behind (dead cells). So, perhaps the hot areas on her face and the pain she is feeling are indeed signs that all is moving forward in the right direction; the body is 'taking out the trash' (so to speak), just as it would with any other infection. Oh, another weird symptom: yesterday and the day prior to that Shayla's nose perspired--a lot! She constantly had little beads of sweat on her cute nose! It drove her crazy.

Keep praying for Shayla. We know God hears all of those prayers! Right now she needs relief, strength to endure, and patience to once again have the energy to do the things she wants to do when she wants to do them. I know, as I re-read that sentence I thought "Yeah, we all need those same blessings, don't we?" Yes we do!

We have been blessed to have my mom and step-dad here this weekend to be with the rest of the family while Jase is at work and I am at the hospital with Shayla. Family is where it's at! Lucky for us, not only do we have a great family of fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, but a wonderful family of friends right here with us! We have been given so much!