The Time Has Come

Well, the time has come for my mom, grandfather, and me to leave for San Antonio to begin my treatment. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon, and I have been counting down the days until its time to leave. I have been busy packing and buying things to prepare for my trip, such as hospital wear and scarves and things for when my hair comes out. The fact that the day for me to be admitted to the hospital is almost here, makes the situation a lot more real. I know I will be receiving top notch care, but I still can't help being a bit anxious and nervous. All I know, is that I must be calm and have patience, and have faith that God will be with me throughout this whole process. 


Joyful Love
         &
Blessings In The Lord
Alexandra K. Acosta

Trusting Your Gut or the Doctors

By the time we got the new treatment plan from the doctor on Tuesday, I had just gotten comfortable with the old treatment plan. The doctor faxed me 21 pages worth of information that I read every word of, and of course I did as much research on the internet as I possibly could. Still I was more comfortable with the original treatment plan. I guess it was because I couldn't ask the doctor all the questions I wanted to and so that made me a bit uneasy about it. However, my doctor has spent countless hours researching and talking with other doctors around the country, and they decided that this new treatment plan is the best. I trust my doctor and I know he has my best interest at heart. But the question still arises, do we trust our gut, or the doctors?


Joyful Love
         &
Blessings In The Lord
Alexandra K. Acosta

New Game Plan

Today, the doctor called with a new game plan. I have posted that the doctors told me I'd be going for 18 months of treatment, but apparently that has changed. I'm still gping to get the plasmapherisis and IVIG, but instead of 2 days of Cytoxan, followed by Cytoxan every 4 to 6 weeks for 18 months, there going to give me the highest doses of Cytoxan for 4 days. This will knock out my immune system completely. I will be given Neupogen shots to help regenerate my immune system. Hopefully when it comes back I'll be cured and have no signs of disease. This process will not take 18 months, and will only require one large round of chemotherapy. I will post updates when I can about whats going on, and maybe soon I'll be cured.


Joyful Love
         &
Blessings In The Lord
Alexandra K. Acosta

The Waiting Game

In addition to the already scheduled doctors and PT (physical therapy) appointments that I have scheduled this week, and am waiting to get over with, I am not desperately but anxiously waiting for my doctor in San Antonio to call and tell me when to head on down their to begin the treatment process. I know he wanted to start as soon as we could, and so do I, but at the same time I don't want to drive myself crazy over this. 


The waiting game is something everyone with a chronic illness knows all too well, whether its waiting for the results of a test or a specific appointment, or even a procedure. The waiting is the worst part. For me its horrible because I'm not on any "real" treatment except IVIG so I've been feeling miserable for a long time. I want to get started because I would rather feel bad from the treatment, knowing I am doing something to get better, than not really doing anything at all. 


Patience, however, is a very good virtue to have, and while waiting for things my patience is truly tested. I must not drive myself crazy thinking about when will I receive the news I want, but instead be patient and go about my life, as patiently as possible. 


Joyful Love
         &
Blessings In The Lord
Alexandra K. Acosta

Pre-Chemo Hair Cut

Here is a picture of my new haircut. I decided to cut it short, to make it easier for when it comes out because of the chemo. It was bittersweet. I like the new look, but I was sad to get rid of my curly locks! 

In The Chair

Well, since this blog is about my adventure throughout my illness and what's ahead to come their are many different challenges that I will be having while going through treatment. I chose the title Alex's roller coaster because my treatment journey is a true roller coaster, and today's adventure was getting into the roller coaster cart and buckling up.

Today I went to the hair salon and chopped off all my hair in preparation for my intensive chemo treatment. I did not pull a G.I. Jane and shave my head I just cut it extremely short. After cutting it it made the treatment that I am about to star, hopefully in the next few weeks, a lot more real. The doctors have all said with the chemo I'd lose my hair, so I thought why not cut it short to make it easier.

The treatment I'm undergoing will last for about 18 months, which is a bit nerve racking, but I can handle it. Getting into the the cart and buckling yourself in is the first step to riding the roller coaster, and that's exactly what I did by cutting all my hair off. It might be a while before I blog again, but I hope that this journey is one that will not only cure my disease, but help me grow both spiritually and physically. I will definitely continue to have posts about my journey through treatment for curing my autoimmune diseases.


Joyful Love
         &
Blessings in The Lord
Alexandra K. Acosta