My First Side Effect

On Monday I started new chemotherapy which my doctor preferred. It required me to take aspirin as well. The aspirin serves as a blood thinner as a preventive for blood clotting. On Wednesday morning as I looked in the mirror to prepare for school I noticed that I had more forehead than usual. As I was leaving for school, my fedora sat about an inch higher on my head than I was accustomed to and felt quite tight. I asked my family members and they did not see a difference and no one noticed at school buy by the time I got home it was quite noticeable. My daughter Michaela thought that I had lost hair. The hat had given me an incredible hat ring. My forehead gave me a look that made me feel like putting a couple of bolts on either side of my neck (think about it). I felt as fine as any other day but my family encouraged me to stop the pills until after I consulted with the doctor. He said to go to the emergency room if it worsened but otherwise to come in the next morning to be checked. It didn't get worse and by next morning the swelling had sunk to my eyebrows. Thursday was a day that I was noticed the most by others. "Did Velda smack you in the face?" is an example of a few comments that I received. Friday the swelling had sunk to my eyes which did seem to be noticed as much. When I was checked Thursday morning I brought the aspirin with me. The nurse read the container meticulously and discovered that there was a warning that it could cause facial swelling. Who reads the  warning labels on aspirin! So it looks like aspirin is out. Their guess is that it was retention of wate. I am to resume the chemo pills on Monday with a prescription blood thinner.  I still am feeling great and continue to lead a life pretty close to normal for me. I would like to reiterate from the last blog that the numbers seem to have turned a corner in the right direction. Now they need to plummet precipitously (i.e. decrease very rapidly). Thank you for praying.

P.S. I am sorry I didn't take pictures (but not very sorry).