04-27-2020
Just when my faith in humanity wanes, amazing people step up to show that love is still the answer. My daughter’s church, who typically would provide meals to a family member that is sick or going through treatments, made a board of gift cards, cash and get well wishes to help as I go through chemo treatment. That helps ease my worries about getting nutrition without having to cook, simply because Mike is just not comfortable in the kitchen.
Several of my students have sent gifts and flowers, along with friends that have emailed and sent cards wishing me good luck with the treatment. At those times when I feel overwhelmed, these are the things that perk me up. I especially appreciate the “port seat-belt” pillows that two people have sent, as the seatbelt in my car runs right across the port on one side and the surgery area on the other side. It’s nice to have two so I can have one for each situation.
Tomorrow is my 2nd treatment and it will be less time, but still 4 hours or so, and it will also be the first time Paz will be used when I awake. They inserted the catheter during the surgery last time, and remove it when I was done, so never felt a thing. It’s still a bit tender, but the swelling is down and I can clearly feel the area where the special needle will be inserted.
Treatment day:
I had the first blood draw in Paz today. They are checking my white and red blood cells to make sure all is well there since all three drugs affect that.
With the help of Ethyl Chloride, my new nurse Shoko “froze,” the area, asked if I was ready, and it was done without any pain at all. Super fast and so efficient. I wore a “port shirt,” today, which is a nice, soft shirt with two zippers on the shoulders so medical people can get to the port easily. Shoko was fumbling around try to get to the port, and tape my shirt back when I pointed the zipper out, and she said, “In 7 years I worked here, I have never seen one of those.” She liked it a lot, making her job super easy.
The blood draw was fast and I’ll get results on Thursday when I have my cyber appointment with Ellie, the PA. Hopefully everything will be good so I can keep moving along with the treatments. I’ll also be checking in on some of the more annoying side effects, with the main one being sleep and now, some eye blurriness at times.
During this visit I was in a semi-private room with a view of the area where I was last time, just from a different angle. A gentleman was added to the room shortly before I was done, so it was nice in some ways to have a “private” bathroom for most of the time with less activity, but I think I like the other area better, for the longer session I had last week. I was in and out by 12:30pm this time, so only 3 hours!
Another blessing is that Tiffanie, my daughter, cleaned our bedroom, and much of the house as her gift and support to me during all of this. It was so nice to come home to a clean house and jump into bed for a couple of hours to rest up since I had a really bad night of sleep last night. I got a really good nap with clean sheets that she and Mike changed. 💤
It was nice to feel hungry today, as I did the fast for 24 hours before and during the treatment. I felt a bit hungry last night, but did really well this morning and I’m hoping that is the reason I’m feeling pretty good now. It could just be the steroid in play, but I do feel much better at this point than last time.
I was even able to do a work phone call after I got home, and also spoke with Anne, my client/friend during the treatment, even with the Benadryl making me a bit sleepy.
In addition, I only received the Taxol and the Herceptin this time, without the Paxil, so not as harsh overall. This will be the same next week as well, but the following appointment will be back to the three drugs, which will give me some good information about effects and how to best deal with them going forward.
I did the ice chips with the Taxol, but forgot to suck on a mint when she injected the Heparin to clean the port, and now I have a weird taste in my mouth. It’s suppose to go away in a few days, but yuck for now. I was still hungry, but only for smaller amounts, which is okay, however, we did have an ice cream service deliver Ben and Jerry’s and a couple of others, and the Magnum Sea Salt Carmel was pretty tasty. I call it the new chemo diet for Nan. Feel free to try it out, as I highly recommend it.
The only negative was the two injections of the saline followed by the Heparin which were all done very fast, and that was a bit painful, as I could feel it move from the port, up to the scapula were it goes into the vein, so next time, I’ll ask that it be done slower, so it doesn’t hurt/ache. It might be that the port, et al are still healing, but I’ll make sure they go slower next time. A bit more of a “slow ride,” won’t take much extra effort or time, so I’ll instruct that next time.
Getting chemo is not a fun deal of life, but it does get me out of the house to see others, and in that setting, it makes me appreciate the talents and caring of so many people outside of my typical comfort zone of dogs and animals. It also shows me the deep love and caring of my friends and family, as while I always knew that, this takes it to a deeper level of appreciation.
Thank you Fred (even if you are a bastard and dead) for this insight, because those things are sometimes forgotten in our busy, normal routines.
Take a moment to give grace and eat ice cream.
Same. I'm not someone who likes to play mind games of "If I died, who would come to my funeral?" But, this version of "I'm sick, wow" has brought me some of the neatest, most loving people into my realm. I hope I can be as thoughtful. And, thank you Nan for my shirt. They loved the zippers so so much. "Fatigue" I thought I knew the meaning of the word until I experienced it. Closest I can describe is my body was a mold and someone poured cement into it. Can't move. It's gone now as fast as it arrived.