Chemo was a go yesterday, what a relief. Not sure I should have been that excited to get an infusion of drugs that’s sole purpose is to kill me slowly, but hey, you take what wins you can get in this process.
Had my new Temporary Tattoo to bring some levity to this process as I noted yesterday – Hyannis
One thing I have noticed, as my bald spots slowly grow, my head feels colder. So I was glad when I decided to throw one of my new caps into my bag at the last moment before we headed out the door. It was a Friday for the poor nurses. If it could go wrong for them it did. I was the first one in infusion room 3, so had my pick of seats. Next to the window please!
Joanna my primary infusion nurse this day had problems with the ice spray to numb up my port spot for the prick of the needle into the port. Two cans later we finally got it to work a little bit. Just enough to numb me up for the stick. Then she couldn’t get the needle to go in correctly. It went wonky, into the side of the port. Go figure that since the catheter needle is at least an inch long…
Beth, whose computer wouldn’t work this morning, came over and asked if they could start again. Of course! Beth pulls the chair out from the wall a bit, lays me back, go through the process all over again, swab with an alcohol wipe, Beth see’s Hyannis as she’s swiping, and laughs, good one! Joanna looks over, what? Get it – Hyannis Port? Rich people live there… Ahhhh, she gets it.
First Beth had a problem with getting a new Port Catheter set up, first one when she opened the package jumped to the floor. I swear I saw it jump! That’s my story and sticking to it! The next set up stayed in the bottom part of the packaging like it was supposed to, top being a foil seal and bottom molded plastic to hold the needle and tubing. They got it all put together and then she was looking for the cold spray to numb me up again. Two cans later we gave up and Joanna went looking for a new one.
Threes a charm right, it worked. In went catheter number 2 and yeah, we had “lift off”. Beth was able to put through a flush of the heparin that is left after each treatment to insure I don’t flow backwards through the port or create a clot.
First up, Olanzapine and Zofran with a kicker of Emend along with a small dose of a steroid to top off my premeds prior to the Chemo. Then we were on to the real good stuff.
This one is the red one that makes you smaller… or so I’ve heard. Then we move onto the next infusion and about an hour later I was done. Beth applied the Neulasta machine that goes ping and I was off with hugs to see them in two weeks.
And yes, Beth said my schedule would change to Fridays for my next two cycles in this phase. She printed up my new schedule for me and when we got home I placed it on the fridge. I arranged the fridge so Hubby will have a central place to look for upcoming appointments and current medicine regime so he can keep tabs as well. I really want to add a chalk board so we can start writing notes down as I have noticed my short term memory is not doing that great. And I’m starting to have problems with recalling more obscure words that I would normally be able to recall easily.
We stopped at Burger City Grill and picked up some lunch. As we ate and binged Stranger Things, I noticed I had pretty much stopped peeing after getting my second drug infusion – Cyclophosphamide. I took another Lasix… I still wasn’t peeing as much as I was taking in, and I could feel the swelling start. Took off my rings just in time. Any more swollen and it would have been a lot more difficult.
This also meant I started feeling really crappy. Headache kicked in, migraine type headache. Not as painful, but all the other symptoms apply. Add in the nausea and my food feeling like it’s just not going down, I was not a happy camper people. Wasn’t as bad as the first time but I still felt pretty crappy.
And then there was the cold. I felt cold! Went and changed as I really wanted to watch game 3 of the World Series. On went the brown cap I just made the other day, over that my Georgia Bull Dawgs Cap, my 49er long sleeve tee and fleece lined sweatpants. Bull Dogs cap was for two reasons, just a bit of pressure on my head helped with the ache and the bill kept the light out of my eyes as I am extremely light sensitive when I have a migraine. Even my contacts made me hurt.
Whatever makes you feel better is acceptable at this point!
Woke up this morning feeling better. Just like last time, tired and shaky, but I can live with that. My bald spots are growing, could be why my head feels colder now.
Life is dealing with the changes…
Contacts? I didn’t know you wore contacts. When did you start wearing those? Your life is dealing with the changes, but mine is dealing with surprises! C’est la vie!
Mom, hate to tell you this but we had this conversation in April of 2016, you wanted to know about my mono-vison perscription, one eye gets the reading lense and the other eye gets the distance lense. And you wanted to know costs, short of $400 per year for daily use contacts through Costco. So, there’s that, and great, chemo brain and aging… Oy, what does my future look like! The kids and hubby are going to have a field day with me and double dose of brain issues! 😀
The more I learn of and follow your journey Kimmie, it makes me so sad that my mother went through sooooo much more than any of us ever knew. This was a very solemn realization. It made me quite sad, actually, that she did not share more with us. Thank you for your insights and feelings. (You are such an excellent writer.) I recognize that is most likely a therapeutic exercise for you to document your journey, but I hope you see the side benefit that it helps many other people in ways you will never know. I love your guts, Kim! Keep the fight and stay strong, my dear friend!
Thank you so much Nicole! I am eternally grateful for all my friends and loved ones who support me through this journey, uplifting me with prayers and well wishes. And my hope has always been that as much as this is therapeutic for me, it is that others find hope, empathy and common ground in my musings that help them with anything in their lives that is a journey similar to mine. I’m glad you are finding some solace in your mom’s journey through my words. I miss you both very much and Mom Jackie is always in my thoughts and prayers along with Dad Ken. They will always be additional parents to me that I will reflect on with love and tenderness. Just as you will always be my “blood” sister. Love you Nic, always and forever.
Yup! I have a terminal case of CRS!