Chemo infusion is scheduled for 2 PM, so I had time to kill in the morning. I was still tired, but feeling better. I was able to drink more this morning, so getting my body back to normal hydration. I also slept in! I didn’t wake up until almost 7:30 AM. It was amazing!
Took all me pre-chemo meds, did some knitting, made sure my electronics were charged, packed my chemo bag, showered and applied my temporary tattoo for this week. It was warm here, exceptionally warm for December, so a lighter top and headband were on tap for clothing.
We headed to Cancer Care, and wasn’t long until Mark, one of the oncology nurses called me back. We asked if infusion was a go because of the dehydration I had on Tuesday morning when my blood draw was done. He checked and said my kidney function came in the acceptable tolerance levels to administer my next infusion.
Hubby walked me back to infusion room 2 with Mark, and we said our goodbye’s there. Hubby left and I started my set up process for the infusion, move the IV pole to the left of whatever chair I sit in, as my port is on the left, pull out my blanket and put it on the back of the chair, play on my phone while Mark get;s his set up ready to access my port, flush it, and start the Dexamethasone drip first.
Once Mark finishes his set up and the drip is started, I pull out my iPad and knitting to get myself set up to watch Outlander and knit. I was set for the next 2 plus hours.
Mark did like today’s Temporary Tattoo. He did research on the “interwebs” and said no one is selling temp tattoos that meet a need like mine of tattooing my port. I think he was hinting I should start up an Etsy business….
After all my infusions were done, Mark hit me up again to make up tattoos for people to buy. He also tried to get me to tell him what next weeks tattoo would be. I don’t tell, everyone has to wait until day of treatment.
By 9 PM I was feeling not quite right and it felt like my stomach has stopped working, nothing was passing. Not nausea, but not moving either. Trying to keep up my fluid intake was becoming uncomfortable. I decided to take myself off to bed by 11 PM as I wanted to fall asleep and “feel” this discomfort. Brushed my teeth, washed my face, took my pills, found I have no more Olanzapine, so I need to call Cancer Care Thursday and reach out to Deborah the NP to get her to submit an order to the pharmacy. In the meantime I took another Compazine to help keep any nausea at bay. I still have some Zofran, but want to stay away from that if I can. I think this was set off by my motion sickness, and that was why they originally prescribed Olanzapine for me in phase 1.
Life is learning how to tweak meds so you stay comfortable
I think Mark’s idea of an Etsy business of “port” tattoos is great. You could market to every chemo center in the country. Maybe you could even retire! Or, you could be totally altruistic and donate the proceeds to Breast Cancer Research. Regardless, it is a wonderful idea to play around with.
Hope you are feeling better this morning and can greet the day with a smile.
LYTTMAB!