Yay for me!!
Again and thankfully, it was uneventful. Susie and Kim accompanied me to this round. Susie even busted out her 1988 AC/DC concert shirt for the occasion. It was disgustingly cold but on the bright side, since I am not allowed to drive, I never have to get into a cold car.
My only complaint would be that the nurse did not ice my port before hooking me up and it was an annoying pain that lasted for a couple of days later. When I had commented afterwards that we had not iced the area and it was sore; another nurse looked at me and disagreed stating the ice doesn't help. I thought to myself; "Really? You have a port and know this first hand?"
Upon leaving the hospital, my steroids and hunger kicked in...So, let's go eat! I still don't understand modern medicine. All the horror stories of people drastically losing weight, vomiting, lack of appetite; and I wolf down four plates at a buffet. Susie says its our German descent (I have increased my sauerkraut intake since chemo began)
When I arrived home, I opened my loot bag from the pharmacy and realized they forgot to give me one of my anti nausea meds. The girls were heading home, I couldn't drive and it was too cold to do anything about it - Plus the post chemo fatigue was kicking in. Turns out I had no nausea but I feel bad because I assume my results cannot be used as part of the clinical trial now.
The next day, a new nurse stopped in, as my regular was still on holidays. She was determined to teach me how to give my own Neulasta injection. I wasn't very happy about sticking a needle in my gut and releasing the goods s-l-o-w-l-y.
Typically I am not one to sit still. Those who know me, know that I am always out and usually have my life planned 3 weeks in advance; scheduling in an evening at home to catch up on housework. Even my "getaways" at the farm consist of renovations or other small projects. Even during treatments, I have managed toI cannot tell you the last time I took a weekend, let alone a day and do absolutely nothing.
I did absolutely nothing last weekend and it was a glorious eye opener!
After the first round of chemo my energy levels were not affected. Second round, I was too busy and pushed through the weekend by baking, decorating my tree and wrapping gifts. I was concerned that I drove from the farm back to Ottawa in snow. Nothing happened but it still wasn't a smart decision.
Although this time, Gailene was coming along; I couldn't bring myself to get off the couch on Saturday. I called my parents and asked that they keep my pets for another week.
My mom was quite happy to help and as she clams, the cats give her hugs every time she walks in the door. She also feeds them twice as much as I do and I can envision the look of disappointment on their faces when I walk through the door next time.
So, my weekend was spent between my couch and my bed, with a heating pad to soothe my sore joints from the Neulasta. I can't tell you how many hours I slept but it was a lot and if I wasn't sleeping; I was reading (or eating.) I even ate Kraft Dinner in bed on Saturday. The experience really drove home the importance to slow down and listen to our bodies more often. I don't believe that everyone should become a couch potato but I think all of us can benefit by taking time (whether its minutes, hours or days) to stop...Not "stop and smell the roses" or "appreciate the finer things in life" but just STOP.
The first of many lessons to be learned in 2014. I began to schedule meditation into my calendar.
So what's next? The cocktail of chemo will be changing on January 23rd. The fear of nausea should no longer be a concern, however I will have to be on guard against infections and fevers. I am a little nervous how my body will react. I have been very lucky thus far. The nurses have informed me that my fingers and toes will be kept cool during treatment as I should experience a numbing sensation, my nails will become very brittle and turn red. Other than that, I should expect aches and pains throughout my body but I am not sure if they are referring to the side effects of the injections.
During treatment, I need to suck on ice chips or Mr. Freezies to keep my mouth cool. My nurse didn't ask what colours I wanted....I don't like the white or melon kinds
The Ladysmith Crew!
No comments:
Post a Comment