Chemo Day

Taxotere somehow seems to be the way to go, so that was my choice. There is the added bonus of taking Medrol for a couple of days which makes me downright perky! Like I drank a cup of coffee (which I have been incapable of doing for quite some time) and it seems to be a mood enhancer for me. Last night at 23:15 took the necessary Medrol (corticosteroid pill). Set my alarm for the 8:15 Medrol and started my day early with 8:45 blood draw and "heparin lock" placed on my port-a-cath. My port is a thick button the diameter of a US or Euro 5 cent piece that was (very badly but that is another story) surgically inserted 3-4 finger widths down from my collarbone with a tube going indirectly to my heart. It sits under my skin and is easily visible as I am thin and provides easy access to the bloodstream. This is great as my veins are not easily accessed (another story). The heparin lock is an L shaped needle going to a short plastic tubing with a valve on the end, anticlotting solution inside and needle under a clear plastic IV bandage. After heplocking, 9:15 I went to the Day Hospital just next door. The entire floor is nothing but people coming to get their chemotherapy and then leaving after a few hours. Everyone gets a nice private hospital room with TV, bathroom and free self service drinks to distract. I take another Medrol at 10:15 while reading magazines, chugging OJ and waiting for my room. Thank god I feel better or I would not even be here. Even my nose has decided to dry up. Maybe it is the Medrol... Time to take my weight: 52 kilos. Drat, I lost a kilo since my last visit where I was excited to gain a kilo. Must eat more ice cream! They take me to my room and the floor doctor wants to know what is going on with me and my doctor. He is confused as what chemo I will be taking and my fever so I tell him my choice and everything that was discussed and suggested he call her to confirm the prescription. This is highly unusual and I patiently detailed all necessary info and didn't mind waiting while they cleared everything up. Usually I would go home for an hour or so inbetween the blood and the Day hospital, but today I went straight over to avoid further confusion/delays. They hooked me up to a mini IV bag filled with anti nausea medicine. 10 minutes later they hooked up another mini to rinse and then 15 minutes later came in with a foil lined mini that is my chemo. This is hooked to a machine to make sure it does not go in too fast and its timed to take one hour. Today they give me 75% of the max dose due to my history of having harsh side effects. Sounds good to me. I have a solemn nurse at my bedside today. She stays next to me, makes sure I don't have an allergic reaction for 15 minutes and takes my blood pressure 4 times in this time period. We begin to chat and she tells me she is Jewish, the same age as me, all her family is gone (I presume dead) and she has terrible luck with men in detail. She looks down at my wedding ring and asks me about my luck. I am fortunate to find Doc and have the Little One but I don't want to rub it in so I tell her about the Crumb Bum I was with before Doc. I think if we are not looking for true love it eventually with some luck will find us. I felt for her. I know what it is like to want something to work, it doesn't, and the depression that can set in after a failed attempt at love. My expectations are ridiculously high in many ways and I have ended all previous relationships when I saw an unacceptable fault. Sometimes this was hard to do/painful/difficult (understatement), but a necessary evil to spare me a lifetime of regret. I am digressing. One more mini IV flush and Doc just arrived when they took out the heplock and replaced it with a bandaid. He brought me a peanut butter sandwich, bless his heart and we were out the door! Between the hospital and our apartment (5 minutes walk) there is a shaded park where we sat and enjoyed a soda while lying on the grass. Today the weather is really beautiful and it was a perfect opportunity to do nothing for a few minutes before arriving home at 14:30. 16:30-18:00 nap time. Phone wakes me at 18:00 and the daycare says they close starting today at 18:00 for the summer, "... you didn't know?" she asks. "Unggh?, I'll be there in 5 minutes". I was happy to see that we were not the last one to leave the daycare. Someone else did not know as well and apparently lives farther away than we do. 20:00 another Medrol. I have two more to take tomorrow and then it is finished. The Little One is in a great mood as they broke out a kiddie pool at daycare and everyone went swimming. They are great, she loves to go to "school"!