Wow, what a week. It
has been one helluva week. This is the first time that I have been able to get
up the gumption to make contact. To those of you who have contacted me with A)
no response or B) a bitchy one, please forgive me. I am JUST starting to get
back to myself now.
First of all, a cute
little shot of me on Chemo Day:
Hmmm....notice the
nice, warm blanket from Kristie and Scott, the jaunty little hat from Mona and
Bob, the fuzzy slippers from Bob and Linda? How cute. The one thing I
should point out that isn’t immediately obvious in this photo is my complete and
utter lack of understanding as to what was REALLY about to happen. Sweet Jesus,
it’s amazing what a chipper nurse and a sublingual Ativan can do to turn Chemo
day into a picnic with friends. The drugs made everything fly by (for me
anyway). We got there about 11:30 am and as you can see I had my own personal
suite where a cavalcade of nurses, pharmacists and nutritionists pumped me full
of several different types of chemotherapy, anti-nausea drugs (Thank you Spanks,
Darin Anderson and Merck in general) and information about what to eat over the
next few days. We were there until after 4 pm, as I am on several different
drugs that need to be infused at separate times for several hours each, then
near the end they attached a bottle of 5-FU to my PICC line that would stay in
place for the next 46 hours. And by bottle, I mean it looks like a baby bottle
with a huge condom resting inside – full of medication that slowly deflates as
it enters my system. The idea being lower side effects and the ability to go
home with it as opposed to staying over. Two things – not sexy at all and
there’s a damn condom rolling around a bottle around your neck! Makes a girl the
butt of a few jokes, I can tell you. Bring it on Joe, Billy, Michelle and
Dean....I’ve heard ‘em all already.
Tim, Kristie and Marly
all took really good care of me while @ the canser clinic...and it was
shockingly stress-free. And then BAM – reality set in on Day 2. Without going
into any great detail, I can honestly say that I have some of the best and most
supportive friends and family around to have put up with me, specifically on Day
4 and Day 5 of my FolFox treatment. My dad and Tim truly are the most patient
men on the planet to put up with me and my moods, Spanks did a great job of
keeping my spirits up when I refused to do it myself and Mar and Telly have been
so great about helping me eat and do stuff around the house. I have to say that
I really had no idea that this would be so hard mentally and physically, but now
that I know what to expect, I plan to be better prepared next time. That’s right
– MORE DRUGS. Nancy is of the belief that one should go through chemotherapy
stoned and I am a 100% convert to her way if thinking. Seems like just plain
good sense to me.
So that’s it for now.
I think today (Day 6) was the TSN Turning Point and I am hoping for an easier
week now, allowing me time to recover for the next round. Better head to bed, I
think the sleeping pills are kicking in!
Please take good care
of yourselves my friends,
Bring it
ON!
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