Not for the weak...

I know, I know, I got a lot of catching up to do! I simply have not been able to face sitting at the computer for the past few days.


Wednesday

I had my first round of chemo today...it really was not what I expected. I always imagined taking chemo was all being sick and feeling horrible in a dark and dreary room. In fact, I was in a "pod" with 3 other patience at a time, it was really well lit and cheery. The nurses were just amazing, so happy and helpful, coming around all the time to see if I needed anything and making sure all my questions were answered. Rochelle, "my" nurse for the day sat me down before the IV even went in and talked me through the whole procedure and made sure I understood absolutely everything that would and could happen during the infusion and afterward, including the dreaded side effects.
My treatment actually started around 10am with an anti-nausea drip and a bag of sodium chloride...yummy. Then a 10-minute bag of Alimta, an hour-long bag of Carboplatin, a 90-minute bag of Avastin, and finally a shot of Xgeva. Everything went fine, no nausea, no rashes, no problems. Mom and Dad were with me (for everything but the needles) and we played games, talked, and ate through most of the treatment. It really was a breeze!
After the ride home, we went to Kmart to pick up a couple of prescriptions - I swear, I take more pills in one day now than I used to in a month! But I felt so good (probably from the release of a lot of stress) that I was actually dancing around the store! Got home, had dinner....started hurting a little. Started hurting a lot. Took 1/2 a pain killer...oh boy is that stuff good! I was loopy within 15 minutes. I started the update then...but couldn't really read the keyboard, so thought it would be better to wait.


Thursday

Really didn't sleep well. Pain killers stopped the aching and stabbing pains, but also kept me awake. Slept in pretty late, and napped off and on. But all in all it was an OK day.


Friday

It was payday, which means grocery shopping and being in public. I was feeling pretty good in the morning and was looking forward to getting out of the house for a bit. Well, Walmart just about took it out of me! It's amazing what you take for granted in everyday life. Like walking around a store. Mom and Dad tried to send me out to the car at one point. I was dizzy and my legs felt like they weighed about 200lbs each! I made it through, hot as hell and feeling like I'd run a marathon, but I'd made it!


Saturday morning, 6:40 am

I am officially a chemo patient. I woke up and puked my guts out, not surprising after dreaming about it all night though!


Saturday morning, 10ish am

Got up again, Mom was desperately trying to get me to eat. NO THANK YOU! But she did eventually get me to eat a slice of toast. Nausea really REALLY sucks. Every time I moved my stomach turned a little more. I slept ALL DAY, well, almost. I woke up again around 4ish and Mom and I had some Ramen Noodles. They tasted so good I ate a whole packet! But then again around 8ish they were gone...At least I got something out of them.


Sunday morning, 2 am

Guess what? I'm getting good at taking the bucket with me to the bathroom in the middle of the night! Dad came to the rescue, wetting a washcloth and trying to calm me down. Then we both realized I was sitting on the john and he let Mom take over LOL Sat up for about an hour then finally drifted back off to sleep.


Sunday

So far, so good. I actually ate 1/2 a bowl of cereal (and my multitude of pills) and have kept it down for a few hours! Tummy is still a bit iffy, but I'm trying not to think about it. Of course, writing this out doesn't help much LOL! Hopefully I won't sleep as much today, it makes me feel worse! Plus Hubby is coming up today and I want to be able to spend some time with him as he wasn't well last week and I couldn't be around him. :(


I'll try to keep you all updated, but through the sleeping and sick I really didn't feel up to thinking and typing! Talk to you soon!


Mandy, Goober & Gang, and the Ghastly Gurgles...