Marathons and Walks

The marathon began when Kate and I arrived at the Cancer Agency about 11:45.  We were informed that they were "a little behind" and we might have a wee bit of a wait.  After grabbing a sandwich, we settled in for a LONG wait -- until they finally took me to a chair at about 1:15 p.m.  Not off to a good start!

Unfortunately, because of the long wait, Kate had to leave for class almost immediately.  This left me even more anxious because "my rock" was walking out of the building and I would be alone while waiting to feel for allergic reactions.  Procedure #1 is always flushing my port -- success!  Procedure #2 is always getting blood return -- NO SUCCESS!  Not a drop of blood -- again!  Yes, we tried sitting forward (in fact, I was so far forward my head almost skimmed the floor!), blanket behind the back, laying down, even all-fours on a stretcher,and then a new needle (yes .. .another poke)  -- NOTHING!!

My nurse, Cindy, paged the head nurse to get permission to give me the chemo anyways. Thankfully, permission was granted because they had gotten blood the day before.  I realize that its just a precautionary measure to make sure the chemo is actually flowing into a vein, not free-floating around my body reeking havoc.  I was also handed an x-ray requisition so the position of my port can be checked.  I'm sure we're all thinking there has to be some logical explanation as to why getting blood is always so difficult.

Finally ... time to get started!  I was pre-loaded with an IV steroid and then IV Benadryl as a precaution for an allergic reaction.  The Benadryl made me nice and sleepy, so when the bag of Paxlitaxel was hung, I was half way to dreamland and wasn't even concerned about an allergic reaction.  The 3-hour drip was finally started at 2:45 p.m.  Poor Kate rushed back, thinking I'd be ready to go home soon, and had a 2-hour wait.  I wasn't flushed and unhooked until just after 6 p.m.

I still felt quite zombie-like for the remainder of the evening, but I was so incredibly relieved that I had no sign of any kind of a reaction.  I also did not experience ANY nausea -- YAY!!!  The oncologist had warned me that our brains are so good at getting conditioned, that some patients experience nausea from this conditioning.  The brain says , "I've been to this room before, sat in this chair, got hooked up and given a drug, and then experience nausea."  Fascinating!! Thankfully, my brain mustn't have been successfully conditioned for nausea because I was perfect -- fine --  ate supper -- no nausea  :) :)

Feeling so good on Saturday morning, I thought I'd head out for a walk.  Here are some of the beautiful images I captured on this glorious day ...

It snowed ...
cherry blossoms!!!

Even though my Sunday night aches returned last evening and have spread to include legs this time, I am counting my blessings this morning.  I was given permission to get my chemo, I had no allergic reactions, and I have suffered no nausea in the past 3 days.  Also, my blood counts were excellent -- my white count was the highest its been during chemo (thank you Neupogen!), my platelets were up, and my hemoglobin didn't drop.

I think it's time to .....