Ch ... Ch ... Chemo

I was ready. I was prepared.

The potential side-effect list was long and one I'd had some familiarity when John went through his treatment.

So I gathered my arsenal. I had my compazine, zofran and antivan. I had my ginger chewables and chicken noodle soup. I was armed and potentially dangerous.

So, chemo day with the toxic chemo cocktail starting to do it's job, I envisioned it as either PacMan, eating away at the cancer cells or a Chia Pet, allowing my good cells to thrive. With these visions, (that aren't quite Christmas Eve sugar plums dancing) and tired from the chemo, I went to bed early.

Friday, under the watchful eye of my caregiving hubby, I slept most of the day away. Not really hungry but not nauseous either. I spent the majority of the day horizontal on the couch listening to my book on Audible (despite the sleep timer, I probably missed 1/3 of what I 'read'), dozing, answering calls and texts, and snacking.

Perhaps the highlight of the day, and the fact that this was a highlight just goes to show how mundane was the day, was when the Nuelasta OnPro thingy (not an official name in case you're wondering, though don't you wish the drug companies would create easier or more descriptive names, like White Blood Cell enabler for Nuelasta or Joy Ride for Viagra or Happy Day for Effexor?!) was scheduled to inject 27 post-chemo hours. John and I waited expectantly for the beeps and flashing lights and injection. I saw John check the time a couple times, since we knew it was to happen around 7:30 pm. And when the lights flashed and beeps sounded, we looked at the thingy and then resumed watching our show. An hour later our excitement was done when the injection was complete. We know how to live, you know what I mean?!

Saturday, was a repeat Friday sans the excitement of the Nuelasta.

Sunday, another repeat with a little more energy. And I finished the book, "The Woman Inside" by E.G. Scott. (Similar to "Girl on the Train" and "Something in the Water", suspense novel with the a married couple as protagonists).

Throughout the weekend, I took some of the prescriptions as a prophylactic and had NO nausea. Was it the medicine?

Thank God!!! Prayers answered.

The nurse practitioner, Alecia, from the High Risk clinic said that some people go through chemo easily and others have every possible complication. I pray that the rest of this round (next one February 7) go as smoothly!!

Next on my list is the CT scan tomorrow and then blood work on Thursday. In the meantime, I will stay home start another book get ready for my WW Workshops this week and look out at the snow globe.

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Roll out the barrel

It seems appropriate, in a strange-only in my head-sort of way, and keeping with my theme recently of rolling, that the song playing in my head lately is "Roll out the barrel . . ." As I've been rolling lately instead of walking, I seem to have added to my girth and it has landed, like a big ole roll around my mid-section. It's happened gradually over the last year and I attempted to: 1) Deny and/or; 2) Cover and/or; 3) Exercise and/or; 4) Change my diet. Well, the "And/Or Plan" wasn't working because my waist kept expanding and with that expansion my motivation (which is minimal on a good day!) was dwindling. So, with a roll around my midsection and "Roll out the barrel" playing in my head, I rolled into Weight Watchers three weeks ago. I had weighed myself at home and the number on that scale was sad - but I guess I should have had my glasses on when looking because the scale at WW showed me a number th...

Christmas cards

I sat down to reluctantly address Christmas cards. While our list has slowly dwindled through the years it's still a sizeable number, especially when it's viewed as a task approached reluctantly . Know what I mean? Some Christmas 'tasks' are a lot less taskier - like decorating or shopping or eating or opening presents. I mean, there's a whole different level of enthusiasm associated with 'tasks' that aren't viewed as tasks - I can't ever remember a time when I sat down to reluctantly open a present or eat a Christmas cookie! Anyway, I approached the Christmas card addressing with a less-than-positive, more bah-humbugish attitude. I poured a cup of coffee, grabbed the markers (I had to have a green, a red and a black one), the list and of course the envelopes (which John had already stuffed with the card). I turned on some Christmas music, but not too loud or it would distract me (and it really doesn't take much to distract me. Squirrel!),...

Tough time to be a Pollyanna

Remember when 9/11 was just a date or a number you called in an emergency? Our lives changed dramatically post 9/11. For weeks after that September day, we seemed to walk around in a fog, like the haze that loomed over the now-fallen twin towers. I remember trying to minimize my obsession with the news, trying to keep the three little Piggins away from the enormity of the disaster. Remember when corona was simply a beer best served with a lime wedge? It now and forever will be instead associated with this virus that has upended our world in ways we could never have imagined. This tiny little, microscopic virus has brought the mighty to their knees. It has us quarantined and distancing socially (though I believe we've been doing this emotionally for years) and working from home. As anxiety peaks, our economy tanks. As toilet paper and hand sanitizer flies off the shelves, we are looking for new ways to stock our pantries. A good friend observed, "I never thought I'd...

The Glass is Half-Full

Search This Blog