Chemo Day

Today Thea took me to Chemo. Her first time...I showed her around the waiting room, books...crossword puzzles...therapy dog...she spent a few minutes with the dog and then asked "Do you think it would be O.K. if I went shopping?" Of course, please...go! "But Hannah made me promise to take notes." So, tell Hannah I told you to GO...

It has become routine, get blood drawn though my port, wait around, see chemo P.A. who goes through blood results, has a feel of my breasts, listens to lungs, hears complaints, makes lots of notes.

My only real complaint this time is this nasty cold; so nasty I have strained muscles in my neck as well as stomach from coughing. So nasty I canceled last Friday’s chemo and rescheduled for today. She listens to my chest, her student listens, she wants to know exactly what color my secretions are (white, foamy and abundant.) She orders a chest x-ray. "Your blood counts are good but we can't do chemo if you have pneumonia." I have two chest x-rays. I don't have phenomena. I have a sever virus (my own assessment) that is very prevalent in my community right now. Hannah had it, Thea had it, my son Adam, living in Madison whom I have not seen for several weeks has it. My nephews and sister have it. Yes, it is one of the worst "colds" I have ever had. No, it shows no signs of being bacterial.

So, we go ahead with chemo. I am all hooked up with the first drugs, which are not chemo but rather "relax, take a deep breath, you will not vomit" drugs. They are great. It is these drugs, and not the chemo, that require a designated driver. I pull my pre-warmed blanket over my head, kick back in my relining comfy chair and take a two-hour nap. (That is after I eat a muffin, pulled pork sandwich and cup of squash soup...all brought to me on a tray.)

In the middle of my nap, a nurse comes in...not a chemo nurse, but one I have never seen before. She introduces herself and says she is delivering a message from the chemo P.A. who is ordering one of the new, multi-spectrum, anti-biotics. If my cold does not show improvement in the next two days, I need to call...bla...bla..bla...HEY, this is nap time!...AND my scribe went shopping. I nod and smile and drift away. We fill the prescription on the way home…by the time I get home; I don’t want to take it. Hannah agrees…no point in antibiotics I don’t need when it will destroy the flora I do need (thank you Dawn for the yogurt!)

I am going to Oregon in two weeks where I will spend a weekend with my kids, husband, his brothers, their wives and their kids. ALL of whom are musicians. It is the bright spot in my future. (Next to my first grand-baby due February 1!) After the reunion, Stephen and I will go spend several more days in Ashland with Aaron, Isaac, Thea and Hannah. We will be staying in the little studio above the Yellow Cupboard.

This is my last round of these chemo drugs. My next four round (every two weeks) will be with a different drug. The chemo doctor does not want me to go for 4 weeks without. I do not want to have chemo days before I go to Oregon. So who wins? I DO! Why? Because I know I will be healthier this way. I need a time of feeling good and un-hooked...It will only be four weeks...and there are some things that are more powerful than cancer or chemo...

Love you all..XXOO