“C” is for Chemo Day Dos

Yesterday was chemo day…It was LONG…I was up before 6:00 at the cancer center at 7:00 got blood work, saw the doctor around 8:30, and started chemo around 9:00…finally finishing around 2:30.I brought my laptop and a big bag with letters to write and books to read thinking I was going to have a lot of down time…I had a lot of downtime, just not the coherent kind that would allow for productivity…Along with various anti-nausea medication they gave me Benadryl directly into my blood stream (I’m not sure why)…Now, you think that Benadryl makes you tired in pill form…This stuff KNOCKS you OUT! I got SO tired SO fast…Needless to say I will not be bringing quite so much with me the next time…The rituxan they give takes the longest part of the chemo treatment and it makes me REALLY hot, so I had to request a fan that I used the whole time…the good thing was that this time my blood pressure did not get high. Between high blood pressure and being hot I think being hot is the better choice…Mom came to visit me at lunch and brought some breadsticks and cheese sauce from a local pizza place…The red stuff being injected into me is vincristine… I asked the nurse why she had to wear the smock and gloves when giving it to me…She said it is because if the vincristine were to get onto skin it would not just burn the skin it would eat away at it…That folks, is what is being directly injected into ME, three vials of it…It is best not to think too much about that yeah?This is my cancer angel…it was made for me from someone on Swap-Bot and I love her!She has birds hand stitched on her body, is holding a teddy bear, has a necklace, and a glow in the dark heart…She is also wearing a scarf for her bald head, and has wings…she is there to hold for comfort, or is safe to throw if I am feeling sick or upset…the lady that sent it to me said it could be used as a ‘darn-it’ doll to throw when I want to say ‘darn-it’ I went all out…wore some nice clothes, necklace and make-up and think I looked pretty darn good…so I thought I would share… Mid-morning I heard some dance music being turned up loud and a bunch of celebrating going on, it was a women’s last chemo treatment and the nurses dance to celebrate…they were all the way across the room so the picture is not the clearest but I wanted to share… Last but certainly not least I got my PICC-Line out …I am beyond excited…they still weren’t able to get blood out of it today and I was so getting so discouraged…the doctor said that the lymph nodes in my chest are shrunk enough to schedule surgery to insert the port, which will be practically no maintenance and a lot more reliable…

Whitney said…Hi April! I know of your blog through Swap-bot.com. I have been reading you for a few weeks and just wanted to tell you that I think you are one of the bravest and strongest people I’ve ever heard of. Keep up the optimism! I have awarded you with the Sunshine Award. Please see my blog if you are interested in passing this on to others. :)whitneyAnonymous said…Hello April! So, I’m just now finding out about you cancer diagnosis. I want you to know I will be praying for you. Our son Isaac was diagnosed with a very rare form of leukemia a little over 2 years ago. His battle was horrific, but he is alive and well today. I know you will have many dark days, but God will take care of you April. You are pure sunshine to be around! I pray God’s blessings over you!With love,Mysty Diehldmndiehl@comcast.netLetters Mingle Souls said…I’m happy that you had a pretty good day! The chemo treatment sounds rough, but you came through it with flying colors! Yay! I love your angel! She’s awesome, just like you! You look beautiful and I’m so glad that you got all decked out for the treatment! I think it’s a great way to show your positive attitude and that nothing is going to get you down! I finished twenty-three awareness ribbons last night. I think they turned out to be pretty cute! I’ll be taking photos and posting them on the Letters Mingle Souls Blog. They’ll be up in the Etsy store next week. I have about 25 more I can make. The next batch won’t take so long, I promise!Hugs to you!4smartmonkeys said…Hugs April:)Joyce said…You are much stronger than you realize. God is holding your hand while you go through this.Robynn’s Ravings said…What a trial, April. Your spirit is unbelievable.