Round 4: Done!

We woke early and did our normal chemo day routine. Leslie showers, wakes me up, he goes down to start the oatmeal while I use the bathroom and check the email. I creep downstairs and Leslie brings me some coffee and when the oatmeal is done, brings that too. I then take what is left of the coffee upstairs to my office, take my morning meds, shower, pack up the Emend and we are off.

We arrived on the 9th floor a little early, and the waiting room was uncharacteristically empty. Blood, weight and blood pressure checks, before being called in my Nurse Jenn.

Nurse Jenn did a great job of answering all of my questions. Turns out the open sores that have appeared on my torso are again yeast gone amok. I have a prescription for a powder which should clear this up quickly. I should continue to take the supplemental drugs for two weeks, and then see how I feel. If the chills continue for 6 weeks, I am to call her again. I was given the name of the genetics counselor. One must meet with her before any genetic testing can be done, and I will schedule this appointment. My incisions look good; no reason to call Dr. MaryJane now. I will have a new baseline mammogram in January, and Dr. MaryJane will want to see me then.

By this time the blood tests were back, and no red flags so off to the infusion room. As soon as we got there, it was clear that they weren't ready for me. I was directed to chair 12, and waited, and waited. Nurse Judy ran by throwing out an apology. When she returned she heated my hand, and the inserted the IV. Not too bad going in, really uncomfortable once it got there, and there was blood everywhere. We had a gusher! I could feel the decadron and saline solutions very distinctly. After she slowed the drip, I could feel it but not as much.

Then more waiting. The pharmacy had more orders than hands to fill them. When my drugs finally arrived Nurse Judy, with a colleague did the full dispension protocol, and it was time to push the Adromyicin. Nurse Judy knows to do this slowly on me, and still it didn't feel good. I indicated what and where I was feeling, and she shook her head. "We need to find another IV entry point. This is too dangerous to continue." And so she pulled the original, and began heating my hand and wrist again.

The only healthy vein she could find went up the other side of my arm. She accessed this vein at the outer part of my thumb, down by the wrist. Okay, lots of nerves there. Man did this hurt! A nurse assistant came by, closed the curtain and handed me kleenex. I guess I had enough in reserve for one insertion, but two, with the second one in a sensitive spot was more than I could manage.

When Nurse Judy started pushing the A, there was no discomfort at all. After 110 mg of Adromyician, the Cytoxan drip began, and Judy was off to help with other patients. Due to these delays, the total time at the hospital was 5 hours; a very long visit! During the cytoxin drip, I actually slept, and at the end I felt dizzy and well, like a chemo patient. We skipped stopping at the grocery store, which we have always done in the past, and went straight home.

I also must look like a chemo patient since people consistently opened doors for me on our way out. This never happens at this hospital.... well not to me before anyhow.

Now home, we have had the two-hour snack, I am drinking a little headache-prevention coffee, and then I plan to crawl into bed. My body and mind are exhausted.

My new mantra is "get to Tuesday" and I may mutter that over and over and over.