Day 427 - The Last Round!

I survived. It's over.

Today was rough. I usually go to sleep as soon as they start the chemo, but today Sam was my Nurse & I wanted to talk to her. She confided in me that she was getting married after the New Year. (!) I can say that now because she's married already! I couldn't fall asleep after that news! Very exciting! She has been a very special person to me these past 6 months. She is genuine, beautiful & strong. Just what I needed when I felt weak, ugly & lost!

When she saw me taking oral Dexamethasone, she commented, 'You take oral Dexamethasone as well?' I asked her what she meant. She said I was getting it be IV also. I asked if that was bad. She said no, only that it would help me to keep my appetite & I wouldn't lose any weight. AH HA! So that explains why my pants don't fit so well these days! Sigh.

I drifted off to sleep a little later, only to wake up to Mom2 sitting beside me. I couldn't really sleep after I had woken up, so I tried to visit. But the nausea hit. I don't normally feel sick. At least I hadn't been since round 7 or so. I actually got sick to my stomach - just a little - before the end of the treatment, which has NEVER happened. They ended up giving me 2 more anti-emetics via IV. I've never had that much before!

We took the girls to PLC today to show Sam. She has 2 dogs of her own & we always talk about our pooches. I asked Mom to dress the girls in their Christmas dresses & bring them to the side door so Sam & the Nurses could see them. Needless to say, the girls were a hit!

Dr. Lategan took my Picc line out. Here's the video clip. Someone asked me WHY I recorded it. I guess I don't plan on ever having a silicone tube shoved up my vein again. Not a video for the faint hearted - it made me gag the first time I watched it! But crazy to think that modern medicine has the technology to put a tube inside your vein & run it all the way up to the central vein entering your heart. When you look at it that way, it's pretty cool, I think! Enjoy & let me know how far you can watch!



Mom drove me home & I don't remember anything past Barlow Trail. Next thing I knew, I was at home. She helped me get to bed & then left to go get Ken. They drove back here & spent the night. They were waking up early to watch Ken's grandkids open presents. Apparently tomorrow is Christmas! I know I won't be appreciating any turkey at this point! Just my Ondansetron!!! Every 8 hours like clockwork!

Merry Christmas & I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I hope you remember WHY we celebrate CHRISTmas & include that in your festivities. Family, friends, giving, celebration... I'm happy with my best present ever. NO MORE CHEMO!

xxxxMVO&A

 The Beautiful Sam!

 Out cold & cold out.

The girls keep me warm on the drive home.

Day 414 - Day 2 of PB1

I'm kicking myself that I didn't take a photo of my arm. Instead of hanging out at PB today, I spent from 10 until nearly 2 at the hospital. Last night when I took off my gazillion layers of clothing, my arm wasn't happy. The new tegaderm bandage & barrier was pummelling my arm. It was all red & swollen under the bandage. This morning it was worse & it was draining a clear fluid. I'm not sure what it's called, I thought the Doctor said something like 'cirrus', but when I google, all I get is satellite radio or clouds. Serum? Exudate? Help me out team! Anyhow, it looked pretty rough & was tender to the touch. Mom2 said I should just leave it alone & stop messing with it, but my gut said otherwise. Luckily I did, as it was infected at the insertion site. I was having a pretty hard core reaction to the tegaderm/barrier combo. Luckily a Nurse from the burn unit was able to help me out with the Picc line & she saved the day with gauze, saline & Mefix.

I had a Resident Doctor ask me a million questions - they are so cute! I love how thorough they are & they still genuinely care about you! Luckily the 'Boss Doc' cared too! Imagine that! I love people who love their jobs & are good at them! It always shows! Dr. Dyck gets my vote! I showed them the Christmas card, passport & driver's license & the Nurse ran away with it & showed everyone in the ER. Ha ha. They took blood & ran a CBC to see what my WBC was doing. In the end, I returned to PB with a prescription for Keflex. Oh what a day!

When I got to the PB building, I was supposed to go in & slide a note under the door to let them know I was here. That was a grand plan. If only the door wasn't locked! I couldn't even get into the entrance! I sat on the steps, froze my butt off & waited. Luckily the gal who was cooking the team dinner showed up & she had the magic cell phone number to help me out! I was back in action & enjoying every moment of it! Yay!

Day 2 of PB over with & my arm taken care of... Things are getting better! I must say, I was pretty worried they were going to yank my Picc out... Thankfully they didn't! Here's hoping the antibiotics work quick enough that I can convince Dr. Daly to let me keep it on Monday!

xxxx Maria, Mom2 & the girls

Waiting outside the building 

Hello? Is there anybody in there?

Day 411 - On Second Thought

Today I was supposed to venture back home. The weather wasn't great & we had a later day than planned. Naturally the girls woke the house up early. We managed to get to town before too long, as I had a 1300 appointment to have my Picc line flushed & changed. I had called while at home to make arrangements to have it done in Red Deer while I was up here. What a drama.

I think I had 7 or maybe 8 phone calls yesterday & today to set it up. Mostly I had phone calls from different nurses telling me that SOMEONE would be calling me to set up the appointment. Thank goodness 7 or 8 calls later, someone finally did! Crazy!

The nurse used chlorhexidine & then put a tagaderm patch overtop. Hmm. I should have known better. Within 2 hours the skin exposed to both was itching & blisters were forming. Great. Good thing I was going to Tom Baker tomorrow for my Radiology appointment. I will just drop by afterwards & see if SOMEONE will change it for me!

We went to Pure Earth afterwards. I have been waiting a really long time to visit this shop. Roxy is good friends with the gal who owns the shop, Rebecca, and she has taught Roxy a lot about raw foods. Rebecca handpicks her shop items & it was a treasure to find so many wonderful things in one shop! I picked up some medicinal mushrooms, John Masters Organics (THE best hair & skin care products on the market. Good for you & good for earth!) & a few other superfoods. Oh & propolis honey. If you haven't tried it, don't waste it on toast! It's so good, just eat it with a spoon! Wow! It's a joyride in a mouthful!

We met Kevin in town for wings at a local favourite spot. We had a little hiccup with our dinner & they removed it from the bill, promised a gift certificate, but forgot to deliver! Whoops! Oh well, it was my order they messed & I won't be back anytime soon! Especially once the raw diet takes over!

I decided to stay over again. I was supposed to be at home & packed & ready to go for the PB weekend, but unfortunately it wasn't shaping up that way. Roxy & I were going to leave first thing tomorrow morning for home, I'd pack up & then we'd head to town for the Doctor's appointment, Mom2's & Roxy's drive home. I'm excited for the weekend! It will be a lot of fun!

On that note, beddy-bye time! xxxx
Maria, Valentina & Oceana

The Handsome Couple!

Day 400 - Wenda.

It is with a heavy heart that I received the email this morning that my friend Wenda, whom I met in Tijuana at Dr. Castillo's, has passed away. Her bright & beautiful smile had the capacity to light up an entire room & warm the hearts of those in it. She always wore colourful socks to cheer up herself & others around her. Bless your heart Wenda. I miss you!

What a beautiful woman. Look at that smile.

This morning I called Jenn bright & early, as I was still awake. We had a wonderful chat about life & all the amazing things that are happening for the both of us. She has introduced me to the Bethel Church in Redding, California that has had many miracles. They have Healing Rooms on Saturday mornings & you can travel to Redding for a healing or you can skype them if you are unable to travel there. I tried to skype them last week, but didn't get through. I tried to call them during the week, but they are very busy! So, this morning I tried to skype them again. About the time I decided I was tired, I heard the skype phone ringing! It was the Healing Room! 

They prayed for me 3 times during our call & as soon as the first prayer began, I felt a huge heat wave rush through my body & when I looked at myself in the webcam, my face was beet red. I had my hand on my neck while the man prayed for me. I checked my neck after the prayers & the lumps were so much softer & smaller! Wow! It's a miracle! Praise God! Can you believe it! We said goodbye & I laid in bed, reciting a prayer over & over again with my hand on my neck. Shortly thereafter, they called me again! I had sent a message to both of their skype addresses, so I got a second call 'by accident'. Thus, I received more prayers! Whoo hoo! 

As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but notice the brightness behind my eyelids. It was as though the sun was beaming into the room. At first I thought, 'How am I going to sleep if it's this bright?' I opened my eyes, only to see NO SUNSHINE in the room! I closed my eyes & the brightness returned. It continued for about 10 minutes or until I finally drifted asleep! What a crazy way to start/end the day!

I woke up at 1800 this evening. Whoops. I was supposed to go to Mom2's via Black Diamond to shoot some Christmas photos for Stirr, but I realized that my Picc line wasn't looking so good. I think I may have an infection. I was about to drive to Black Diamond when I realized that I had the heavy boxes in my car & I couldn't lift them out. Hopefully things won't deteriorate too much by tomorrow morning (or afternoon at my rate!) So, I didn't go to the city today, either. I managed to catch up on the blog (finally!) & do some more reading. I seem to find all of these controversial topics... I'm not sure why, but I seem to be an advocate for some pretty crazy topics these days! Oh well, keeps things interesting! 

Phew. What a day. Have a great sleep & we'll see you tomorrow! 

xxxxMV&O

Meet Florence (as in Florence & the Machine)

Day 369 - Round 8

Well, today was Round 8. I'm officially 66.67% finished. On the way in Jaco turned & said to me, 'You're 3/4's of the way there today!' 'Really? That's awesome!' 'Oh, wait. No you're not. You're 2/3's of the way there.' 'Awh Man! I was all excited for a moment there! Thanks a lot!'

In any case, I am happy that I am finished with another round. The blood work went well & my appointment with Dr. Daly went fine. We were about to leave for awhile when he walked through the waiting area. He sent me to see the Picc Line girls. That was fun. NOT QUITE!

In case you don't know what a Picc line is, it's a peripherally inserted central catheter. In case you're none the wiser after that statement (I wasn't), basically they stick a silicone tube in your arm that runs inside the vein up your arm to a much bigger vein close to the heart. This helps to prevent irritation to the vein in my arm & also allows the Dacarbazine to be administered at the regular rate. (1 hr vs. 2 hrs) It will be in my arm until I finish chemo & they will send someone out to change the dressing once a week.

The actual procedure to insert the Picc line was less than pleasant. I thought they would put it in my left arm, as I use my right hand for most things. Nope, apparently the right side is preferable to put the Picc line in. Preferable for who, I'm not sure. The gal who was doing the procedure wasn't too 'warm' - to say the least. She tried my right arm. Thankfully she froze the site. She only got the tube in 15 cm & then it stopped. No luck. She pulled it out & tried another site a little lower. She didn't freeze this site. And it got stuck at 15 cm. Great. That was fun. Her boss came in a few times & tried to hurry her along. Thanks. Rush the job & pay less attention to your patient. Great. Thankfully they called another gal in. Sandra. She was much more pleasant. She tried the left arm & first try she got it. (with freezing) When she was inserting the tube further up my arm, she asked me to try & put my head in my armpit & lift my head off the bed. Then she asked me if I could hear my pulse beating in my ears. Apparently there's a nasty turn in the veins & the Picc line can head up my neck. Just what I need! Chemo in my brain! Yeesh! She taped things up & sent me to Radiology to have a chest x-ray. They needed to make sure the line ended at the right spot. It was 2 cm too close to my heart, so they pulled it out slightly. I was officially ready for treatment.

We left for lunch while they ordered the drugs. As we were exiting the parking lot, I saw a girl that looked a lot like Roxy. It was Roxy! We picked her up & went to Nando's for chicken. I was unaware that we even had a Nando's in Calgary. I knew there was one in Vancouver. What's Nando's? It's a restaurant chain I know from South Africa. I have actually never eaten at the ones in SA, but I know them from their controversial advertisements. Check one out here.

Roxy came into the Treatment Room for a bit & then had to boogie out to the Ranch to help Mom with the books. Jaco left for a bit & had the oil changed. I have to call Mr. Lube & find out when to have the oil changed, as they recorded it to be changed in 500 kms. Yeah. They also wrote down the current mileage as 4 million instead of 4 hundred thousand. Oops.

We finished up just before 1700, which was great, considering we started well after 1300. This Picc line is going to make things A LOT better! Bring it on!!!!

We drove home & spent most of the evening visiting with Roxy. Mom made two of the vegan dishes & we had a nice supper. I got busy on the laptop looking for old photos & before I knew it, it was 0200! Yikes! Time to get to sleep! Usually I sleep straight after chemo, so this was a good thing! I think!

Lekker slaap & Round 8 is done & dusted!!! xxxxMJV&O

 Okay, so this photo is pretty rubbish, but this chick had her leg in a brace/cast, her opposite arm in a sling & her only free arm was using the crutch. BUT. She was still able to hobble outside for a ciggy. 

 The Picc line finally in.

All taped up & ready to roll. 

 The sick chick & her hubby.

Roxy & the girls warming up. 

That's the smile I know & love!