Day 272 - Round 2 of AVD

Crud. I just checked the blog & I’m a week behind. That bites. It’s going to be a struggle to catch up. Bear with me!!!

Today was round 2 of AVD. My doctor’s appointment was at 0900, which meant I had to be there by 0800 for blood work. However, I had seen Dr. Lategan’s appointment schedule when I left last week. There were NO empty spots & names were written up both sides & across the bottom of the page! He’s a busy, busy guy! While we had waited, they called about 12 people in 20 minutes to see him!!! Wowser!!! So, I took the liberty of sleeping a few more ‘snooze buttons’. We left the house at 0730, arriving at 0830 at the hospital.

I went straight to the lab for blood work. Today was only a CBC. The gal at the desk was slow as molasses. They took 2 people in the first 15 minutes I waited. When it was my turn, OH MY STARS!!!!!! YEOW!!! I swear that guy was digging through my entire forearm!!! He put the needle in, which hurt. Then he proceeded to rummage around for a vein like he was digging for a matching sock in the bottom of the drawer. It hurt so intensely that I actually yelped out loud! And I’m generally quite tolerant. He didn’t seem to care that he was inflicting pain upon me. Thanks buddy.

I didn’t have to wait long to see Dr. Lategan. I had Nurse Andrea take my particulars (weight, height, blood pressure & sats). We got to chatting & she helped me out with the receptionist/medical secretary issue. I’ve been given the number for her supervisor & I will definitely get in touch with her!

Dr. Lategan came in & ticked a few patients off the list & then informed me that my Neutrophils were high enough to proceed with treatment. (1.8 & then need to be minimum 1.4) Great! We had a quick chat about Neupogen & when I would take them & I could do them in my thigh – not my belly as I had been worried about! He reassured me that the nasty side effects I’d found out about – ruptured spleen à death, bone pain, etc, etc… would most likely be minimal. Well, the death part anyhow, but not the bone pain. I’ll have bone pain due to the large amounts of neutrophils being produced in the bone, but it is manageable with Tylenol. The enlarged spleen happens with patients who have to take Neupogen every day. Thank goodness I will only be taking shots on Wednesdays & Thursdays the week after chemo.

We were just finishing up the appointment when Dr. Lategan felt my neck & commented, ‘Hmm, yep, they are still there. We’ll have to give you more poison this week.’ I love a Physician with a personality. :o)

I headed down to the Treatment Room & found an empty chair closest to the door. (Translation: closest to the toilet!) I just got settled & the needle put in my arm when the Nurses told me I could go for lunch or disappear for an hour or so if I liked. They would call me when my drugs were ready. Great, except for the fact that Mom had just left to get some food. I called her on her cell 8x & she was NOT answering. Knowing her she had it on vibrate, in her purse. Worst of all, she’d taken my wallet with her, so I couldn’t even find a snack close by! Grrr! Low & behold, she popped her head in the door a few minutes later. She had stopped to pay for her parking, waited in line for the bathroom & just got back to the car when she checked her phone & saw ‘WHAT?!? EIGHT MISSED CALLS?!?’ She said there were another 2 while she was checking the message… Hey, at least I’m persistent! :o)

We jetted over to Booster Juice for a vegetarian panini. I love them, but they put onions in them. I usually have to pick them out. I asked today if they could make one without onions. The lady said it was my lucky day, as she was out of onions, so none of the sandwiches had them! :o) We just sat in the car when the cell phone rang. It was the clinic & they had my meds already! We scooted over to Jugo Juice (I think they have better smoothies) & then quickly back to the hospital.

I was having an impatient morning with Mom. Her driving was driving me crazy & she wasn’t as rushed to get the chemo over with as I was. Perhaps I’m a patient to practice my patience. :oP

I settled back into my chair & Nurse Samantha started my treatments. She is a wonderful & beautiful young lady. I noticed a photo of her & a Chocolate Lab on the back of her ID card. We chatted about all sorts of things. She is very pleasant & very attentive. She checked my blood flow many times throughout the treatments, she reviewed the side effects & also the dosages I was receiving. I had a bit more of the Dacarbazine this time than previously. I don’t mind. The side effects of Dacarbazine include alopecia, nausea, vomiting, flu-like symptoms. Pretty mild compared to cardiac myopathy & peripheral neuropathy! I showed her our wedding photos, as I had them on the laptop.

I visited with a Welsh lady beside me. She had Leukemia & now has to have Gamma treatments once a month. A little bottle of this stuff costs $6000! Crazy! It has a certain cell (neutrophils maybe?) collected from 20,000 different people! But it keeps her neutrophils working & thus, keeps away infections.

They gave me another Ativan & it chilled me out nicely. In fact, I’m typing this in real time & I feel like I can barely keep my eyes open & can barely think straight! I’m sure I’ll be out cold on the way home!

I’ve been very happy thus far at the Peter Lougheed hospital. I must say, the Nurses & Doctors are fantastic & they are taking great care of me. I’m very grateful for the chance to be treated here. The crappy part? I’m on the downward slope of baldness. I have really enjoyed the buzz cut. I’m sad to have to say goodbye to it. I am even more sad to have to say goodbye to my eyebrows & lashes! Small things, I know, but it would be nice to keep them – even if it was only 5 or 10 hairs… Wishful thinking. I’ll just have to practice my make-up artistry in the meantime…

So, there you have it. Round 2 done & dusted. Survived another escapade & as Dr. Daly said, it’s nowhere near as bad as I had expected. Thank goodness!!!

We finished up at the hospital, a quick stop at HomeSense & Winners for Mom to find a frame & then it was home to bed. I was sound asleep by 1800! G'nite all!

A sleepy Maria & lonely Valentina (she didn’t get to come today)

xxxxx

Dr. Lategan - he's really tall & my angle (sitting) doesn't make him look any shorter! What a great Doctor though! Patience of a Saint or is it Patient's of a Saint?!? :oP

My Dancing Partner - I get the multi line machine as I need saline & chemo at the same time.

The treatment room. Everyone's chillin' out.

OMGosh - The Gorgeous Nurse who took care of me today - meet Sam! What a stunner!!!

Day 220 - And There He Is!!!

Why do mornings always come so soon? I never get enough sleep! Unless I go to bed at 9 or something! I was nice & toasty under the covers, so I wasn't excited to get out! However, Karen & Werner have in-floor heating in the bathroom downstairs, so my tootsies were toastie if nothing else!!! I regret not taking a photo of their bathroom! It looks so awesome! Next time!!! 


The shower even has a corner cupboard to keep shampoos, soaps, etc. What a clever idea! The soap doesn't get soggy that way! And they have a smart flush toilet. I remember I saw my first water saving toilet in Australia. Another ingenious idea. Why doesn't Canada have these toilets EVERYWHERE!


Anyhow, finally out of the loo & ready for the day, I packed up the rest of my stuff, including my hard drive that Werner so wonderfully loaded with movies & shows! Yay! (More Big Bang Theory!)


We hit the road & headed for downtown Victoria. We were stopping at the grocery store for a few items I wanted for the ship & then to Booster Juice for a smoothie. Thank you for the Canadian Colada, btw! Stinkers!


We headed for the ship, but our route was slightly altered. Apparently there was a bike race in town today. No biggie. My heart started to race a little when I couldn't see the ship. I had fleeting moments of panic. Did I get the day wrong? Was he here yesterday? I hadn't checked my emails! What if I missed him!? And then, there it was! I could breathe a sigh of relief! It was the right day & my baby was just a few moments away! Yippee!


Werner parked in his usual spot - they've visited the pier many times before! Either to visit his brother, Nico, or Nico's girlfriend, Talia, or dropping me off to see Jaco... We all hugged goodbye & I told them I'd see them in a few days when the ship was back. They watched from the pier until I'd made it onto the ship. (See photo below & try to find them!) :o) 


Of course, everyone was more concerned about Valentina & her whereabouts than they were me. The disappointment in their eyes when I told them she was at home for training!  Once onboard, I couldn't find Jaco! The paging system wasn't working & he didn't answer his door! He had told me a few days before that he might try & go ashore, but the A-Pass system said he was still onboard. 


Finally he answered his phone. He'd been in the shower! Oh, it was so good to see him again! I swear he gets more & more handsome each time I see him! We had a wonderful visit for the afternoon & then it was clinic time for him. He was VERY busy this cruise & there was no end in sight! I ventured upstairs to find Eddie. 


Oh he has quite the dramas... Apparently US Customs & Border Patrol decided to pick on him when the ship was in San Francisco last. There were a few Argentinian crew members on a completely different cruise line that jumped ship in San Francisco a week or so ago. CBP decided to make ALL Argentinian crew stay onboard for an unknown period of time. Because if all my friends jumped off the bridge, I would too. Oh the lack of common sense drives me batty! To make matters worse, Canadian CBP held him onboard today in Victoria. Why? Because the US CBP told them to! Ridiculous! Hopefully he'll get his I-95 back soon. It sucks to be stuck onboard & he has some good friends in Alaska that he enjoys meeting up with.


I also ventured down to the shops & to my surprise, Maria, a shoppie from Portugal was there! She had joined the day I left in Florida & I knew her from the Dawn Princess a couple years back. We had a great visit & she's been to some amazing places since I saw her last! She was telling me about CAT sized RATS in China. I still shudder at the thought of it! Yuck!


Of course, I saw Daniela. She was so sad when I told her I didn't bring Valentina. Valentina loved her so much. Every time I would go back to the cabin with Valentina, she's smell like J'Adore, Daniela's perfume. And she LOVED Daniela's cuddles! Daniela was heading home to Macedonia in a few days time. She was VERY excited to be finishing up her contract. I know that feeling!!


Jaco was busy with work & I was happy when he finally finished up & we were able to spend a little time together. I told him I'd help him tomorrow with whatever I could... At least that way I could see him - hopefully! He's a hard workin' man these days!


Sleep well & see you at sea!
xxxxx
Maria & Jaco

Can you see Karen & Werner? Thanks for a great time guys!

My hubby, hard at work!

Eddie, 'grounded' at sea

Busy moments at the bar. Can you see the orange elbow on the right hand side? This horribly annoying little kid & his non-disciplining Mom came by for a coke & coffee. The kid couldn't whistle to get Eddie's attention, so instead he squealed. Loudly. High-pitched. One more whistled & he was going to walk the plank!!! :o)