Day 251 - Round One of AVD

Okay, so 3 hours sleep is probably not the smartest idea I've had in a really long time, but I just could not convince myself to turn out the light & go to bed. When I did eventually turn out the light, I just laid there. And tossed & turned. Needless to say the alarm went off much sooner than I would have liked!


I was thinking to myself of the diazepam the Fertility Clinic gave me to take the night before my surgery. I think it would have been a good idea for me to take the same thing last night! I did make the suggestion to Dr. Daly today, of which he gave me Ativan before I started the chemo. 


We left for the city at 0710, dogs & all. I had packed my bag the night before. Books, laptop, music, iPods, journals, camera, etc, etc. Totally not hungry, I had 1/2 a glass of juice & away we went. I figured I would have time to grab a bite before treatment. 


I am quite unfamiliar with Peter Lougheed, so I asked directions to the lab. I knew the blood work had to be done before the Dr.'s appointment, so I needed to hustle up! It was already 0810. Of course I got lost on my way to the lab. When I did show up, this short little fellow asks for my requisition. I had no clue where it was! Didn't they have it? No. I walked back to the entrance & took another turn. The requisition was at another desk. Then the gal tells me Dr. Daly isn't in until noon. What? Wait! No, there I was on the list. 0900. Phew! 


Requisition in hand I walk back to the lab. There was a lady at the desk this time. I handed her my papers as I should & mentioned that I had an appointment at 0900. She replied in an unfriendly tone, 'Yeah, well, there are others ahead of you. Just take a seat.' Okay.


They called one person every 10 minutes! ALL those people in the waiting room were family members of others already having tests done! A fellow named Jared came in & started chatting to me about his platelets & spleen & how his spleen is producing antibodies that throw out all his platelets. He sees Dr. Lategan & had Hodgkin's when he was 10! Crazy! 


When I was finally called, Lionel, the same man as before, called me into the back & took my blood. He was good! I hardly felt a pinch! My body is getting sensitive to the needles as of late, & they've only just begun! 


Blood work done, I headed back to Dr. Daly's waiting area. Mom came in from the car & shortly thereafter we were called into the room. A lovely nurse named Grete talked to me about a few things, took my height & weight (144.5 & 168) & then gave me a bunch of little booklets to read on all things Hodgkin's & Chemo. Even a copy of 'Managing Chemotherapy for Dummies'!!! Ha ha!


Dr. Daly came in & we chatted about a few things. He checked my hands, neck & my breathing. We talked about my travel restrictions & his travel plans! :o( He gets to go to Quebec, I'm staying put. Fair enough. He walked me to the treatment room & left me with the nurses.


Grete had told us that we would usually have about 1.5 hrs wait until the drugs were sent down from the Pharmacy, giving us time to get a bite to eat, have a tea, walk the dogs, etc, etc. But when I entered the room, they sat me down right away & got started! Oh dear! No food in my belly! Hope it all goes well!


Vivian, an adorable Nurse originally from Hong Kong, tells me I needed to heat up my arms. I said, 'Sure, do you have a heat pack?' (At Castillo's we were given microwaved IV bags of water to keep our injection sites warm) Vivian looked at me funny & said no. Instead, she began filling a sink with warm water. There I stood, hunched over this sink with water from my palms to triceps. I finish soaking them & try my best not to drip water all over the floor while Vivian wraps them in towels.


I sat down & she finds a juicy vein. She didn't like the first one on my inner forearm, so she pulled it out & used the one in my elbow pit (Sorry, haven't learned the technical term for that one yet!). It was good, so we were ready to rock. However, they gave me saline. Then the anti-emetic. Then more saline. As I was trying to rehydrate myself, drinking water & all that saline, I was in the toilet 3x by this point! I had to take off all the blankets & pillows & fold the leg lift under on the chair, which felt like an auto-eject seat every time it came down! Then I had to unplug the IV trolley, which one of the other nurses named 'my dancing partner' & away I'd go to the loo.


When I returned, it was time. I had two bags of Vinblastine, followed by a flush of the line after each. Then it was Doxorubicin or Adryiamycin next. It is a clear red drug. I thought it would hurt going in, but it didn't. Next up was the big bag of Dacarbazine. It was given simultaneously with saline, again, not to irritate the vein. Again, potty time. 


Mom had left prior to the anti-emetic & she finally came back! I hadn't brought my bag with all my books, videos, etc. in it, so I was bored out of my tree! I watched the nursing staff interact & flutter about, discovered a bunch of wrong dates in my Peruvian day planner (!) & chatted with a few of the gals beside me. When Mom returned I was just getting my chemo. She brought me a Jugo Juice smoothie & sandwich, as well as a nice card & 2 books I'd mentioned earlier this morning! What a great Mom! 


We were able to visit with one of the nurses, Deana, while Vivian administered the chemo drugs. It was a nice distraction so I didn't have to think about what was happening.


Soon enough, I was finished! No complications & no discomfort! Yay! Round 1 is done! We headed to the Pharmacy to pick up the meds & there was a little hold up in clarifying that the Alberta Cancer Foundation was going to help out, but 1/2 an hour later, we were good to go! By this point I was pretty tired. I couldn't wait to get home & sleep!


Which is precisely what I did. I set the alarm for 2200, woke up, took a pill, ate some food, checked out the new replacement phones & typed this. I'm now off to bed again, alarm set for 0400 to take the next pill... 


I survived the first round! Yay! It was a breeze! I've been warmed there are rough days coming - Dr. Daly says tomorrow, the one nurse says days 5-7. We'll see! All those prayers, positive thoughts, white light & good energy thrown my way really made a world of difference! I'm so grateful for the wonderful family & friends I have supporting me! 


Sleep well! xxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Vivian reviews the drugs & their side effects with me.

Getting sleepy!

Dacarbazine & Saline

Mom lights up the room

The hi-tech hot pack machine!

Okay, round 1 done & dusted. 

Day 241 - Ultrasound. Again.

Another early morning. I had an ultrasound & blood work at the Fertility Clinic again today. Thankfully it was a Sunday, so traffic was a breeze. I slept in an extra 15 minutes & still arrived early! Free parking too! Yay!


The waiting room was packed! There weren't even enough chairs! It was interesting to me to watch the behaviours of the couples. Some men gave their wives the chair, while others did not. Some men went with the wives for the ultrasound, some did not.


I had my blood work done promptly (ouch today) & then barely settled in when they called my name for the ultrasound. I was quite excited to see what was happening today, as the other day I had more follicles than I had expected. Dr. O'Keane was the Physician doing the ultrasound today. He was quite friendly, but swift. He didn't waste any time! 


I was becoming a bit apprehensive with the procedure, as when I had asked about the charges for the entire process, including the drugs, I thought when our drugs had been covered, they HAD BEEN COVERED. In the past week, it has cost an extra $900 for the additional drugs! Ouch! Adding to that, they mentioned another procedure in the beginning, but no one had brought it up again, so I assumed it wasn't necessary. Now, THREE DAYS before I am supposed to tie things up, they tell me we'll need a procedure costing an extra $1500! Argh! And they want me to take some more drugs ($$$)!!! I guess it wasn't all covered! These kids are already costing an arm & a leg & they're not even here yet!!! :o)


I'm pleased to say that Dr. O'Keane said I could come back tomorrow for an ultrasound, no bloods & then retrieval on Wednesday. Yay! The end is in sight! The follicles were almost the right size. They needed to be 1.8 & most of them were 1.4-1.6. It's all working marvellously! 


I motored home with a few more needles & found Unka Jer & David just getting going. We sat outside & chatted for a bit. When we went inside, I made a comment about taking a photo of the 2 of them for the blog. David said he would prefer it if I didn't. Pardon? You don't take pictures & now you're not in them either?!? Dude. You're in a house where TWO Photographers live. It's part of the 'accommodation package'. No understanding at all, he did his best to sell me why. He claimed that he could remember a moment better by referring to the energy of the place & how he felt when he was there. I said a photograph is a great reminder of the moment & just seeing the image would bring back a flush of memories associated with that time & place. He asked me if I would be impeded in describing the memory to a blind man. I said of course not, the photograph would remind me of the memories associated with the event. Of course, my clever friends later asked me - 'Why didn't you ask him if he would be impaired describing the event to a deaf man?' I never think of these things at the time. Anyways... here's the description of David from my PHOTOGRAPHIC memory:


- British - Long curly brown hair with some grey - 40-ish - pierced ear (2x), lip & septum - 5'10-ish - medium build - kind eyes - goatee - few wrinkles - slightly crooked teeth - worn out 'Public Works' shirt from Burning Man - Green coloured canvas type work pants. 


Keeping with South Park Style, here is a composite of David:

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Which brings me to my next case in point. The whole Burning Man Festival. I'd heard of it before. I didn't know a whole lot about it, but David was quite 'fired' up about it. He was soon making his way there to help set up. It was the highlight of his year. For those of you who don't know, http://www.burningman.com/ will get you started. I was pretty skeptical when he mentioned orgy, lesbians & 'stiffy lube' within the first 5 minutes of describing it.  Hmm. I haven't had much exposure to hitch hikers. I'm not sure if they are all like this, but I don't think I quite feel comfortable with it. He has no money, one back pack & that was it. I get that you're into 'energy' & how things 'feel' to guide you in life, but when you stop & talk excitedly about a festival that brings you free beer, orgy 'camps' & the mention of drugs... Not really 'feeling' that energy! Guess I'll stick to my photographs...

On that note, I took my usual Sunday stroll down to EVIC while Unka Jer & David left for Golden. Oh the drama at EVIC! They had a mouse! A brave, gutsy mouse! He scooted all over the place - right in front of the visitors! He even crawled up the wall! I had Valentina with me, but she was more interested in her ball than the mouse. Sigh. I offered some feline services for tomorrow. We'll see what ol' Adios can accomplish! Eeek! I don't enjoy mice in the least!!! I LOVE Adios though! 

Okidoki, that's it for today... Enough excitement for me! Sleep well! xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Growing like weeds! Yahoo!

Day 230 - Okay, So I'm A LITTLE Tired...

Holy cow. How do Mom's do it? I couldn't settle in to sleep until 0100. The alarm went off at 0630. I have heard of this hour before, but I didn't want to believe that it existed! I had heard crying & movement around 0330 & then again at 0530. Oh boy, I have a lot to learn!


Jenn left for work at 0645 & both kids were wide awake. At least 2 of the 3 of us were. Harrison is 2 & Heidi is 5 months. I won't bore you with too many details. Well, maybe I will. Heidi is a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed, smiling & content little girl. Harrison is a brown haired, brown eyed, little gentleman. They are incredibly well behaved - Mama & Papa must be doing something right!


We had breakfast, changed the diaper, bottle fed, coloured, sang songs (shhh, don't tell anyone!), watched Bob the Builder, played with Valentina & then Heidi went down for a nap. She slept for 2.5 hrs. In the meantime, Harrison, who is recently potty trained, had accident after accident. Me, not knowing the foggiest thing about childhood behaviour, figured it was simply because Daddy was away, Mama was away & here is this strange lady singing to me with her funny little dog... ?? We had a couple of #2 accidents. The first one, no biggie. The second one... Let me enlighten you...


After the first pair of wet undies, I couldn't find any pants for Harrison. As it was raining out & we would be indoors, I grabbed a pair of shorts. Then another pair. Then I finally noticed the basket of clean clothes in the living room. When I asked him if he was dry & he said 'No', but I could see the front of his pants told me otherwise, I thought, well, let's just change him in the living room. WRONG.


As I pulled down his undies to change them, didn't I just get an extra bonus falling out of his shorts. He was upset that he'd messed in his pants, so he was crying. When bonus #1 hit the carpet & I could see bonus #2 on its way down, I thought we better dash for the bathroom. Before I could pick him up, he stepped in bonus #1. As I picked him up, my hand cupping bonus #2 & his poor little bottom, Valentina makes a dash for bonus #1. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! We head downstairs, with the dog shortly behind. I put Harrison in the tub for a good wash & try my best to scrape the mud pie off of my hand, meanwhile I'm gagging & wretching with my back to the poor little toddler crying in the tub. We get scrubbed up & clean clothes on. 


I was really baffled, as he managed to finally pee in the toilet, but as I go to pull up his shorts, they're wet! We change them. No kidding, 10 minutes later he's wet again! Then another 20 minutes after that! I give up! Even the gummy bear 'treat' incentive isn't working! Well, Mama gets home & when I tell her the happenings of the morning, she said he's NEVER done that & she's never heard him so upset. (I'm thinking, oh my, I've scarred the poor child for life!) It turns out today was the day his 2 year molars decided to make  themselves known. Lucky me! 


After I knew that poor Harrison wasn't traumatized forever & he was happy to be with Mama again, I made a dash home & picked up my drugs, as it was time to start. I had to go for my ultrasound tomorrow morning. Unfortunately this meant I had to be in the city in the morning. Jenn had to work. Sadly, I couldn't convince my Mom or any of my friends to help me or Jenn out for a few hours. It was pretty disappointing, as Jenn's family really needs every penny possible! By the end of the night, she had to phone work & say that she couldn't come to work the next day. I felt terrible!


I decided to have a shower while I was at home, but before I even got in, I fell asleep on the bed! I woke up 2 hours later. Guess this Nanny thing is hard work! I drove back to Jenn's, but before I went there, I stopped at Safeway to pick up some Freezies for Harrison - just in case his teeth were bothering him again. Once I was back at Jenn's, we finished watching Alice In Wonderland. It was really good! I was so amazed by the creativity & imagination that went into it! Wow! By the time 1100 rolled around, I was beat. 


I hit the hay & that was that.
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Peek-a-boo!

Valentina enjoys the house!

Saying 'Cheese' while playing the cars game on my iPod. Kindergarten.com has some brilliant apps to teach kids animals, transportation, fruits, veggies... It's a great distraction from boredom in Ikea, at home, wherever... :o)

My little action man!

Miss Heidi quite content!

Day 225 - Blessings Abound!

It feels so bizarre to be home again. I miss Jaco. A lot. We had such a great time, even though it was brief & he was busy, we made the most of every minute. I think if I could offer advice to anyone out there... Enjoy every moment of your life. At 31, I never dreamt I would be struggling to regain my health & enjoy the rest of my life. Carpe diem!

Today I had to go to the Fertility Clinic (RFP) to pick up my drugs, as they are closed on the weekend. I wasn't sure what day I would have to start the drugs, so I wanted to be ready. I wasn't sure how much the drugs were going to cost, either. When I initially started the procedure with them, I was told the IVF procedure would be $6700, plus approximately $2500-3000 for the drugs. Ouch! I inquired about some financial assistance, but they said I didn't have time to apply. (And who said time=money?) They told me they would apply for compassionate care & see if some of the drugs could be covered. A few weeks back, I received a call saying the Luveris had been covered, but they didn't know about the Gonal F pens yet. I knew I would be paying $30 for the antibiotics & supplies. Today I would find out what the bill was. 

It was $30. OH MY GOODNESS! What a blessing!!! How incredibly lucky do I feel! Wow! That helped Jaco & I in so many ways! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The pharmacist, who is from Polska, showed me the proper way to do the injections. Not injection, plural, as in injections! Yes, I will now have to do 2 shots per day instead of 1. Oh lucky, lucky me. BUT... at least these are miniature shots... The total is about 2ml. The needles are barely visible compared to my other shots! This will be a breeze! They are only subcutaneous, so I don't have to worry about making it down to the muscle. Oh sweet relief! 

They gave me a cute little bag to keep everything in & best of all, my very own sharps container! Now I have a proper disposal! :o)

I also saw my Doctor when I was walking out, so I asked her a few questions. When I had arrived home, I had a letter from the Oncologist regarding my CT scan. They wanted to scan my head, neck, chest, abdomen & pelvis. That is a load of radiation. Especially on my ovaries, which I'd like to keep in top form for the egg retrieval. I don't want babies that look like Hiroshima victims. I asked Dr. Foong & she suggested it would be best to wait to have the scan. She also told me she would be away when I had my procedure done, but she would call me when she was back & I could come in & talk about the embryos they made. She is such a wonderful doctor. 

My next stop was the pet shop. Valentina has been barking to a ridiculous level as of late. I have tried shushing her up, pokes in the ribs, bops on the bum & nothing is working. I bought an anti-bark collar that sprays a puff of citronella every time she barks. Here's hoping!

Here's a link to the study I found on CT scans. It's an interesting read! I actually called the diagnostics division at the hospital to find out exactly how much radiation I would be receiving. I was a little insulted when the chap on the other end asked me if I was a Radiologist & that I wouldn't understand anything unless I was. It's called Wikipedia & Google. Hu-llo! Anyhow, he did have the decency to tell me that if it was his wife in my situation, he would postpone the scan. I felt good about that!

I tried to phone the Oncologist & his nurses/receptionists, but they were either rude or unhelpful. Oh this is so much fun!!! :o) I have the scan on Tuesday & as it's now the weekend, it's not looking promising. I also tried to book an appointment with the Oncologist for 10 June to have some more questions answered, but it sounds like he's booked full. I have this sinking feeling that things will be postponed. There is NO WAY he's going to be ready for me on Friday a.m. when I refuse a drug on Thursday afternoon. Nor am I going to be ready when I want time to research the drugs & dosages before I start. 

Doxorubicin damages the heart & there is a lifetime dose. Damage starts much sooner than the lifetime dosage, so I want to make sure I'm within the NO DAMAGE zone.

Additionally, I've had enough time to contemplate this scan business. I get that they have a set protocol to follow. I get that they want a baseline scan so they can know how much progress I've made. However, I also get that CT scans cause cancer & if I have one now, adding in the scan from February, another one in 3-4 months to check on my progress & than again when I'm done in 6 months... That's approximately 2000 chest x-rays in 11 months. Not cool. When you also consider the fact that if the scan in 3-4 months doesn't show improvement when compared to the February scan, we can all agree that the treatment isn't working. I was told the lumps would be gone after the 2nd round. Call me crazy, but it doesn't make sense. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to jeopardize my future health just to satisfy someone's protocol - my future doesn't fit into that box they're wanting to tick. I'll step off my soapbox now...

Enjoy your weekend & where is that sunshine I'm dreaming of?? 

xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Thank you for the sharps disposal!

No Hiroshima babies please.

Getting used to the weight around her neck - it weighs nearly as much as she does!

Day 163 - Short Day!

This morning I was ready for the shuttle & waiting. Valentina was charming the other people waiting. Mama is proud! The Hotel Manager came out to tell us that the shuttle would be about 1/2 an hour late. There was a bus in front of them that was filled with drugs! Needless to say, they were on 'super search' mode after that! 


We arrived at the clinic at 1000, instead of our usual 0900. I was finally at the top of the list, so I didn't have to wait long! By 1130, we were all finished & heading towards the border. Unbelievably there wasn't a line! We were back at the hotel by 1159! That's a world record! It usually takes at the least, one hour! Awesome! 


I did get my 3/4 eaten apple confiscated by the Customs official. He was a real jerk. The previous 2 officials said it wouldn't be an issue - nobody would want my mostly eaten apple. In fact, the official who checked my passport, I could hardly speak to him & I looked like a chipmunk with my cheeks stuffed! I had maybe 3 big bites left & when I approached the conveyor belt to scan my bag, the official called me over. I thought he wanted the dog bag on the table.
'Put you apple on the table.'
I take another bite & ask him, 'Did you want to see the dog?'
'Put your apple on the table.'
'Sure, can I just have one more bite? I'm almost finished it.'
'Lady, you're not listening to me! Put the apple on the table!'
'No problem, just one more...'
He grabs the apple right out of my hand! 


Are you kidding me???!!! I can't even have the last few bites of an apple I bought in the USA???!!! This guy is a jerk! What a fruit Nazi! Never mind the kilo of cocaine in the bottom of my dog's bag - take the apple! ARGH! The Customs guys & girls get me fired up! Every time I get worked up & I've left the situation, I remember the sign they have in the building - something about treating you with respect & courtesy. HA! Joke!


Anyhow, I forgot about the Apple Nazi when I realized I was back to the hotel by 1200! I had switched rooms this morning, so I spent the afternoon unpacking & settling in. I was happy to be on the 2nd floor & away from the stairs. It was too noisy! I was a little disgruntled when they wouldn't let me change last night. I went in at 1400 & they were going to charge me for 2 rooms because they'd already cleaned my room! Then they wanted me to pack up & switch before I went to the clinic at 0900! I'd be nice & sweaty after carrying all the luggage up the stairs. In the end, I packed up most of my things, put them in storage overnight & in the morning, I took the bits & pieces up to the new room. 


I decided not to go anywhere. I thought I'd spend some time just relaxing & not running around. I ended up watching a few episodes of CSI, which was lovely & gory, but I do love that show! 


Sweet dreams!
Valentina & Maria
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Mama's Helper while Mama unpacks!

This looks like a great place to rest!

Roses in front of the hotel

They smell so wonderful!

Bees like them too!