Day 235 - White Flour?!

Today was my orientation at the Tom Baker Centre for chemotherapy. Of course, Mom & I were late. Construction, parking, & bad directions from the front desk didn't help matters much. We found a seat & tuned in to what the nurse was saying. She talked about what to expect during chemo, when you get chemo & what not to do.

A lot of it was common sense - if there is any with chemo - but some of it really didn't make sense to me. I get that the goal is to poison the body as much as possible to kill all the bad (& good) cells, but is it really necessary? Surely some vitamins & minerals & healthy food wouldn't be that detrimental to my health? :o) Sounds funny! 

Even funnier was the lady across from us... The nurse was advising us to eat a good meal the morning of our chemo treatments & to bring snacks with us. The lady across the way pipes up, 'I was told not to have any GREASY foods on the treatment days. Is that true?' WHY WOULD YOU HAVE GREASY FOODS AT ANYTIME THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE CANCER CAREER??!! 

Adding to the ridiculousness of it - the nurse tells us they have volunteers who come around the treatment rooms & offer you coffee, juice & cookies. I'm thinking, 'Oooh, warm chocolate chip cookies!' (Which are just as bad as greasy food, I know!) But nope, they are the kind you get on a WestJet flight. Prepackaged & filled with rubbish. Just what I need to heal! (Can you see me rolling my eyes?!?)

Lastly, on the list of ridiculous diet suggestions, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, their recommendation for diarrhea is to eat WHITE BREAD OR WHITE PASTA!!!!! Can you believe it?!?! Does anybody even eat that garbage still??? HUH-LOW!!!!! It struck me funny that I can't indulge in vitamins & minerals, but I can plug my colon with gooey, gluey white flour! Gross. Don't believe me? Check here.

I had the nurse up in arms, as she told us to flip through our green folder & I told her I didn't have one. Then she mentioned the infamous red card. I told her I didn't have one. She said I must be new. I told her I'd been coming here for 18 months. She was really flustered then! But, not nearly as flustered as the moment the power went out! Yes, the Tom Baker Cancer Centre forgot to pay their power bill. :o) We were about 10 minutes without power, so she read from her binder. 

After the (no)Powerpoint presentation, we had a tour of the treatment room. Shudder. I can't believe this is my reality. Get me in & get me out. I want to spend as little time as possible in that area! Icky. The nurse also pointed out the little 'kitchen' where they have toast, coffee, tea, jam, peanut butter... But... Fruit? Vegetables? Don't be ridiculous! 

Perhaps the most shocking part of the day was when I discovered that I needed Medical Coverage for the pharmaceuticals I would need in addition to chemo. WHAT?! And here I've been bragging about our wonderful socialized medicine. What gives!? All the anti-emetics would NOT be covered. So they'll fill me full of poisons & if I can afford the 'feel better' meds, I'll be fine & dandy. Something is NOT right about this picture! After the orientation was completed, I went straight to the desk to book an appointment with a social worker & figure out the health care business. She would call me tomorrow. Another hurdle begins! Wish me luck! 

I also found out that my hair will be completely gone until about 1 month after chemo. Lucky me. I guess I was pretty naive, as I thought it would start to grow back around the 3 or 4 month mark, but that was just me thinking silly! So, instead of my 2 front teeth for Christmas, all I'll want is hair! (on my scalp, just to be specific, in case someone out there wants to play a cruel joke on me & give me more whiskers!!!)

The nurse was quite knowledgeable about chemo drugs, so she offered a few websites to check out. I will say, besides the front desk chick who didn't know much, the rest of the receptionists I dealt with were WONDERFUL & very patient with this patient. 

We even got free parking today! Whoo hoo! How sweet is that!!! It adds up so quickly. Mom & I lamented that the Big Pharma should at least pay for patient's parking. Anyhow, driving on, we stopped at Jugo Juice. I am officially obsessed with Copa Cabana. They use agave in their smoothies! Sweet! 

We stopped at the post office & the General Store on our way to see if the wigs were in yet. No luck. I checked the tracking number & they are out of Canadian Customs, but I have no clue where they are now! Oh hurry here! I want my wigs! Any suggestions for names? I've decided every wig needs a personality... 

When I arrived home, I was checking my messages when Kim Ing rang me on Skype. 3 hours later, Joanne called. 3 hours later, I was up to speed on her trip to Mexico & Adam Dreamhealer. I sure do miss her & our laughing fits! I am so happy to hear that she is feeling footloose & fancy free! She is kicking cancer's buttocks & that is WONDERFUL!!! 

I collapsed into bed quite late. It would be a short night... Tomorrow is bloods & ultrasound at the Fertility Clinic. Cross your fingers all is well! 

xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Valentina fell asleep waiting to use the phone

A headset is a beautiful thing.

Day 172 - Silver Award!!!!

Okay, so I'm totally wiped, but after I saw this I just had to blog! Scroll down to April 10th... Whoo hoo! How awesome is that?!?! So even though it's way past my bedtime, I had a little whoop & a holler lying in bed, as well as a few happy tears!


As for the day, I was so thrilled to see Carrie & Olga this morning! I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but the ambulance was outside their door a few days back. I didn't see either of them at the clinic for the following days. I was quite worried, but didn't have any way to find out what was up. Turns out Carrie had a bad, bad stomach bug & had to be hospitalized. Thank goodness she's feeling better & coming back for treatments!


I took my 'Spanish The Easy Way' book to the clinic today. I showed Jose, the shuttle driver & he somehow got it in his mind that I suddenly knew fluent Espanol. WRONG! He kept talking to me in Spanish & asking what people meant, as in translate from English to Spanish. Oh dear. I'm only on page 20 & I've got a long ways to go! I should have dug it out long ago, but I didn't! I've had the book since my College days & we all know that was awhile ago! :o)


I went to the Plaza Rio today with the hopes of developing my roll of slide film - cross processed. Nope. Nada. Nobody wants to do it. So, I guess I'll just drag it back home with me. I also picked up some medication to try & a hamster waterer for Valentina's big flight. The vet suggested I freeze water in it & then put in into her carrier so she can drink. 


I tried it with her tonight & she caught on right away. Clever girl! Last night was her first night in her 'big girl bed'. I thought I should get her used to her carrier for the flight. I put the hot pack in her fleecy pillow cover & closed the door. She was pretty good, except every time I would roll over, she'd give a little whimper - like she was reminding me she was down there & not beside me in the bed!


I caught the shuttle back to the hotel with 3 other Americans. This one fellow asked me about Canada's healthcare & if it's as bad as 'they' say it is. I am so sick & tired of hearing Americans complain about Obama & socialized medicine. For crying out loud! It's going to take some time to work out the kinks, yes, but in the long run, it will be a positive change! Sometimes, I just don't think they 'get it'. This fellows biggest beef was that Obama & the bigwigs would get better healthcare than the rest of the general public. Well, duh! I suppose that is one of the perks of being the leader of the country! Surprise! He also gets to live in a really shwanky white house too!!! But all in all, it really shouldn't frustrate me as much as it does. I heard on Facebook today that Ellen DeGeneres couldn't even pronounce 'Saskatchewan'. The end.


I played ball with Valentina today. Only it rained. I nearly peed my pants I was laughing so hard at her. I'm laughing again as I type this. There was a dry patch, a patch of water with truck tracks in it & then more dry ground. I throw the ball, not knowing what she'll do. She barrels through the water, finds the ball on dry ground & burns back towards me. When she gets to the water, she comes to a halt. She pussyfoots her way through the water. Delicately putting one foot down & then the other. She gives me the ball & I throw it again. As she is running away from me to catch the ball, she attempts to take a giant leap across a big puddle. Her perception is completely off & as she takes her giant leap, she lands right in the middle of the big puddle with a HUGE SPLASH! Of course, she tiptoes through the puddles on her way back... This carried on for a good half hour. Man, that dog cracks me up. I'll try to upload a few more YouTube videos so hopefully you'll enjoy the moments as much as I did!


I stood in the pouring rain for 15 minutes waiting for the bus. I went to the outlet mall &  picked up some of my supplements today. It's just not the same as Community Natural Foods. They don't have the selection or half of the products! It's very frustrating! I bought what I could find, but it certainly won't be the same! I also found myself a new pair of running shoes! Yay! The Nike Outlet had a whole whack of shoes on sale. At first I wanted Nike Free's. They were out. How about some Lunar shoe? Okay. Nope too big. Okay, mens. Yup, it fits. What? $70?! Oh, alright. I get to the till. WHAT?! $79?!? Argh! I finally found a pair that was $49 & fit perfect! Now I have no excuse NOT to run when I get on the ship! 


I came back to the room & decided to use the pot I bought for $18, seeing as I only have until Friday a.m. to use it! I made quinoa (Keen-Wah) pasta & mixed in a SUPPOSEDLY mild curry sauce, 1/2 can of coconut milk, pineapple, apple & red pepper. Holy smokes is it hot! But yummy!!! My lips are still burning! 


Tomorrow is the big appointment with Dr. Donato. Fingers crossed & prayers answered he can help me. 


Sleep well wherever you are & here's to a brighter, sunnier, warmer tomorrow!
Maria y Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Working her charm!

The world's busiest border crossing! 100,000 people every day!

Splash on our way out...

Tiptoe on our way back!

Tilt your head & she's still cute!

Where's Valentina?

The Big Girl Bed