Day 339 - Round 6 of AVD

Yuck. Barf. Sick. Eew. Gross. Horrid. No. 


Those are a few of the words I would use to describe today. It sucked. Hard core. (sorry, it's not a positive post today!) 


My neutrophils were 6.2, so I was well high enough to have treatment. I shouldn't have taken the 2nd neupogen shot, as I had horrible bone pain again. The lab tech didn't hurt me when she took blood, so that was nice!


I wore the afro wig & Dr. Daly wasn't impressed. I guess he likes blondes better. :o) We talked about arm pain & we'll see how the next few treatments go, otherwise it's going to be a port-o-cath for me. Boo.


Marilyn, Sam & Noreen did my treatment today. The Vinblastine went in fine. The Adriamycin hurt. Usually it doesn't. It took 25 minutes instead of 10. The Dacarbazine hurt like a son of a gun. (to be polite!) And it took 2 hours. Talk about torture. I started to feel nauseated part way through the treatment. It didn't get any better. I was completely stuffed up in my sinuses, my eyes felt all puffy & swollen & my tongue felt thick. Great.


I nibbled on a garden fresh carrot for most of the treatment, just to keep something in my mouth & give it a flavour, other than the icky taste of the chemo. Mom stopped by in the early stage of the treatment & then left to run errands. Jaco also left to pick up a few things. In fact, he was so busy that he was late! I was finished my treatment, waiting to go home & try to survive & he was nowhere to be seen! I was the last person in the treatment room, so I held Noreen up too! I was getting worried that something had happened or he was lost. I called Mom & asked her to come & get me. She was just about to leave when Jaco walked in the door! Thank goodness! (He was picking up sushi & Jugo Juice - bless his heart, but I can't eat/drink much after treatment!)


I was VERY ill again tonight. In fact, I swore I was going to perish if I had to endure this 6 more times. Sorry if your stomach gets queasy, but I've never vomited like this before. I'm throwing up so hard I'm unable to breathe. It sucks. I managed to break blood vessels along my esophagus, so there was blood too. It's impossible to describe the feeling my body experienced, but I never want to experience it again. What's that you say? Weren't there drugs I was given to prevent me from getting sick? Yes, I was given a 24 hr anti-emetic, an 8 hr anti-emetic & a 6 hr anti-emetic. They didn't work. 


I do this bizarre groaning, grunting, holding my breath thing when I'm sick. At some point, Valentina was on my belly sleeping, but when she got up to crawl under the covers, she grunted & groaned the entire time she slowly moved under the blankets. It was cute. (Perhaps the best part of the night - my grunting dog!)


Worst of all, I'd just love to fall asleep & wake up the next morning. But no. It was midnight by the time I drifted into slumber. Brutal. I am so glad my husband is here with me. I don't know if I would have made it through the day without him. (Although if he would have been much later picking me up, I wouldn't have had a choice!) :o) Thanks Babe, I'm so happy you're here with/for me.


Here's to an expedited latter half of this hell they call chemo. I'll end it on a positive note - it was a beautiful, hot, sunny day today!


xxxxMJV&O

Beyoncé makes her debut.

Day 329 - Snow Melts

Still feeling rubbish, I slept as late as I could. The dogs were noisy throughout the night & I was up several times to let them out. Oceana messed in the tent & in her kennel. There are no clean dog blankets left. Adding to the fact that at some point in the night, Jaco burped in his sleep & forcefully exhaled in my face. I love married life. I tossed & turned & finally woke up somewhere around noon. 


When I walked into the kitchen, there was a mess by Adios' scratching board. Gross. Adios had also made his presence known in the night & he was let outside. I guess this was why. Or was it? I looked a ways past the 1st mess. Another. And another. What the...? I then saw Jaco sitting on the couch. With Oceana. On a blanket. There was vomit ALL OVER THE COUCH. It was on the back of the couch, the arms of the couch & everywhere you could have sat. It was on the floor by the couch, on the kitchen rug, the kitchen floor... How could one little 8 lb dog possibly have that much inside of her? Poor thing! I have no idea what caused her illness, but what a mess... It was like the Tasmanian Devil stormed through the kitchen & the living room with a horrid case of the stomach flu. What a way to start the day.


Of course, now was about the time I looked out the window & saw Jim attempting to chase the forestry cattle out of our yard. Jim is 80-something & doesn't move too quickly. He was driving his covered quad, but not quite swiftly enough to move the cattle out & through the gate. 


Remembered that it snowed yesterday evening. The ground is white. It looks like Christmas, only it's September! So, keeping with the Christmas-y theme, I decide to run out & help Jim. In my red housecoat & grabbing a green toque & mittens, I certainly look like Mother Christmas woken up too early! We manage to chase the cattle to the other side of the fence (grass is always greener, right?) & close the gate. Phew. There went my energy for the day!


No really. I spent the rest of the day moving like a sloth. It was all I could do to shower & get to town for some groceries. I managed to get a migraine last night right before I fell asleep. It lasted the better part of today. By around 1700 it was finally gone. It sucks to not be able to read, watch TV or use the computer. Jaco made me a few slices of toast & we went to town to get some fruit & water.


He made chicken & an sautéed an entire onion. I had a veggie sandwich & soup. We watched House. Or rather, I watched House while Jaco googled a bunch of medical terms that House & his team tossed out during the episodes. I think he's starting to enjoy House! 


And that was our night! Here's hoping today is the last day of the chemo drone. May it disappear as quickly as this snow did! Yay!


xxxx MJV&O

Adios is deep in Dreamland!

Enjoying the Good Life

Cuddles for Papa

Day 306 - Round 4 of AVD/Worst Day of My Life.

Ugh. Today was a day I'd rather forget. Jaco was mad at me for most of the day, the Doctor was 2 hours late, I got food poisoning from our lunch & spent the night hurling my guts out. Want me to elaborate? Of course I'd love to!


My appointment was for 1000. I had blood work done before that. We waited for the blood work. And we waited. And we waited. Finally it was done at 1130. They paged the Doctor. He arrived 1/2 an hour later. It was now noon. I was starving, as were Mom, Mom2, & Jaco. We decided to go to the Olive Garden for lunch. I couldn't remember the last time I was there, but I remembered that I liked it the previous time. I had a delicious mushroom ravioli. 


By the time we received our food, we had just enough time to sit out on the grass out front the restaurant in the hot sun & enjoy our meal. We were just finishing up when the treatment room called & said my meds were ready. 


Grethe was my Nurse today. She was the first Nurse I had met when I came to Peter Lougheed at the end of June. She was very kind & pleasant & I was happy to have her again today. We visited for most of my treatment & I found out that she knew the Mulatz's from Maple Creek. I walked up with their son, Kevin, at my graduation ceremony. It's a small world! 


When my treatment was over I thanked Grethe & said I would see her in a few weeks. She told me then that she was retiring & today was her last day! Oh my! I asked her how long she had been a Nurse & she said 45 years! Wow! She was quite misty eyed & I was sad for her. They were giving her 'a package', I'm not sure what that meant, but I don't think it was a package she'd been waiting for! In any case, I'm sure the Treatment Room will never be the same again. I'll be thinking of her & wishing her well & hoping that she'll find enjoyment in her retirement. 


As soon as we left, I had that old familiar feeling of 'icky-ness' wash over me. I usually sleep the entire way home, but today I couldn't. I ate a peach thinking that would help. It didn't. I felt worse & worse. I couldn't sleep. A pounding headache arrived. By the time we pulled into the yard, I was feeling near death. I laid down, thinking I could sleep away the worst of this. Nope. I couldn't sleep. I put a cold cloth over my forehead & laid there. My stomach flipping & flopping. Pretty soon it was time to visit the toilet. There went lunch. Oh I haven't been sick like that since the time I had one too many drinks in my first year of College. (Bellydancing & karoke didn't accompany this episode of sickness!) It was brutal. Jaco came in to help me out & once I was back in bed, I thought the nausea would fade away. Nope. 


Forty minutes later, I was back at the toilet. I had swallowed two Tylenol with some lemon water about 20 seconds prior. Up they came. Then it was dry heaving 20 minutes after that. I was gasping for air I was wretching so hard. Brutal. Gross. Sick. Shawh. I don't wish this on anyone! I finally paged the Oncologist on call at 2300. She advised me to take both anti-emetics instead of just the usual one or the other. I managed to get the liquid one down & passed out cold before I could wait 20 minutes & take the 2nd anti-emetic. I woke up at 0200 & realized that I'd finally slept! Yay! I gulped down the pill & went back to sleep. What a day.


They are changing my chemo days to Mondays instead of Wednesdays, as Dr. Daly is in at 0900 on Mondays, however, the next round will be on a Tuesday, as it's the long weekend. Thrill. I am already anxious. 


Thank goodness today is over & done with...
xxxx
MJV

I should have known it would be an 'off day' when the 1st photo of the day had an STD in the background!

The 'Hot Flash' Fan

The Doc hangs out in the hospital & doesn't work.

I'll miss you Grethe!!! All the best to you! xxxx