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 292 - Round 3 of AVD

Well today was certainly a mish-mash of positives & negatives. Mom2 came with me & was by my side the entire day. Right up until we dropped her off & she sent me home with a turkey bun. (+) We scooted over to HomeSense while we waited for my drugs & she found some pots & woks she had been on the hunt for. (+) She kept me preoccupied & laughing when the treatment got crazy. (+) And she got to meet her new Doctor - my Doctor - Dr. Daly. (+)


And there was the treatment. Blood work was quick & relatively painless. (+) There was no fishing in my arm for a vein. (+) When it came time for chemo, they found a good vein (+) or did they? (-) By the third drug, Dacarbazine, my veins had had enough. My arm was cold to the touch, but the sensation was that of fire. (-) They slowed the drip rate down 3x, but it still hurt. (-) To make matters worse, I had to have an anti-emetic after the chemo. (-) They are out of the pill form of the usual anti-emetic I take, but they have the syrup. I took the syrup the last time & it was brutal on my teeth. Needless to say, I was tired & grumpy by the end of the session. 


Thankfully the Nurses were AWESOME as usual. Mom2 & I had been talking about the hospital a few days before & she thought I was absolutely mental when I said I looked forward to visiting with the Nurses & how friendly & nice everyone was. Only now did she understand my thoughts! We enjoyed visiting with the girls & I even showed them Jaco & I's wedding photos from Namibia (which Mario just won another award with us in his portfolio!). It was priceless, as one of the Nurses was convinced that Jaco's profile looks exactly like Dr. Lategan & she found it her sole purpose that day to convince all the other Nurses to come & have a look at the profile. Her enthusiasm was infectious. (About the only infectious thing you'd want to pick up in a treatment room!) :o) We were all in stitches every time she would call another Nurse over to have a look.


I was excited to see that the Beautiful Sam was in the treatment room again. She makes my day. We enjoyed visiting about our dogs & I'm hoping she'll bring them out for a run on the ranch before the snow falls! 


Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that I would meet so many wonderful people while taking chemo treatments. I was the girl who was strictly opposed to any sort of Western Medicine intervention. I thought it was all one big pharmaceutical push & the Doctors were pretty much robots who were trained to have textbook answers for all the questions. Who would have thought I would ever meet Doctors & Nurses with *GASP* personalities!? I feel like I have another family & I still have 9 more rounds to go! I realize they see a lot of people come & go, but they have made this part of my journey absolutely enjoyable & I can't say enough how much I appreciate that. Hmm, they did mention something about coffee & chocolate... :o)


Of course, Mom had to stop at Costco. I shouldn't have gone in, but I did. Just stay in the car, Jill! But no. I was hungry & enjoyed the Caesar salad sample, so at least that made it worthwhile! Mom2 found another wok & Mom picked up her fruit fix for the week. 


We drove to Mom2's where she made me a delish turkey bun & then it was home time. I crashed on the way home (as in sleep - Mom was driving) & did my best to sleep off the effects of the drugs. 


Tonight was Valentina's last night in the big bed. Tomorrow she graduates to the Big Girl Bed when Papa gets here... Not long to go now! Can't wait!


xxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Oh where oh where is my Mexican Hot Pack?

Heating my veins for the poison

Iny saying, 'There, there! You see! It's Dr. Lategan!'

'Don't you think so!? It's him!'

'Her husband looks just like Dr. Lategan!'

Mom2 & I

Mom & I

A Rose between 2 Tulips (Dr. Daly & his two 'Favourite' patients - I'm recruiting to make it a family affair!) :o)