1 Down and 5 To Go!

So Thursday was the day…the first chemotherapy treatment. Those of you who have gone before me will attest that it’s a pretty uneventful process. Once you are all set up and ready to go, it’s really just a whole lot of waiting around. Do not give fear any shred of validity, for it is undeserving. That being said….

I had my handsome & trusty companion by my side and we were armed with whatever we might need to keep us occupied for an afternoon: both laptops (because we can’t possibly share?), our cell phones, my checking register for reconciliation (currently on my to-do list), my new Kindle Fire (thank you, Sweetie, for the post-surgery gift), snacks for me (Hubby was going to trust the clinic’s snack area to satiate his hunger….it didn’t), and on and on. I didn’t think any bag could get heavier than my diaper bag these days, but my ‘Chemo Bag’ was beyond ridiculous. How many of these things got used? Very few as we still talked pretty much the entire time and I didn’t get hardly anything done from my ‘things to get done while destroying cancer’ list.

After getting some blood drawn to check & make sure my body is healthy enough for the drugs, we picked out our spot which was pretty difficult because the place was packed. Out of about 30 recliners for use, only about 3 were unoccupied. Some people were sleeping, a lot were catching up with each other like old friends, and others still were just going about their business. There was a nurse that tended to me throughout the day who was the sweetest person with a great personality. You could just tell she had such a heart for this kind of work. She loaded me up with 5 or 6 anti-nausea meds before the poison even entered the body. I loved her.

It took a little longer than the 3 hours I had originally been told, but I believe that had to do with the fact they were so swamped. After I was ‘unplugged’ from my port, I was OK to leave. Although my doctor had said I would be able to drive to and from treatments, others have advised me that it would be smarter to have a lift home as I was a little dizzy. I took all the prescriptions given to me when they were advised because this was not a time to be a ‘toughie’. In fact, I was feeling fine enough to run a Christmas errand later that evening.

To sum up the aftermath, this actually feels a lot like the first trimester of pregnancy. Just a year ago at this time I learned Sweet Presley was coming so this queasiness & crazy hunger/too-full feeling was all too familiar. I had an appointment Friday afternoon to get what I’m calling a ‘booster shot’ which is just an infusion of something that will prompt my white blood cells to reproduce rapidly from my bone marrow. The upside is that it will prep me for my upcoming Quarantine Period of low immunity this week, but the downside is that my bones & joints will ache from the hyper-stimulation. Not super fun, but word around the clinic is that Claratin helps (no one knows why tho.). Luckily the nausea is limited to queasiness and is quickly rectified by eating something hearty. The taste buds are already affected and ketchup now just tastes like straight sugar, but hopefully that means I won’t be craving anything super tasty. I never had a chance to lose the baby weight and this treatment has been known to make people gain pounds (great, another benefit), but the carb cravings cannot, or rather will not be ignored. I’m also dog-tired which is an understatement, but Sweet Hubby reminds me that I need to rest more often and try to get off my feet. So smart. He is being such a Rock Star throughout this and I’m grateful for his help with the chores and Christmas wrapping. The kids are pretty low maintenance at times as well and I know that the good Lord is planning just that very blessing for me right now.

Once again, I felt His peace wrap around me like loving arms and strangely was completely unafraid. It’s funny how often we are told that all we need to do is ask Him for peace & comfort and He freely gives it. I’m so grateful He has kept my eyes open enough to remember to ask Him for this comfort and can receive it gladly. I pray that I can help someone in this spot find that same peace so they do not have to be afraid as well. I swear I even feel the poison eating away at the tumor. Merry Christmas Everyone :)