Sittin On A Porch

Sittin On A Porch
Our little back porch

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Bone treatment and chemo

Yesterday was another long day in Thomasville.  My honey doesn't like me driving after the treatments so he drives me there for every appointment.  Most of the time I am sitting and waiting.  I wait for my turn in the lab.  I wait in the lab chair as they draw my blood.  My port started to act a little difficult, but quickly cleared and seemed to be working just fine. 

Then I wait for my appointment with the nurse.  I wait as Ms Geraldine asks me the questions and fills in the computer.  I wait for my appointment with Dr. May.  Then we talk, she probes and prods.  We laugh she reminds me to keep my sense of humor.  I told her I had lost it, but was finding bits and pieces here and there and hoped to have it back and shore up soon.  We talked about the point of these treatments is not to make me sick, but to extend a healthy life.  She thinks and her brilliance amazes me like the amazing Dr McCuttie pie. 

The recommended dose for the Gemzar is 1200 something.  She did 1000 for my first treatment, it will be knocked back to 800 for the treatment this afternoon.  She took me personally into the infusion room for my bone treatment and talked to the nurses about the changes to the orders and when they could expect them.  She also talked to the nurses, all extremely competent RNs about the side effects I have been experiencing.  I explained I had had the same effects for every infusion treatment.  Dr. May looked at the nurses and said, if the chemo has been different but the effects are the same, maybe it is the premeds, not the chemo.  The nurses had all come to this conclusion also and everyone clustered behind the computer to review the list of premeds.  I was escorted on to my chair.  This chair is in the back of the infusion are and looks out over a garden.  The bone treatment does not take that long, but the pre and post flushing, etc. means I never seem to get out of there until around 5:00.  That makes for a long day.

Today I just have the chemo treatment and they left me all hooked up.  Needles and tubes sticking out around a clear tape that seals my skin.  I wasn't too sure how I would sleep with this getup  glued to my chest, but it did not seem to matter one bit.  The nurse had recommended that it would cut back significantly on my time and they prefer to minimize the number of times they stick you.  I appreciated that, so I looked even more like a science fiction character.

I woke up several times last night with the back pain.  I took an oxy every four hours, and I seem to be okay, but I am keeping my activities to reading and maybe walking up the stairs to fix lunch.  My honey brought me breakfast in bed because he knew I had had a hard night.

It is raining hard right now.  I love the rain here, it is so green and the sound of it falling in the trees is magical.  Later we will drive up to Thomasville.  Hopefully the rain will have slowed a bit.

Another beautiful day.

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