New chemo day

Tuesday August 24th 2010


I had a pretty decent sleep, I got up once to use the bathroom during the night instead of 3-4 times, then again around 6 am, even while sleeping with the portacath accessed last night. My aunt had given me a vial of Holy Water from Fatima. I slept with it on my bed. Did that have something to do with it?


I then woke to get ready and munched on another one of Paul's famous Rice Krispie treats. He's the only one I know who can make them without them getting hard. He's got the Krispie, butter, & marshmallow ratio down to a science. Maybe he just knows how to read the recipe the best. The last cold meal before the new chemo, Eloxatin.


I had dressed warmly, a) it was only 67 degrees as we headed out of the door, and b) the rooms are usually well air conditioned and this med will make me intolerable to cold. I had brought a room temperature Ensure for later.


They checked my vitals, I was still 147 lbs., but my heart rate went back in to the 120's. Not good. I told Vera and the pharmacist about my Gemzar fever the previous night, my current temp. was 99.4 F. So I'm losing more water with the fevers which might worsen the constipation that comes from the chemo and if I take in more fluids, it might third space again = ascites. It's a hard balance but they keep a good eye out for me. Vera also reminded me to take my Colace, stool softeners, twice a day.


By the time the chemo bag was prepared, I was already being hydrated with D5 W, which the chemo is more stable in, there's sugar in there. I'm also being given Dexamethasone tablets which could also raise my sugar, it aids with the Aloxi, the anti-nausea medication. If I'm not too salty, I'm sweet.


This was a 2 hr chemo. Dad was reading the magazines from the front lobby, I started reading "The Chicken Soup for the Cancer Survivor's Soul". I do recommend this book for anyone going through, survived or anyone close to anyone with cancer to read this. I read 86 pages when I decided it was movie time. I took a potty break and picked up "City of Angels" with Meg Ryan and Nic Cage. It's another beautiful tear-jerker love story and the soundtrack has great music. I got dad involved into watching it and cried when I explained certain parts to him. I'm a mushy nut @ times. This angel gives up being one just to become human and experience all that we do, to feel the joy, happiness and pain, the taste of food, what it feels to love, to be loved and lose that love. My chemo finished before the movie but I told dad that we had it @ home.


I can tell how this new neuropathy could affect me. Just using the hand dryer before leaving, it was cool air, not warm and my hands felt different. When we got home, I had one red grape that had been sitting out and it made my throat feel odd, weird little cramps. Dad did warm up other food that I was able to eat, no problemo.


Widdo Poopie, my problem dog, had some more swelling in his upper jaw starting over the weekend. He was able to eat breakfast but when we came home, dad let them out to go potty, he had spunky energy when he went out but when dad tried to give him a snack, he wouldn't eat it. Sign of a sick dog in my house. My vet closes early, so I called the vet that makes housecalls & she told me to wait until the morning, so I took him to a 3rd vet and not the emergency vet. This facility has plenty more doctors and they're open until 8pm. Plus a friend of the family works there and she'll be doing his oral surgery tomorrow. They kept him overnight to start IV antibiotics. My little hot dog, he had a fever too.

We came home and a friend of the family, Ann, stopped by to visit. She brought some yummy cupcakes from a relatively new cafe by her house, which is across the street from my dentist's office. She also brought some lemon tea biscuits and dark chocolate. Yum. We discussed some Asian therapies that oncology pt.s use, ie. accupuncture, herbs, etc., what she's getting her education in. She too has family that are dealing with their cancer battles. We caught up on old times, she still shares her dog Scrappy, with our brother, Joe. Scrappy, he's a little trooper too. He's had spinal surgery a few years ago after an injury that left his back legs limp and incontinent, having difficulty controlling his bladder & bowels. That little dog couldn't walk but he's been through therapy and his will to live, man, his back legs would be limp & he'd drag his little butt all over the apt., he learned to eat on his front paws, to this day, he's still full of energy even if his lower half does not want to cooperate all the time. Even animals can teach us about the will to live, even though there may be setbacks. He's even older than me, he's about 9-10 y/o which is about 70 y/o in human years.

So now I'm on a low salt, high protein, no cold diet. You're talking to a girl who used to eat everything. I'll see if my nutritionist's appt. can be moved up from October. Jenny said she saw some Nesquick milk that's on the shelf so hopefully she'll be able to pick it up rather than sitting the milk out of the fridge and we all get sick. Not only am I having food issues, because of the swelling in my belly, my underwear elastic is leaving indentations into my hip regions, my sides and back and I don't think the flow to & from that region is all that good 'cuz I've got swelling where I never knew it could swell (without getting into too much detail). Wassup wit dat?!? Do I call Dr. Lam again, do they drain that region? Jenny suggested I get "granny panties", do I go "commando"?, then she showed me some Hanes panties without elastic and maybe she'll get me a larger size. I'll call Dr. Lam in the morning & see what he has to say. I told you I'm a problem child.

Thank you God for letting me make it through yet another day. Thank you for all my family, friends and coworkers do to get me through my days and to keep my spirits up. Thank you too for a medical team that's working hard to get me through this process. And please take care of Widdo Poopie during the night and his oral surgery tomorrow. Good night to everyone.