So the steroids I am taking are making me a little jittery (pretty sure I mentioned that before) so I am going to write a little while I feel up to it.
Yesterday went well considering it was an extremely stressful day. When Rick and I got to the Hospital I registered but then sat in the wrong waiting room so the nurse had to come find me- silly I know but with all my nerves frazzled I got a little freaked out and then when she asked about the meds I took that morning she looked at me funny and told me I took too many!!! Ok, that set me in panic mode. Good thing it was the anti nausea pills I took too much of and not the steroids or I would be just flying. So after she calmed me down and reassured me that everything was going to be okay we got started. Her name was Debbie by the way and I think I got the best nurse there- although I am beginning to see that they are all amazing and so compassionate. So she stayed by my side and made sure I was okay through the entire treatment which took about 4 hours to complete. They ran 2 separate meds, the first one they had to run really slowly because it has a higher risk of people reacting to it (thus the steroids). I seemed to be doing okay with that one and then the other one was ran after that. I sucked on ice chips the whole time because there is a theory that doing that reduces the risk of nasty mouth sores- hope it works- that and rinsing with baking soda and water 5 times a day!
Rick was a real trooper, running to get me warm blankets and ice chips constantly- the nurse called him my little "gopher"- I just am a lucky girl to have him.
Warm blankets really are the best thing, in fact I am snuggled up in the one Sue gave me in my chemo bag right now! I did wear it Sue and I shared the wonderful story to all who would listen about what a great thing you did for me- I could feel the good vibes coming off of it :)
So it wasnt so bad after the initial freak out and they managed to find a vein that would co operate. I listened to my Ipod, chatted with the neighbours and got to know the nurses and the volunteers. I tried to text but that's hard to do when one hand is not available.
Today the nurse came to give me my Neulasta shot- the pharmacist at the hospital who was giving me the low down of all the meds I need to take told me I am a lucky girl to be getting this. I guess not everyone is covered for this injection because it costs $3000 for one injection! Thank goodness for Insurance coverage. Neulasta is a white blood cell regenerator- so as I type, it is making its way into everyone of my bones and kicking the crap out of my bone marrow forcing it to make more white blood cells. In about a week my white blood cells drop drastically and this injection will ensure that I have enough in my system to keep some immunity. Science really is amazing! I am supposed to feel like I have been hit by a Mack truck by tomorrow- apparently tomorrow is the magic day to see how I feel. It's when my body wakes up and takes notice of what has been happening.
I got an email today from an old friend who moved to Nova Scotia, so glad to hear from you Jack :)
Thank you so much to everyone for their continued support, prayers, emails , facebook messages and now bbm's too!
Dear Elena, they say that journalling events helps us let go of any negativity we may be harbouring. I hope your blog is doing that for you. I was lucky not to have to undergo chemo but I have had a couple of really close friends go through the same thing you are going through and they are doing great. I hope you can weather this storm in your life and find comfort in the fact that alot of us are routing for you. Take care. Love Giovanna
ReplyDeleteOkay, hopefully I can remember everything I posted just a few seconds ago. I guess I hadn't signed in correctly. Dear Elena, I have been reading your blog and I hope that it is helping you. They say that journalling helps with minimizing the gravity of certain events in our lives. I hope your blog is doing that for you. I just wanted to let you know that even though I was lucky enough not to have had to undergo chemo, I have two close friends who recently finished exactly what you are going through and they are doing really well. Hang on to that. Take care. Love Giovanna
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Elena! One down...you're a quarter of the way there!! Next one will be easier because you'll know what to expect! Glad the warm fuzzy blanket is helping!!
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