Mountain Climbing: 2nd Chemo Session

I had my second chemo session, today.

Daughter and I left at 7:30 a.m. for the 8:45 a.m. appointment.  I was expecting the freeway to be congested, and it was, but not too bad.  Traffic was moving.  However, once off the freeway, there was an accident one block away from the road I turn on to go to the clinic, and fire trucks were blocking the road!  Some drivers were making U-turns to go back and find alternate ways around it.  I turned into a parking lot and made my way out of the parking lot onto a side street and went around the block and got back on the road to the clinic.  Good thing I left the house early enough!  Still made it there on time!  :)

Vitals were good, again - weight had crept up a bit to 170 lbs. (and I expect it to fluctuate as I eat on the good days and don't eat as much on the not so good days).  Blood pressure was excellent! 

I was seen by the nurse practitioner, again, rather than the doctor.  Which was OK with me.  I like her and she really does take time to go over things with you and explain things.  She didn't like the fact that I had side effects from the type of immune booster shots I received and checked with my insurance to see if another type was covered, and apparently it was.  So, I'll be receiving this other type, instead, and hopefully, that'll eliminate the side effects I experienced earlier from the previous shots.

She also wants me to come back to the clinic on Monday and Wednesday, too, and not wait for a whole week, like I did the last time, so she can monitor any side effects and give me hydration and any additional medications I might need.  While it is a bit of an inconvenience to have to drive there 3 times, next week, I like the fact that she is monitoring me and my reactions more closely.  Maybe I won't have such a miserable week, this time around!

She also prescribed a different type of antibiotics just to keep the tooth infection under control when my immune system is depressed.  The infection is gone, now, but, this is to keep it from flaring up, again.  She took the time to check if there will be any drug interference with this particular antibiotics (there weren't - it's the same one I took when I had the surgery and there were problems.

The chemo session went smoothly.  I really don't feel anything during it, as they first give me allergy meds, steroids, and anti-nausea meds.  No, that's not quite true.  I felt cold!  Actually, my legs (which were covered with my coat and a blanket) felt cold!  The room is cold and I didn't think twice about feeling so cold until I mentioned it to daughter a little while ago and she said I should have mentioned it to the nurse, as it might have been a side effect!

I knitted for the most part, until towards the end of the treatment, when the allergy medications made me feel slightly sleepy (I didn't experience that, last time).  I dozed off a bit in the car ride back (daughter drove).  We picked up more teriyaki rice bowls for lunch and I had a good appetite.

Later, after lunch, daughter went to the pharmacy, again, for me, to pick up my latest antibiotics prescription.  

My gardener friend and daughter packed up the Christmas tree and took the boxes of decorations to the garage.  I took down the Christmas Village, but didn't quite finish packing it up - all the houses and people have been packed, but I still need to take down the string of lights.  I store that in the same bin with the rest of the Village stuff, so everything is in one place (the bins are labelled with the contents - "Christmas Village", "Tree Decorations", "Santa Figures Collection", etc.).  I started to feel a bit tired, so I took a break and played on-line jigsaw puzzles!  I am addicted to them!  Will take the string of lights down, tomorrow.

After he helped with putting away the decorations, my gardener friend pruned the rose bushes.  At one time, I had close to 100 rose bushes and it would take him from January to February to finish pruning them all, in weekly sessions.  Now, with just a quarter of that number remaining, he was able to prune them all in one session!

So, that has been my day.  Chemo treatment in the morning; putting away Christmas in the afternoon and evening.  Jigsaw puzzles later in the evening and night.  One of my aunts and  a friend called.   They are both still battling their coughs/sore throats, etc.  Both will stay away from me for a little longer to minimize my catching it from them while my immune system is depressed.

However, another cancer patient came in for hydration treatment, today, and made a cheerful announcement that he was having a cold!  He didn't have on a mask and he was sniffling and sneezing and someone else was coughing!  I quickly took out my mask and put it on!  (I wear the mask when I am in the waiting room, but take it off when I go inside, because they check the temperature, etc., and have been keeping it off during treatment; but now, I think, with flu season in full effect, I will continue to wear it when I am inside, as well).

Today, I am grateful for:

- Another sunny day (rain in the forecast to tomorrow)

- Not having to drive in the rain (the freeway I normally take got flooded during the recent rain storms and had to be closed while crews pumped the water out!)

- A good chemo session, good vitals, white blood cell count, etc.

- I will be closely monitored for side effects, next week (just must remember to actually tell them of ALL side effects!)

- Help putting away the decorations.

How was your day, today?