One down, Seven to go!
Chemo is weird. Jenny and I got through the first infusion without any problems. The rest of the day I took it easy at my parent’s house, and kept waiting for the other shoe to fall…the horrible nausea and abdominal cramps, etc. I was very fortunate, because so far all I’ve noticed is a faint flushing in the neck and chest, and the tendency for my feet to swell at night from the steroids given with the chemo. Oh, and I fall into a sound sleep at the drop of a hat. I wonder how long this narcolepsy will last? That’s not a side-effect!
On Saturday, I awoke to the smell of my Dad cooking eggs. “Oh no! The smell of cooking food will set me off for sure!” A few seconds passed, and I realized that I wasn’t nauseous but hungry! I ate breakfast and took my nausea medicine, because I’m suposed to take the meds before I get nauseous. What an exemplary patient I am.
Mom drove me to the hospital for my Neulasta shot. This is to keep my bone marrow producing the cells necessary to keep my immune system on track, so I can stay on schedule with the chemo treatments. I was proud of how I could, this time, bounce into the cancer treatment area, brag about how I felt great! and get a little teeny shot in the arm. The nurse wanted to put it into my belly, but lately my arm is fatter than my belly, and I’m ticklish! Just a little subcutaneous shot. (Or, as my mother called it, “subterranean” shot.)
There was a lady sitting next to me in a chemo chair, and she’d said she had two rounds of what I’d had, and still hadn’t lost her hair! Cool!
We left, then I spent the afternoon taking naps, running, and doing Taekwon Do in the living room. The shot was possibly supposed to cause bone pain, but so far I’ve been blessed!
My big wish was to be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my favorite guy. He told me a couple of weeks ago, before we were even sre I’d do the chemo, that he had big plans on Valentine’s Day Weekend! I asked him, “Is hair a requirement?” He said “No.”
So, after my 5 miler, Saturday night I put on a new dress and made myself look as sassy as possible. He showed up in a suit, complete with chocolates and Valentines, and my mother showed up too, to take pictures and to get a gander at this crazy guy who has decided to hang out with me in spite of it all. It felt a bit like prom, with the pictures and mom gushing about how handsome he is, and how we look so cute together.
We went to dinner at a swanky Italian restaurant, then to the symphony! What a perfect evening!!! The music was amazing, and the food was perfect, AND I could still taste it. AND I still had my hair! And I was there with the cutest guy in the world! And he is so attentive and dear, all the time! In spite of everything! Yeah, I’m lucky!
Valentine’s Day was a tired day…I stayed in and slept and puttered around. So for today, the goal is to get myself onto a schedule. Normalcy is good. One down, 7 to go.
