One of my "cancer resolutions" is to be realistic about what I can and can not get done. If I'm realistic, I'm never going to finish writing a nice thoughtful catch-up entry, detailing the horrible days after chemo and all that.If I wait until I try to do that, it'll be chemo day again, and my "daily diary" concept will be shot all to hell.
So, lets try this: I'll give a general overview of the days from then to now, and then we'll move on and pretend the last couple weeks weren't accidentally skipped. Deal?
Deal...Day 6 was Sunday, and wasn't any fun at all. It was Grammy night, and I missed the show, damn it. I know that I had a headache the night before and I have absolutely no recollection of the early part of the day; and I mean none at all. I just know I spent the evening curled in bed with cold-packs on my head and eyes, leaping up at random intervals to barf. Day 7: ibid
Day 8: Lots of headache still, and I was still bedridden and very thoroughly miserable, but I didn't barf! Yay! I even ate eventually.
Day 9: Didn't feel good, had a severe headache, but didn't feel like total death.
Day 10: Stiiiiilllll got a headache........
Days 11-14 were pretty unremarkable. I've not had a day where I feel "good," per se, but at this point, "unremarkable" isn't a bad thing.
Day 15: Phone appointment with the hospital nutritionist who is trying to help me find food that will a) help me stay alive, b) keep me nourished during chemo and c) hopefully not get barfed right back up.
Now we're current! Yay! Whew!
Day 16, today, was my consultation appointment with the surgeon who's going to put in my port next week. It was a pretty straightforward appointment. He did the usual vital taking, stethoscope-wielding exam, which I will never understand. I guess they need to see kind of what your overall health and fitness is like before they slice you open.
What he'll be installing is one of these little boogers. This little joy of the medical device world allows me to get chemo'd without the nurses having to try and find a vein to run an IV each time. Yes, it's painful, and it's not any fun, and by the end of my chemo period last time, my veins were PISSED.
So, this time, we get a tiny incision to slip this neato little medical device inside my chest where it will get anchored and allow the chemo infusion to be delivered more or less directly, through a big fat central vein.
Less pain and faster infusion time - hell yes! So, a minor surgery, and off we go.
The best news of all is that my dear Auntie is coming to spoil me rotten for a week and help me get through those really, really rough days after chemo, and that in itself makes me feel better.
Tomorrow, I'm off to see Andy, and then Friday, FRIDAY! I've got an appointment with my yoga teacher, Lisa, for an hour and a half of heaven.
Yay, I caught up!
That means I get to go to sleep now. More gory doctor and cancer details tomorrow...
This is what a port actually looks like. The whole thing resides under our skin and the long "string" looking part is the catheter threaded down into the vein. Looks like fun, huh?
4 comments:
Oh yeah, that looks like more fun than should be legal. *g* But it will be easier and faster, and there is a hell of a lot to be said for that.
Love your snow icon. I have record snowfall here, like more than a foot on the ground. That's not counting what melted or the wind blew out onto the river. The world outside my window is beautiful, but this much snow makes everything take twice as long to accomplish.
Like getting up and down to the laundry room in the next building. I need to get back to that fun, day off activity.
Love you
Mom
If I can look into my crystal ball and place a bet/prediction, based on your past history of various surgeries waaaay more complicated than this one, your port placement will be a non-event for you. Just taking the time and letting it heal up post placement will be a minor annoyance for you, but really I think you will handle this one VERY easily. Just think, all your chemo will go in here but they can take blood from it too, so think of all the pokes you will save your body! Oh, and depending on who makes your port, they will give you a funny 'Lance Armstrong' -esque bracelet & a card to carry, because you will now ring going through metal detectors ;-) Beats having a plate in your head like some people we know? Hope the soft centers were enjoyable~P
I had one of those port thingies. It def. made getting the IV in muuuuuch easier (I have some IV horror stories, if you are ever in the mood. Especially the one when the anesthesia didn't go in properly b/c of the IV)) And the surgery to get it in and out in really minor.
hand in there, toots! Your cheer leading section is here for you!
As you probably already know I had two of these, one on each side and two different times. They are definitely more covenient that being stuck 15 million times in the arm. Surgery procedure is fairly simple. No need to worry there. This will be the easiest of processes you encounter! From one port host to the another, YOU ROCK!
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