Well, it's 5am the day after my first chemo treatment, and "knock on wood", I feel pretty good. It was kind of a long day yesterday, as it took about 6 hours. Tony and my side kick "Goose" were there with me, so it probably felt even longer to them, but they hung right in there with me.
It started with a blood drawing so they could get a complete blood count and as you would imagine for this first treatment all counts were within in the normal range. Even my liver functions were good, which given the last weekend and the quantity of alchohol consumed, had me a little worried! This of course will be the base line from which they work in the future as well.
Then they hooked me up with a saline solution, which simply ensures that there isn't any clotting during the administration of the the other drugs. Next came Dexadron which is a steroid and as I understand it, that helps to boost/maintain my my different blood counts, but think it works mostly on the white count and platlets. Next came something called Aloxi which is an anti-nausea medication. I had already taken something called Emends in a pill form about 1 hour prior to being hooked up to IV's. And then, last but not least the actual chemo medications were hooked up. I am receiving 2 different medications, and they were administered seperately one taking 1 hour and the other 30 minutes.
During all of this Linda, Tony and I visited with each other and a couple of other patients. Linda "Goose" discovered a couple that were there together who had been married for 45 years. They were very sweet together and it was a pleasure to see the care that the husband showed his wife of so many years. It also made me happy and greatful to have my husband at my side. We then played some cards. A bit of cribbage for Tony and I while Linda watched her soap opera, but you know us, we can never have a deck of cards present without launching into a a couple of games of Pass the Trash and 31. Goose's hand bag is now $5 lighter I might add; not a bad day.
We then returned home and I found that I had quite an appetite, so had some soup and ice cream. This seems like it is becoming a main stay for me as it did the trick after my breast surgery too. I spent the rest of the evening resting on the couch and watching the 4th season of Entourtage and aside from a bit of stomach upset and a little lethargy, I find that I am still feeling fine this morning.
Today I go for a shot of Nuelasta which is supposed to help support my immune system as I go through these processes. They tell me that I may have more side affects from the Nuelasta than I did from the chemo in that it can cause some pretty severe lethargy and muscle aches for a day or two after the shot. Of course there is yet a whole other set of drugs that can be given in that scenerio, but am hopeful that I can avoid additional drugs and that the symptoms will be minor. I will continue for the next 4 days to take steroids and anti-nausea medications and feel very positive that I may just be fortunate enough to be one of the lucky ones, and will weather this bump in the road fairly well.
They tell me that by the end of week two, my white blood cell count will likely dip to it's lowest point, which is called Nuetropenia. This is the point in time in which I have to be extra careful about exposing myself to large crowds of people and have to stay away from anyone who might not be feeling well themselves as I won't have the ability to fend off illness as I normally would.
I am also told that this is the point at which my hair will start to thin out and possibly become splotchy. I have decided that I will simply have my friend Josh get out his razors and shave it all off when this begins to happen. I believe Jessica already has her paints ready to go, so am sure the pictures will be interesting. Either way, we'll make the best of a difficult situation. and have some laughs too!
Upon my arrival at home, I also found a beautiful bouquet of flowers left by JoAnne & Bill. She also let Jack out for us, so I know that my little guy was just as appreciative as I was for her visit. Caroline had also stopped in on Wednesday with a bouquet of irises, so my house smells like a little flower garden. In addition, Goose brought me a collage of pictures that she had taken of our gardens out back, and a framed shot of me posing with her 4 wonderful boys. All of which are quite handsome I might add!
I must admit that I was scared out of my mind yesterday, but the outpouring of love and concern shown by all of my dear friends and family have done wonders to help keep my spirits up, and I know with all of my heart that I would never have fared as well as I have without all you. I know I have said it before, and I will certainly say it again, but I really am soooo very fortunate to have all of you in my life. So with that said, and my priorities in order, or so I hope, I move on knowing that I only have 3 more treatments to go, and I can kiss this phase of my recovery goodbye!
Life is good!
Hugs and love to all,
Shannon
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