Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I'm still here...

Yes, it's me. I haven't been awake too much of the last 5 days. But here I am, almost bright eyed and mostly conscious. Chemo wasn't too bad. The actual infusion of the stuff wasn't able to be felt, just watched. Spent most of the time talking to Gloria, who was sitting next to me and was having her last chemo before surgery. I got a lot of pointers from Gloria, some that are pure quackery and some that are worth trying. She drives in for her chemo from up towards Tyler. There is a program that gives her a hotel room to stay overnight. I am so lucky to have my home here and my personal "entourage;" she seemed to be doing it alone. Not everyone has their own personal physician (to be) and nurse on premises and following their every move.

I am definitely experiencing what they call "chemo brain" and my thinking is very thick - for lack of a better descriptor. I also have been having low-grade fevers 99.5-100.3 on and off. If you have ever had a fever you know what that does to your head! The chemo nurse suggested that I start taking my anti nausea medication right away as soon as I left the chemo chair and continue taking it every 6 hours. I guess the idea is to not even let yourself get nauseous. The result is that I've been mostly stoned out of my mind since I took the chemo. Yesterday, I decided to NOT take the anti-nausea meds (at least during the day) and I've had a few more coherent moments. I won't bore you, but I've had dreams I haven't re-visited in years. I was also taking cough suppressants and decongestants - no wonder I was flying! Now that I am (mostly) back on earth, I am finding it a challenge to drink all the liquids I am supposed to drink. I wish I liked Gatorade. We are going through the flavors one by one to see if there is ONE that I like, but it hasn't been found yet. I am trying to trick myself, I have three glasses going at once - each with a different beverage. It all adds up!

I am sure this post is a little rambly. Frankly I don't care too much - see how good these drugs are? Thanks for your prayers and good wishes, cards and e-mails. I plan on getting through this and every little bit helps -I feel very loved.

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