My husband and I arrived for the appointment on time at 9:45am. We had a bit of a wait and then were called back to an exam room. I had my blood pressure taken and it was a tad high..the nurse asked was I nervous and I said, "Yes!" She took my temp and said it was normal and my pulse and Oxygen levels were all good. She left and we waited for awhile.
I soon realized that in my nervousness, I had forgotten to eat that morning and was feeling kinda sick to my stomach! My husband was worried and said I needed to let them know I hadn't eaten. I didn't want to tell them but he said he would if I didn't cause it could make me really sick without eating so he went and told the nurse and she got me some Graham Crackers and a Sprite. I had plenty of time to eat as we waited for the doctor.
The doctor came in and gave me my latest test results and once again went over the chemo side effects and then I had to sign a release that I understood the risks of chemo and all....totally started getting a little scared then!
They took me to the infusion room. Now, it was a nice enough room but there was an air of ...I don't know..not totally sadness or despair but something hung heavy in the air. I had to stand there for a few minutes because there was nowhere for me to be...standing room only! Sad but true!! While we waited there, the chemo victims kinda all shyly looked at me here and there as if they pitied me being the newest victim. Soon, a chair became open and they got me seated. I was reclined back with my feet up and the nurse asked me did I want a blanket..I wasn't cold.
The first thing they did was to confirm my name and birthdate, which over the course of the day, I ended up doing countless times. She brought what looked like a surgical kit over and unwrapped it. It had gloves and gauze and alcohol wipes and other things that she began to lay out on the table.
She asked did I want the numbing spray. She said, "I'm gonna warn ya, most patients don't even bother with it! It feels really cold and they don't like it!" I told her for this first time I wanted the numbing spray because I Was still a little sore from the port surgery. So, she told me to turn my head and sprayed my port down! Let me tell ya, it was a bad feeling for a bit! It was terribly cold and burny but then all was good.
The nurse began to prepare to access my port. She swabbed and swabbed and swabbed me down with alcohol-smelling stuff that made me sick to my stomach to smell. She then told me that every time that they access my port, either by inserting the needle or taking it out, that I will have to take a deep breath and hold it. I didn't feel a thing when she put it in...thank you numbing spray! Maybe you were worth it!
Now this might sound weird but I was getting nauseated smelling the alcohol and the tape thing that they put over the needle...it was just two very strong smells that were not agreeing with me at all!
She then started a drip of just saline...she didn't tell me what it was, I had to read it myself. Then she handed me two Tylenol pills and had me swallow them. Then I had two other drugs through IV..she didn't tell me what they were and right now I can't even recall them but they were for Nausea and a steriod. I would say it was about thirty minutes or so before anything else happened.
During this time, I got to looking around the room. Beside me there were two hats hanging up...they had been laid there, I guess for the owners to find. I don't know why, but this just really struck me and I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of them. My thoughts went to the owners and I just kept wondering how long those hats had been there and who had left them behind....had they just forgotten to get them....or maybe never made it back?? Ok, that is getting sad to think about but just wanted to share what was running through my mind.
Beside me, was the sweetest little old couple. The man was in the chemo chair and his wife sat right by his side. They were older and you could tell they had been together for a long, long time! She just sat there, ready to spring to action if he made the slightest movement or needed anything! It was a sweet site to see!!
About this time, the nurse came back and asked me for the millionth time what my name was and birthdate..I was glad they were being thorough though! I sure wouldn't want to be given the wrong chemo drugs! They finally had the big bag of chemo drugs...they opened them up and they had forgotten my Bleomycin test dose. So they had to call the pharmacy to bring that up. So, there was a little more wait time. I sat and blindly watched the TV and couldn't tell you what was on to save my life!
Finally, they brought the test dose up and gave it to me to see if I had a reaction. After that, they flushed my port with saline and I swear, I started tasting saltiness in my mouth! When I didn't have a reaction after awhile, she pulled out this big turkey baster looking needle full of red stuff...the Adriomycin...the "Red Devil", as it is often called. This bad boy puts a real punch to the Cancer....awesome stuff!!
The side effects are nausea, alopecia (hair loss), and neutropenia (depletion of white blood cells). It can also cause heart problems, such as arrhythmias, in some patients.
They then flushed me with saline again and I had to wait for awhile...
About this time, I started to feel the need to go to the bathroom...the nurse warned me that my urine would probably be pink. The kind lady from next door showed my husband how to unplug me and take my IV pole with me to the bathroom. She was so sweet!
Then when I got back, the nurse came with a slightly smaller turkey baster and this was the Vinblastine...it was clear. She pushed that through my IV while timing it just like with the first drug. With both the first drugs, I didn't feel anything really. The main thing I was feeling at this point was a burning warmth through my chest and neck from the steriods, I later found out. The side effects of Vinblastine are: neutropenia, ulcers, blisters, and nausea.
About this time they started bringing trays of food around from the cafeteria..I didn't get one but I thought maybe they didn't want me to eat on my first time....I soon heard the sweet little lady beside me telling the nurse that I didn't get a tray. They quickly had me order what I wanted and soon had my food.....
Now, for some reason, I have always liked hospital food! Call me crazy! It's not that the food is really all that good but there's something about the little individual covered bowls and little butters and jellies...I don't know, I have just always liked it! I was pretty starving by this point and had some baked chicken and steamed carrots, a roll, a salad, potatoes and a little chocolate cake. It was pretty good!
About this time, they came to check my vitals and make sure I was still feeling okay. She then got out a smaller needle full of another clear liquid called Bleomycin, the one I had the test dose for. She pushed it through slowly while timing her watch and it didn't cause me to feel anything really either but by this point, I kinda had a bad taste in my mouth! Bleomycin is pretty hard on the body and can cause: fever, rash, alopecia, and Raynaud’s phenomenon (a discoloration of the fingers and/or toes). However, the most serious side effect is the occurrence of pulmonary fibrosis, which impairs the lungs.
About this time, my husband had to go get our boys off the bus. He didn't want to leave me alone but we had no choice. I had now been there almost five hours!
While he was gone, the little lady next store stopped by and asked did I need anything. She brought me a drink and some crackers. I never did catch her name but she looks like a Mary so until I found out otherwise, I will just refer to her as Mary.
Each time a chemo drug was given, the nurse would clean the end of the IV tube with alcohol and flush it with saline. You wouldn't think such a benign thing would make someone sick but the smell and taste of it was awful!
Finally, we were down to the last drug. This is the Dacarbazine and it had to be given by drip over an hour period. So she started that to dripping. By this time, I was so tired of sitting in that chair...I felt like a prisoner!! What was once a comfy, soft and relaxing chair, soon felt like my prison! I kept looking at the bag to see how much I had left and it was dripping ever so slow and seemed like it would take a lifetime to finish and empty!!
Soon, the pain started in my stomach. It hurt all across the top of my abdomen. It was almost like a cramp without needing to go to the bathroom. I told the nurse about it and she kept checking on me...the pain stayed and stayed...
Finally, the last of the drug had dripped in the IV and I was done!! They came and checked my vitals and said I was finished!! I was so glad!!
She carefully removed the tape over my port and had me hold my breath while she removed the needle. Once again, no pain. She put a lot of pressure on it to stop the bleeding and bandaged it up.
She gave me two prescriptions for nausea...one was called Kytril and one Phenergan. She told me to go ahead and take the Kytril when I got home and for the first few days to prevent nausea.
So, I was on my way...pumped full of poisons and not really sure what to think...
No comments:
Post a Comment