The Penultimate Chemo Session

This time has been an exercise in frustration. Every other time, I go in, they access my port and do a lab draw, then I go see the oncologist, then I get my chemo. It’s a long day, but it’s one and done. Then the next day, I get the Udenyca. So Monday, I’ve had my lab draw, I’ve seen the oncologist and I’m all accessed and sitting in the waiting room waiting to go back to get my chemo. And I’m waiting. And I’m waiting. And then after about two hours, the person who checks you in and gives you your arm band comes over and says, she can’t find me on the schedule for chemo until tomorrow. So I call the scheduler and go round and round with her, and that’s the way the oncologist’s office has me scheduled, to come back tomorrow for chemo.

Turns out this is the new policy that the local people come for two days instead of the one, which would be fine IF THEY WOULD JUST TELL SOMEBODY THEY WERE GOING TO DO IT ahead of time instead of springing it on you out of the blue. And by now, it’s already too late to get me rescheduled for the afternoon, and I can’t go home with my port accessed because I can’t sleep with a gigantic IV rig in my chest, nor shower, so I have to wait another half an hour until they can call me back to the lab and take the access out.

I had to come back the next day and get chemo and the Udenyca on the same day, and instead of having a wanking great half-inch long needle stuck into my port once, I get the wanking great needle stuck into my port two days in a row. If I had known ahead of time, they could have drawn my labs from a vein in my arm and saved me a stick in my port. Now I get to do the Rituxan deal where I feel like I’ve rolled down a mountainside while I bounce off the walls from the prednisone for the next two days.

You better believe I insisted on going back to having the labs, doctor’s visit and chemo all on the same day for my last session, which will take place on the 26th.

Friday, I got my first fluid bolus and guess what? I’m not home half an hour when I get a text alert saying the water in the building is going to be shut off starting at 1:30 and it’ll be off most of the afternoon. I’m full of fluid (over 2 liters in two days) and I can’t flush the toilet for four hours. What fun.

One good thing, though, I was able to get the extra week in between this session and the last one as originally my last session was scheduled for the 19th, and mom’s 98th birthday is the 23rd. However, the oncologist said he thought with the extra week, I would be OK to go over to Carillon House briefly for her party so long as I wore my mask and was extra careful.

My cousin JP is coming over from NM for a brief visit around noon on her birthday. I told him he could stay in the guest room overnight and drive back the next day, but he said he couldn’t stay as his wife recently had hernia surgery (that she should have gotten years ago but kept putting off, and no surprise that she isn’t doing as well as she might have done had she not waited so long) and he didn’t want to be away overnight. But at least he’s able to come.

We’ve been rainy of late, and the playa lakes around town are filling back up again.

Before

After

In the knitting news, I have stuff finished! One more thing to finish before the package goes to Garland. I just need to sit down and do it. Poorly motivated, though. I’m just so tired of all this chemo business and of having no energy and having chemo brain since February.