Chemo Day One

At just about every medical appointment I have, my blood pressure is quite high. I attribute that to anxiety. To my surprise, when one of my chemo nurses took my blood pressure this morning, it was close to a normal reading for me. Low anxiety for my first round of chemotherapy? That’s interesting.

After hearing that my mastectomy was just six weeks ago, she did not feel comfortable with subjecting my right arm to the chemo IV. So, to my surprise, she quickly found a vein near the top of my left wrist and successfully got the needle in on the first try. What an expert!

While I still remember the sequence, I’ll share it here. First infused is a saline solution, followed by a longer infusion of steroids. Then, after a 30-minute wait (I think) comes an injection of anti-nausea drugs in the belly that will slowly release for the next five days. It is a big needle, so I was given ice to apply so the shot wouldn’t hurt so much. I believe there was another wait before the first chemo infusion was started. That took an hour, followed by another wait, and then the other chemo drug took an hour as well. A short saline flush followed, the IV was removed, and I was free to go. Sylvia was waiting for me when I got out around 1:15 pm.

I brought more things to my appointment than I needed. Instead of reading the chemo notebook, I played solitaire on my Kindle, steadily drank my flavored water, and ate the snacks I brought: packaged peanut butter crackers and plain Greek yogurt with frozen berries. I asked for a warm blanket once the last infusion started. The IV entry point had started to feel more uncomfortable, and my nurse had the perfect solution: she wrapped a second warm blanket around my forearm. Instant relief!

I’ve been home for over three hours already. I had lunch (a Hopestone meal from last week) and relaxed in my recliner, which is more comfortable, I must admit, than the chemo room recliners. I’m tired and a little fuzzy in my thinking, but hey, neither of those are entirely new to me! Tomorrow afternoon will likely be worse after the injection to keep my white blood cell count up. At least, that’s how it was eight years ago.

Here is the comfort OCSRI offers for the next three weeks until my next treatment: I have the anti-nausea prescriptions on hand; there is a triage nurse on call 24/7 if I have a question or need; and I have the assurance from Mezha (the ARNP I saw yesterday) that she will meet me at the clinic during working hours if I need immediate attention.

Pretty soon I’ll eat the meal Sylvia prepared for me, and Rita will bring dinner tomorrow night. (This is Hopestone’s week off.) Do you see how blessed I am with so much care and support given me?