Ok. Chemo day 1. Things got off to a bad start because I had somehow managed to assume the bus was 10 minutes later than it actually was! My knight in shining armour turned his car around ( he was on his way to work) and came and picked us up and took us to the hospital. ( Love you Mikey!!) This meant we were now actually 45 minutes early. Time for a coffee then. We managed to squeeze in a bacon butty as well. Tip for anyone having to go there...use the dining room. Its great and very cheap! Emz was struggling with being awake and out at that time of the morning but the sausage on toast helped her come round a bit.
At 9.00am I went and had blood samples taken, just to make sure there were no changes and my drugs would still be the same. Em came in with me because.....well I think she just likes seeing people stick needles in me. Its a daughter thing!
Bloods done, next thing was an appointment with the doc at 10.00am. The doc was lovely and went through all the side effects with me ( again) and got me to sign a consent form. Auntie Ann arrived at this point offering the extra moral support boost, which was well appreciated because she remembers things and I don't. It was all pretty much as I expected so far until the doc mentioned the district nurse coming for the next 7 days to give me anti sickness drugs. She suggested that I could actually administer the injections myself or get someone else to do them for me. This was a cue for Em to start excitedly wriggling in her seat and raising her hand in a 'pick me' kind of motion. I think this made her day! Watching me have needles is one thing...but getting to stick them in!!! Woo Hoo. I politely declined her offers and said i'd leave it to the nurse.
After the doc's appointment, we had to go and 'book in' on the chemo ward. We had been told they were running late and that I may be a little later than scheduled. The ward took my mobile number and said they would phone me when my drugs had arrived. This was at about 10.50am.
We decided that more coffee was a good idea. The ward phoned me at about 11.25 asking me to go and watch a chemotherapy dvd, which they show to first timers. We got to sit in very comfy chairs whilst the dvd scared me to death about the risks of infection. I can see me turning into Howard Hughes for the next 4 months. I assumed we would be good to go after this...but no.
I had my wig appointment at 1.30 and I was getting a bit concerned that I was going miss it, so the nurse suggested I go early to the wig place and see if I could get sorted. Fortunately, the 1.00 appointment hadn't turned up so I got a slot. I tried on about 8 wigs. We decided against long, as they are too high maintenance and I looked scary in them. The one we picked was quite nice. Couldn't bring it home because I forgot my wig prescription...doh! Pics will be posted asap. Emz and Ann are both trying to claim it when I have finished with it, so it can't be that bad. The whole wig thing didn't take long so we went back to the chemo ward to see if my drugs had arrived.....no. At 2.45, the nurse came and told me that I was next on the list. I didn't hold much store by this, cos she had told me the same thing and hour earlier and 3 people had been called since then. The fact that a lady told me she had been sent home the week before, after waiting 6 hours!!!!!! I was slightly more fortunate and went for my treatment at about 3.00. I had been told it would take about 20 minutes but they lied! The chemo nurse said it would be about 40 minutes minimum. But first we had the vein thing! After a few minutes of poking around, the nurse decided to put a heat pack on my hand to help find a workable vein.
Suitable vein located, it was all systems go. Saline bag hooked up, we were ready for the serious stuff. The first needle was a steroid. The 2nd was an anti sickness drug which was really strange cos it made your bum prickle ( I can't think of another word to describe the sensation) The next 2 big needles were the red ones that turn your wee red ( well its actually orange). The 3rd one was evil!! The nurse said it may make me feel light headed. What she didn't tell me was the horrible sensation like when you dive into a pool and water goes up your nose and you get that awful pain in your sinuses. I really did not like that. I'm not sure why it should do that but the nurse said other people have experienced that too....She could have warned me!! Then I went light headed! Last 2 needles were fine though. And that was that. Done and dusted. Picked up my injections and tablets and headed off home.
Its so weird though. I have these drugs coursing through my veins. Drugs so powerful that they will destroy many cells in my body, make my hair fall out, possibly damage my heart muscle etc etc...yet I feel fine! I suspect that over the next few days, that may change. Hey its in there now, so bring it on.
Will keep my blog updated over the next few days and see how poorly I actually get. Need to be right for Saturday though. Big City vs Valencia game. My induction into a lifetime of the misery and sadness that is being a City supporter. Blimey Michael. How much do I love you???
Thankyou to my darling girlie for once again, holding my hand and giving me a smile just at the right moment. Huge thanks to my Auntie Ann too.
Don't forget girlies...and guys........KEEP CHECKING!!!
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