My face is hot

That’s pretty much my major complaint for the first day after chemo treatment number one. I woke up this morning in amazement of how well I felt. Like it was a brand new day! It was actually a great feeling. I didn’t even sweat like I normally do every other night. I got out of bed and ate all day and took all my vitamins and herbs and complained about my face being hot.

Yesterday I spent about 15 hours at the hospital. It started off with a procedure for which I was AWAKE where they inserted yet another port into my chest area (I already have one in my belly). We listened to jazz and made jokes while two surgeons poked and prodded and stabbed my jugular and clavicle. My neck was turned to the left for 2 hours. Talk about kink in neck. I had about 2.2 anxiety attacks and it was over. Next stop, chemo room.

If you don’t know by now, I was supposed to have chemo on Monday (8/2). That didn’t work because, after giving me all the happy drugs, they realized they weren’t going to be able to get the chemo in my tiny veins that you can’t see through my see-through skin. We ended up leaving the hospital (me high as a kite and totally stoked) and deciding on Wednesday as a better choice to do the deed. My nurse on Monday was a spaz on coffee who didn’t know much of what I was supposed to have done so I was glad to try again another day.

Wednesday was much better. My new nurse, Meredith was a sweet, three cat owning, young woman who was really calming and into giving me Ativan. My room was smaller but with the same amazing view of the city and what would have been 2 beautiful mountains had there not been the haze we’ve had for days. They hooked me up and started the anti-nausea drugs and whatever else they could pump in my brand new port. By 4 or so (I have no idea, I was so out of it), they started me on the taxol chemo. This is the one that gets pumped through my veins. Within 5 minutes I was having a severe allergic reaction where my face got so red and hot and I felt like I was riding my bike behind a bus on a hot summer day. Not rad. They turned off the taxol and I cried and freaked out for 15 minutes. It scared the shit out of me. After pumping me full of 100 mg of Benadryl (not kidding), they started the taxol up again but at a slower speed. I was fine. Everyone was amazed that I wasn’t out cold from all the drugs. Leave it to me to go against the grain. Because they were doing the drug slower, it took way longer.

By 11pm my new nurse, whose name escapes me, started the carboplatin in my belly. It was strange to watch as my belly slowly expanded with liquid. We watched Pretty in Pink and When Harry Met Sally to pass the time. By 1am all I had to do was rotate my body as if I was on a rotisserie to make sure my whole abdomen was bathed in the poison (oh, sorry, “medicine”). Four 15 minute quarter turns and we were outta there. 2am and I’m being rolled out in a wheelchair so high and loopy but glad to be leaving. We got home, I drank a smoothie, and passed out.

Luke and my dad were very helpful getting me blankets and telling me I’d be ok and just to breathe. It was amazing how much stuff I went through yesterday. Today I am a little sleepy and this hot face is driving me batty but otherwise, I can deal. I even got a walk in and watered the plants.

05 Aug This entry was published on August 5, 2010 at 7:44 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.