I knew when I awoke this morning that my day was going to be a full one. Last night, I had hubby bring a pork tenderloin up from the freezer so that it would be thawed by this morning. I decided to throw together a marinade and have it soak in the marinade all day. My marinade had some olive oil, red wine, freshly grated ginger, freshly minced garlic, salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, oregano, parsley, basil and some of the Pampered Chef's Three Onion Rub. I mixed it all together and then place the tenderloin in a large bowl with the marinade. Every time I walked past the fridge, I opened it up and swirled the marinade over the tenderloin.
I went shopping for some of the items that I will need for when I am admitted to hospital for the stem cell transplant. Then when I dropped them off at home, I again swirled the marinade over the tenderloin. Then off I went to go to my appointments at the hospital.
I had to have a MUGA test which tests and measures the efficiency of your heart function. I was told the test would take 45 minutes. I briskly walked to the hospital from my hubby's work where I parked the car. I want the exercise because I'm trying to keep myself in shape and strong for the upcoming weeks. I arrived at the hospital early so I dropped into the Tuck Shop to drop off some books that I had borrowed from my co-worker. On my way to the Tuck Shop, I met up with another co-worker and had a short but lovely visit with her. It always makes my day when I run into people that I used to work with or see on a regular basis at work. Today I ran into various people and it was nice to see them. With the MUGA test, my blood is taken and then has nuclear radiation added to it and mixed together. After 25 minutes, it was put back inside me so that the x-ray used in the MUGA test can see the blood coursing through my heart and veins. Hubby arrived just as I was about to enter into the x-ray room for the MUGA test. Once I was on the table and the test was beginning, hubby made the comment that "I looked like I was in a panini press. I found that very amusing. The test seemed to take a long time in order to take three images.
After the MUGA test, I had to run up to the stem cell unit in order to have blood taken and tested as part of my pre-chemo regimen. I was surprised to find that I was also having an EKG. I forgot to tell the nurses and the EKG technician that I have a slow heart rate. Today it was between 45 and 50 beats per minute. The nurse came in and asked if it was normal for me to have a slow heart rate. It is always this low. If I'm revved up, the pulse will jump up to 60 which is high for me. Anyway, my vital signs were all good.
The MUGA test and the EKG test both involved using adhesive pads on me. My skin is very itchy tonight as I have reacted to the adhesive again. My skin continues to react and weep in the picc line location. I have some medicated cream to put on it which soothes it a little but I can't remove the covering on the picc line which is the area which is most irritated and itchy. Tonight, I have red squares and circles where the pads were put on for the MUGA and EKG tests. I'll put some cream on those spots to keep them under control.
After my hospital visit, I dropped hubby off at work and continued on to finish the shopping for my time when I'm living in the hospital. I had read a short story that had been written by a stem cell patient and was on the stem cell website. The author of the story had some great suggestions on what to bring with you to the hospital. I decided to go out and get what I needed this week while I'm feeling good. I'm not sure if I will have any good days in October before I am admitted to hospital. So everything is ready and it is one less thing I need to worry about. Hopefully, it will help me sleep better as I will have less to worry about.
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