Day 10 Second Chemo Round - Feeling a bit better

I had a really good night's sleep. I have to wake up every 4 to 6 hours to take the anti-nausea medication, prochlorperazine.  Last night, I woke up at 12 midnight and then slept through until 5:30 a.m. The good night's sleep made me feel less nauseous today. I'm also assuming that I'm coming out of the doldrums of this particular chemo round.

I was able to concentrate on my knitting today. I was able to read and enjoy the book today. I even did a little bit of clean up in my flower bed by my patio. Then I was tired so I had to stop.  I went for a short nap and had a very odd dream.  In my dream, I was a ghost and watching my son graduate from university. I was able to wave at him and being so tall, I, for once, could stand out in front of everyone and get a great view of the graduation. I wasn't blocking anyone. It was a weird dream. It did not leave me feeling odd though.

When I got up, I noticed that my avocados were starting to get a little too soft. I had some frozen shrimp in the freezer so I googled recipes for shrimp and avocados. I was thinking in terms of maybe a salad but a recipe caught my attention for shrimp and avocado pasta. The link to the site is http://www.kevinandamanda.com/shrimp-avocado-pasta/

I added freshly chopped sage from my garden and I substituted red onion for shallots.  The resulting dinner tonight was very good and there is enough left that we can have it for dinner tomorrow too. After dinner, we went to the mall to buy a battery for my thermometer so that I can get accurate readings if I have a fever or not. While at the mall, I ran into a former student/friend who I haven't seen in months and months. It really made my day to see her and her family. We enjoyed a nice chat and caught up with each other.

After getting the battery replaced in my thermometer, hubby and I decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream cone. Did it ever taste good!!! We ran into a couple of other people that we knew but the mall was not very busy at all.

I feel good about today. I feel like I accomplished some things. I'm tired but I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I have a couple of appointments but I'm hoping that I can do some more gardening. I use gloves so there is no way that I can get an infection or cut.

Day 9 Second Chemo Round - A Long and Boring Day

My days are stretching out in front of me and I'm beginning to wonder how I will fill them. My energy isn't great and I'm supposed to keep myself from germs. Yesterday, Day 9, I decided that I would at least vacuum the house with my new vacuum cleaner. You know that your life is slow when a new vacuum gets you excited. It's a Dyson canister style vacuum. My concern is that all the parts are made of plastic. I wonder how long it will be before it breaks. Oh well. It sucked up the dirt very nicely. I left the emptying of the canister to hubby to do when he got home from work.

Our neighbour's daughter is also going through a cancer regimen of chemo, then surgery, then radiation. Today there was a party taking place in the afternoon. I'm hoping they were celebrating the end of her chemo regimen or perhaps a CT scan result that was some good news. As I heard the laughter, I was happy for their daughter but I was really feeling out of sorts for myself. Pity party time was happening and that is not who I normally am.  While the party was in full swing (both the happy party and the pity party), some flowers were delivered to my door. Normally, that would give me a big lift. However, today, it didn't. I noticed that the roses were already starting to wilt.

Enough, enough, enough....I said to myself. Stop this moping! I picked up my afghan and thought I can be productive and work on it. As I started knitting, I realized that I think my afghan that I'm working on now smells of the "chemical me". Ugh!!!! I want to finish this afghan so that I can make socks for the homeless as the cold weather is approaching.  I was also struggling to make sure I got my 8 glasses of liquid into me today.

Finally, I put the knitting down, I went outside to the patio and tried to read. I just could not settle and was restless. While outside, the phone rang inside and I didn't hear it. It was my husband's cousin. A chat with her would have been really nice and maybe pulled me from my doldrums. Alas, this was not to be as I missed the call.

However, I did return her call and had a wonderful visit with her about an hour later. It was the lift I needed!! Hubby came home for dinner and then we went for a short drive to give me a different view of scenery.  After the drive, I went straight to bed. I was tired.

Day 8 Second Chemo Round - All New Timelines

Wow!!! That's all I can say in hindsight. I had my consultation with Dr. Bhella, the Stem Cell Doctor, this morning. My file has been officially transferred over to her for the duration of the treatments. I will no longer go to the Chemo Lab for my chemotherapy treatments. They will take place in the Stem Cell Unit.

There are some various tests that I must undergo before the confirmation of this whole new timeline, but I don't expect to fail any of these tests. These are done to ensure that I am healthy enough to undergo the stem cell treatment. The stem cell transplant treatment gives me a 50-50 chance of putting this lymphoma into remission. I'll take those odds.

So according to the new schedule, my next chemotherapy treatment is set for September 29 and October 6.  Then there will be numerous days of preparation for the stem cell transplant which tentatively is booked for October 30. At that point, I will be in hospital for 3 to 4 weeks. According to this new timetable, I will be home in time for Christmas.

There was a lot of information to gather and understand at this morning's appointment. I now have a tentative timeline which is moving very, very quickly. I am feeling much better today. I need to remember to take snacks and drinks with me to these long appointments otherwise I start to feel nauseous again.

Hubby spoiled me on the way home by picking up an Egg McMuffin and a milk for me to eat once I got home. Egg McMuffins are my guilty pleasure and always have been. I haven't had one in a long time so this tasted wonderful and was a great reward for the last couple of days of suffering.

Tonight, I decided to make supper for hubby. I was "Suzie Homemaker" and had it on the table as he walked in the door. It was leftover BBQ chicken with some roasted veggies which I drizzled a homemade sauce over.  I used the rest of the apple cider maple salad dressing from the other day and added Balsamic Vinaigrette, honey, rosemary and oregano. I heated it up and then poured it over the veggies when they came out of the oven. Hubby thought it was a hit and a keeper recipe. That says something when he's talking veggies as he really is a meat & potatoes kind of guy.

So today was a good day with lots of stimulating information. Part of me wonders about the speed of how things are progressing in treatment. Is it because I'm worse off than I thought? Oh well....it doesn't really matter now. We're off and running!!

Day 7 Second Chemo Round - Not Quite Myself

I awoke this morning feeling tired and fuzzy headed. It has been difficult to type and communicate today. I've just wanted to sleep all day. However, today was my scheduled chemo for the normal Day 8.  Hubby went to work for the morning while I tried to stay up but ended up going back to bed.

We had to be at the Cancer Clinic for 12 Noon to have my blood taken and tested to make sure the levels were OK for going ahead with the chemo which was scheduled for 2:00 p.m.  My blood was taken and then we had a long wait for the chemo appointment. My blood levels were good enough to continue. I had my crossword book and the current book that I'm reading with me to help pass the time. My problem was that I couldn't concentrate enough to do it. I kept nodding off and falling asleep while doing the crossword.

I was partially zoned out when friends of our's came by as they also had an appointment at the Cancer Clinic.  It took me a few moments to come to and recognize them. How nice to see them and they accepted me as I was today! They continued on their way to their own appointment after a brief visit. I continued to zone in and out and then I heard my name called.

I followed the nurse in and set myself up in the lazyboy style chair for my chemo. I put my legs up and closed my eyes after I was all hooked up. When I opened my eyes, there was a volunteer who has become a friend. She came by specifically to see me. What a lift to my spirits! She could tell I was not myself but she was so understanding. What a beautiful gift to come and visit me while I underwent the chemo.

I discovered the reason I was zoning in and out today. I was dehydrated again and my blood pressure was low. So at the end of my chemo session, the nurse was able to pump a saline solution into me to help hydrate me. It helped to raise my blood pressure.

I went for a nap again when I got home from the Cancer Clinic. However, I was able to enjoy my dinner which was the ribs that my hubby had brought home from the Kingston Craftbeer & Ribfest yesterday. The ribs were fantastic!! I had them with a salad to help keep my white blood cell counts up.

I'm still fuzzy headed but I'm able to watch the Blue Jays game and type this post. Here's hoping that my digestive tea starts to taste good again. It seems to have been affected by my taste buds this time around. If I could enjoy drinking it again, then I could stay hydrated. Tomorrow's another day.

Day 6 Second Chemo Round - It Goes Downhill

My day started well. I awoke at 6:35 a.m. and had energy was hungy and felt good. I did 3 loads of laundry and got them hung up. I was restless and bored, so hubby took me for a drive along the Lake Ontario Shoreline. We stopped at Finckle Shore Park and enjoyed a small walk and shared some french fries.

We headed home so that I could continue to drink my fluids and take my next anti-nausea pill. I was tired so I then went to bed for about 1 hour or so. I saw hubby go off to the Kingston Craft Beer and Ribfest and I was looking forward to the third rack of ribs that he was going to bring home for me. While he was gone, I went downhill. I had a late lunch and then some more liquid. I decided to try to have some mixed peanuts after a bit to help boost my protein and white blood cell count. Mistake! Up it all came.

Now I'm not hungry. I'm drinking my David's Digestive Tea very slowly. The ribs will have to wait until another day. They're in the refrigerator. I took another anti-nausea pill a little early. Now I'm back to being on it every 4 hours instead of the 6 hours.

I was hoping to watch the Outlander series opener tonight but I'm afraid that will be put on hold. Hubby has pvr'd it so that I can watch it another day.

Meanwhile, my tummy is still gurgling and not very happy. The day definitely went downhill. Tomorrow is my next chemo session. Blehhhh.

Day 5 Second Chemo Round - A Better Day

I awoke early this morning (6:00 a.m.) feeling hungry. I had a blueberry muffin and then my 10 Dexamethasone pills with my raspberry yogurt. I sat and knitted while my stomach settled after eating. The Dexamethasone puts my mind in high gear and so I was ready to do laundry, tidy up and get things done once hubby woke up. My laundry at the moment needs to be washed twice because I am toxic due to the chemotherapy. Anything that has any kind of bodily fluids (sweat, etc) needs to be washed twice. So I've been keeping my laundry separate from hubby's. I had 2 loads of laundry to do including our bedding and my towels. I got one load done and hung up, when hubby noticed that I wasn't looking too good. He asked if I've done too much and I agreed that I had. So I did the other load of laundry but he hung it up for me on the line.

So the rest of the day was spent  trying to read outdoors, keep up with my liquid intake, food intake and nause management. A boring day, where I just could not settle due to medications. However, I'm not complaining because I was eating and able to drink my liquids. I did find that I was getting tired of tea and perhaps my tastebuds were off.

Hubby barbecued a whole chicken on his new rotisserie while basting with my homemade barbecue sauce. This was for our dinner. I made a salad with a homemade dressing that I saw on the internet from a distance cousin's webiste "The Messy Kitchen" on facebook. The dressing was 2 Tbsps. Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 Tbsp. Maple Syprup, 1 1/2 tsps. dijon mustard with salt and pepper. I included some granny smith apples in the salad along with some pecans. This was a very tasty dressing! So I managed to eat a small amount of dinner and enjoyed it.

While hubby made dinner, I watched the Blue Jays game and saw them win the game on television. I would love to go to a game live, but I have to avoid crowds at the moment.

My hair continues to fall out and is a nuisance as it sits all over my clothes, bedding, couch and anywhere else that I go. I'm leaning towards having it shaved off as it is all going to fall out anyway. It will be one less thing to have to worry about and I like the head coverings that I have for when I have no hair.

So today has been a much better day than yesterday. It means it's been a good day. As my sister gave me a pick me up card yesterday, it said "Today's a good day because you're in it".

Day 4 Second Chemo Round - The Pits

I'm a little late in posting this for Day 4. I knew that this day was coming where I would feel nauseous all day. It didn't help that I didn't sleep well the night previous. The meds helped to keep me from vomitting but just. The thought of food did not appeal. The thought of drinking anything did not appeal. But I knew I had to keep hydrated and I still have to try to eat the food that will keep my blood counts up. So I compromised and drank as much tea as I could. I had a bran muffin for breakfast and ate yogurt with my Dexamethasone pills at breakfast. Then I had a cup of turkey broth at lunch. I forced down a few grapes in the afternoon. I again forced down some turkey soup for supper. On top of all this, I had to go to the CBI Health Clinic to have my weekly picc line cleaning. It was good to get out but I felt worse when I got back home.

I wanted to stay up and watch the Blue Jays play but I was in bed by 7:45 p.m. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.