Chapter 8 – Day off and normality
Took my son to school and followed up with breakfast at Costa and some retail therapy. I bought myself some new boots as my feet were getting wet in my old ones and a new black skirt for work. I also bought my parents a board game called Logo for Christmas. I don’t think I have ever bought a Christmas present in October. First time for everything I guess!
Now back home relaxing, writing this, after a bit of housework and starting to feel sleepy.
Today is Friday and my long day at work. It is usual accounts day, tied in with end of year journal. Aagghh! I input the journal and the balance is out, so I leave a message for the accountants to call me next week as something is not quite right. I don’t want to do the minor adjustment journals until this is correct. Time flies by and it is not as long as I expected it to be, probably because I am so busy.
Saturday – hooray! Lie in today; and we managed to encourage our little man to go back to bed for a bit longer. Daddy got up and I had even longer. We all then had breakfast and went to the swimming pool in town for our son’s lesson. On the way home we went to the scout hut to get his Cub uniform. Oh how time flies and how grown up he is getting all of a sudden. After lunch at home the boys went out to Bognor Regis and I had a lazy afternoon. They got home just as I was prepping dinner. A letter from Oncology arrived today to disrupt the normality saying chemo starts next Friday, slightly earlier than I envisaged. Good news, but somehow I am feeling a bit mentally drained all of sudden.
But still a bit of normality to go as today is Sunday and it is Church choir singing day.
Chapter 9 – Chemotherapy 1
Monday was pretty much a normal work day. Fire alarm test which has not been done for a couple of weeks – oops! And trying to tie up that pesky journal.
Tuesday – Day off as changing from Thursdays now you may remember. My first morning at the local Cancer Support group and a chance to catch up with my bestie who volunteers there. It was great and I stayed all morning, meeting some really great and very brave people, who inspired me.
Wednesday – Oncology pre chemotherapy appointment today, which I have to say, went well. I found it hard signing the consent form hearing written words such as “death” even though it is curable. CT scan was given as all OK today. Lots of blood tests and PICC line flushes to book and I came out feeling overwhelmed. Hubby dropped me off back home and the reality of it all hit me; I had a silly melt down moment, saying I couldn’t go through with it all. Then I saw the look on his face, the tears in his eyes and I apologised immediately for my selfish behaviour. We got into our respective cars and went to work, although I only got as far as the roundabout at the bottom of the hill and turned around to go back home. I called work to say my head was spinning, then my husband too and then promptly went to bed and slept for the rest of the afternoon.
Thursday – PICC line and clip in today at the hospital. First one I am dreading as it is a permanent cannula to make it easy to send the treatment straight towards the veins. Also used for blood tests and has to be flushed out weekly/during treatment. It was put in using ultrasound and a special magnetic board on the chest which talks to a magnet on the end of the PICC line. Now me being awkward, having had lymph node surgery just under a year ago, means that the line has to go in my left arm. This is fine, but it means I have to wait longer as the line has to go the long way round to get into the right place, near the heart. In order to put the line in, I have a local anaesthetic called Lidocaine. I have heard about this at work at the surgery and find it is certainly numbs your arm like a dead weight. There was no way I was going to feel anything or move it. But I wasn’t prepared for the numbness and tingling when I went to move it. Once in I had the x-ray to check the placement which was all fine. After 2 hours, I quickly popped back home for lunch before my 3.15 appointment for the clip. After an hour’s wait and an injection, it was a small surgical procedure not dissimilar to a biopsy. It was all done and steri-stripped very quickly – piece of cake. Our son was picked up by his Dad from after school club today, so I called them to come and collect me.
Friday – Chemo day today – its arrived, I am up at 6.45 and dress by 7.00. I need to ensure I have a good breakfast today I decide and I have been drinking plenty of water/squash. I say bye to the boys (hubby helping out today with school) and head off for work for 7.45 – 11.45 today, as chemo is this afternoon. All goes well and quickly luckily. Sad news though, my colleague’s mum has lost her battle against a long illness and she is not in. I will send my thoughts to her a bit later today. I am ready to go, but a query comes up just as I am about to leave – typical. I get away just before 12 noon. I heat up some Chinese for lunch and I am about to tuck in when both my boys walk through the door. My husband had to pick up our son from school, following a call to say that the swollen testicle he had a while ago has flared up. He is due a follow up for probably surgery sometime soon, but we decide to call Urology to see if we can go in. As I am due to meet my friend at about 1pm for coffee before my chemo (she is coming with me for the first one), I transfer my lunch into a plastic container and eat in the car on the way down to the hospital. Boys wait a call back from Urology, while I go off for my medicine. My phone is about run out of charge, so I hope I can charge it while I am there, my friend seems to think I can.
We enjoy a chat about chemo and how rubbish things can be in life, as well as a good catch up as we have not seen each other for some time now. We head towards Oncology and don’t wait too long before I am shown to a room and the nurse goes through all the formalities of consent and side effects. I am first given an anti-sickness tablet while everything is prepared. They flush the PICC line to sterilise it and check there are no blockages. I am on a treatment called FECT, the first course of 3 are the FEC and the second course of 3 are the T. They all stand for something but I cannot remember, but Google if you are interested.
After a while we start with a red solution, the first of three each time as part of the FEC treatment. This red solution is pumped in very slowly by the nurse into my PICC line. The first dose of this was the largest and is followed by two smaller ones. The PICC line is flushed again and is following by the other two medicines which are pumped through automatically with a flush in between and after. After about 4 hours, I am all done and given a concoction of drugs to taken home, steroids, anti-sickness and injections to do at home (help). It is all communicated well and written down on the packets when to do what and how many.
After no reception on my phone, luckily I had been able to charge it, I find out my son is OK and that Urology will see him in a few weeks as planned. I felt a little rough at odd moments throughout the treatment including a metallic taste in my mouth and a sore throat at times, but I am ok now, so enjoy a nice small meal at home. I have an early night after bedtime story for my son and a bit of TV with my husband. Just before bed I take a steroid tablet, as the chemo was in the afternoon, going forward I will take one first thing in the morning and the second after lunch.
