Wembley

Some have asked what a day in the life of Dawn on chemo day looks like.  I brought a friend along to make this more fun.

Wembley!

My alarm went off at 8.  Checked on boys - still sleeping!  Went down stairs and took my 6 pills that I take on an empty stomach (Sprulina, 2 probiotics, 2 candida cleanses, Serrapeptase). Make my breakfast. Pack my bag for chemo.  Pack food and Kangen water for chemo.  Start making boys breakfast.  Jack comes down the stairs and starts eating breakfast.  I do dishes.  Charlie starts rustling.  Go get him.  Get him settled.  It is now after 8:30.  Go upstairs and change and brush teeth.  Nana shows up and and out the door I go at 9:00.

Drive with Wembley and park in the Infusion Patient Parking!

My appointment is for 9:15.  Sign in.  Fill out paperwork.  Pay copay.  Wait.  Get called back.  Stand on scale.  Go sit down for blood work and get my port accessed.  Laugh with tech.  Pray together.  Go to Infusion Room.  Hope no one is in "my chair".  I like the one that blows cool air directly on it.  I am always hot.

This is my first time that I also see the doctor after I asked if I could start chemo while waiting to see her.  Well, with our lovely ice storm, she didn't have any other patients so I was immediately escorted to one of her rooms.

I have had a lovely rash for almost 2 weeks.  When I showed them last week, their response was, "I don't know what it is or what caused it, but here is a steroid to take."  I hate that!  Don't throw something at the symptoms.  Let's figure this out and fix it once and for all.  I tried to figure it out myself and cure it holistically, but started taking the prescription on Sunday.  Last night was the worse it has been.  She looked at it again and said, "Here is a topical."  Double ughh.

We discussed whether I could get a massage.  Yes, just stay away from upper chest, right hip, and no deep tissue at this time..

Lastly, we discussed the PET scan.  She put it in the computer for me to schedule that on my way out!!

Go back to Infusion Room.  They start my pre-meds - liquids, anti-naseau meds, etc.  I go to the bathroom, lugging my pole with me.  Come back and do squats.

Drink lots of water.  Drink a green smoothie.  Drink my protein shake with quinoa oats in it.

I have been told by several people that I need to play more.  I feel that I play more than most people my age, but okay.  Specifically to color.  Before I heard this, my friends had given me some color/meditation books.  So I put on my headphones, listen to Pandora, and color.  I write the word cancer in the part I am going to color and then meditate on it as I am coloring over it/getting rid of it.

Go to the bathroom again.  More squats.  More strange looks.  #fancer.  I get a bag of Benedryl and it makes you sleepy.  I have never been able to sleep in chemo.  But I close my eyes and just be.  It is kind of a nice feeling since I haven't had a beer in over 12 weeks!  I sure miss my beers.

My port and Wembley

My drugs and the machine that administers it.  The nurses calculate how fast or slow it should go in my body.   When it the bag is finished, the machine beeps.  It can be annoying.  The nurse comes over and changes the bags.

When I am finished, they flush out my port.  Take out the needle.  Take my blood pressure and BP and I am free to go.  It is now 1:00.

I get all my hugs from the nurses and the patients I know and gab with during this time.  Head out front and check out.  Since Herceptin can cause heart problems, I have to schedule an ECHO to check on that.  I schedule my chemo for the next week.  They will call me about the PET Scan.

I go home.  Relieve Nana and it is lunch time.  Charlie is napping so it is just Jack and myself.  We eat lunch, talk, play, and laugh.  Do more dishes.  I was not able to get rest time today as Marietta City is on Winter Break and everyone went on vacation.  I know rest time is important and I take it seriously, but when it happens I am not able to rest, I get excited because I can spend more time with my boys and get some stuff done around the house.

My sister shows up at 3 and sends me upstairs for a much needed nap.  I am tired!  Thank you, L!  I sleep for about and hour and half.  I open my door and she is dressing the boys because she is going to take them to Chick-Fila.  I start dinner for Jason and myself and then decide to start another item in my arsenal.  Red Light Therapy.  I won't go into now, but we are hoping, foremost, that it helps with my rash, but there are so many other benefits to RLT.  Will post soon after I have done some sessions.

I get home at 8:30 and the boys are sleeping.  Jason is eating.  And it has been a long day.  

But we are not done.  I need to eat dinner.  Jason makes us wheat grass shots.  We toast to #Fancer and down it goes.  I drink some hot tea.  We go upstairs around 10:45.  I cannot sleep.  I read for about an hour.  Finally come downstairs.  I didn't read my healing verses so I do that.  I read my bible for the day.  

I am thankfully getting sleepy now (It is 1:28).  Last week, I went upstairs at 4:00, but still couldn't sleep.  

               Click to listen while you read - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLQS6xo40kI

I will close with the best news and a request.  I scheduled me PET Scan.  It is on the 25th at 1:00.  I hope everyone will be able to pray over this date.  Pray for complete health.  Pray for no signs of cancer.  And on Tues, the 24th, really visualize that cancer being blasted away or chipped or whatever you have been visualizing.  We will go at 2:00 on the 26th for the results.  I am mostly excited, but some fear sneaks in sometimes.  But my excitement comes from a day dream.....

My oncologist walks in and is confused.  She sits down and says, "There is no sign of cancer on this report.  I am not sure what is going on.  I would like to order another one.."  And I take Jason's hand and run out the door.  Skipping, laughing, crying, and smiling so hard my face might crack.  

Because cancer still doesn't know what it is dealing with when it messed with me and my sisters and my friends and my family.  We are powerful.  #fancer