New Chemo

Well Wednesday was the first new Chemo day.  6 hours but it all went well.  We had a room with a bed and toilet instead of the chair in the central room.  Little bit of sleep, little bit of reading, little bit of music and a little bit of boredom. I continue to like working with Dr Dan and he spent a lot of time talking with us again as I got my head around where were are in the journey.  Remaining hopeful and positive.

The port worked well and is important to protect the smaller veins in your arms from the stronger chemo drugs and of course it avoids IV entries which can be difficult and can also hurt the veins over time.  I came home with a home infusion pump, about the size of a water bottle with a balloon type function inside which pushes the chemo in as it deflates.  It was supposed to take 46 hours to empty but was done 6 hours early so I was able to be disconnected earlier than expected.  It fit nicely under my pillow at night and I only started to turn over too far once or twice.

I came home on heavy duty anti nausea drugs which I finished taking today.  Still had twinges but no real problems.  I have a funny cold sensitivity so wear gloves to get things out of the fridge and freezer.  Covering all skin surfaces as I go out and not going out of Sunday when it should be well below zero wind chill.  Thanks Gabe for the llama hair hat, it is soft and warm.  Hoping the next week goes well, next chemo is the 20th.  The next tests are in two months and the expected run of this chemo is 4 months.  I know some places do 6 so I will see how it is working and ask the doc whether that is an option or not when the time comes.

My jobs:  drink water, eat, and exercise.  I have been watching the Last Tango In Halifax on Netflix to help my keep going on the treadmill.  Somedays slower than others but trying to be there everyday or on the bike in the family room. I keep asking Sue if it is time to take down the Christmas Tree but she is enjoying it, so maybe next month when my brother comes instead of this month.

 We have had some snow, Sue was out with the snowblower cleaning the edges of the driveway.  The
birds have discovered the bird feeders, as have more squirrels but we are ok feeding everyone.  We have had a convention of woodpeckers, 2 huge pileated and some smaller ones, even the cardinals have come around. We have gone down the hill a few times for lunch and dinner.  Mary and Colleen joined us today for our favorite blueberry oat cakes and then came over to work on a puzzle with Nancy.  Nice relaxed afternoon with friends.  Tomorrow we are staying in to watch the Vikings-Seahawks game from the warmth of the sofa.  Maybe with a fire.  Then right into the Green Bay game.  Sue is expecting the Vikes and Green Bay will be going home after tomorrow. Let's hope she is wrong.

Enjoying the 50 anniversary celebration of the passing of the National Endowment of the Arts we taped--In Performance at the White, a celebration of American Creativity.  A little singing along, a little dancing--a good night.