My Jessika asked me about chemo, what it is like, who goes with me, etc. I realized that was something I have never really journaled about.
The first time I came for chemotherapy my mom and my sweet, incredibly supportive friend, Jennifer, came with me. After that first time - after seeing the fear in my mothers eyes when the nurse explained that my heart might feel cold for a few moments because the chemotherapy is being pumped directly into it, I decided that it was best for me to do this part alone. At least the first hour or so of each treatment. It is extraordinarily hard for me to see anyone worried for me.
Accessing my port is usually pretty comical. I have a port that takes great finesse to access. They have to recline my chair all the way back, sometimes to the point that I am at a 45 degree angle with my head pointed down. I then have to raise my arms, look to the right and take several deep breaths. Today I had to raise my leg as well as both of my arms, while looking to the right and taking deep breaths to get blood return from my port. It really one of the few moments in life when something is both borderline hysterical and pretty scary at the same time.
Then they flush the line with saline, I can taste it in my mouth. I am not sure how that works, what I can tell you is that it is very strange. The next step is taking my pre-chemo meds, Benadryl and Tylenol to ward off any possible allergic reaction or fever associated with chemo.
After all that I take my chemo selfie while they mix up my poison.
I thought you may be interested in a closer look of what the "accessed port" looks like.
After the pre-meds I have to wait thirty minutes until I can receive the chemotherapy. When I am ready and my labs come back I get each of the different drugs one at a time intravenously over the next several hours.
Each time I go to chemotherapy I am surrounded with fellow warriors, they are almost always positive - and talkative. I have made many friends in that great big room. I also have many wonderful nurses that take care of me. I cannot say enough good things about these women, they are truly amazing and answer all of my questions with grace and wisdom.
I have had many wonderful visitors come to spend time with me during chemo, and I would never object to the company. My mother in law and father in law came to have lunch with me during one of the longer treatments, my dad came with me after my mastectomy, a co-worker's amazingly wonderful survivor wife came to have lunch with me (that was exceptionally cool because Sue had never met me before that day, but sat with me for hours sharing words of wisdom and love), my spectacular friends Autumn and MC came dressed as Minions to bring me lunch and make me laugh during one of my treatments (I wish we had snapped a picture, that is a wonderful, cherished memory), the mother of one of my son's first best friends came and spent time with me, and David has come to visit and have lunch with me.
Today I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that my very beautiful Grandma is with me. It was 22 years ago today that she became an angel. In this picture she was 39, not much older than I am now.
Thank you all for your continued love and support. I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me to be so well loved and prayed for. I am so incredibly grateful for each and every one of you reading this. I am very proud that this blog has been read at least 10,500 times (or has at least that many hits). I am hopeful that I am doing my part to spread awareness and spreading the true importance of early detection.
I hope that you have a beautiful day!
#fightlikeamommy
#itisstillmyfairytale
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