[1:25pm]
Cytoxan has been... difficult. However, I am somehow pleased that the side effects are so apparent -- it means it is working. Maybe there isn't a correlation between side effects and chemotherapy effectiveness, but it still feels somewhat reassuring to feel what a chemo-patient is supposed to be feeling.
I mean, I was drinking beers and doing construction throughout ICE and Stanford V! Right now, water is difficult to drink and I can hardly get out of bed! Well, I'll get a PET/CT Scan in a few weeks; we'll see just how effective this has been.
Anyways, I thought I'd post a bit of my routine to help illustrate my situation:
7:00am Go to bathroom, take Rifampin (the drug that causes you to sweat and cry orange), drink lots of water, take Neupogen out of fridge, go back to sleep.
9:00am Take 2mg Ativan (dissolve on tongue, don't swallow!). I need the Ativan to eat; I need to eat to take the other pills. Eat a bagel...slowly. Take the Zofran and Compazine (other two anti-nausea pills). Drink lots of water.
9:30am Take Famotidine (reduces acid in stomach). Put Aquaguard over catheter dressing so that I can take a shower. Take a shower.
10:00am Take Cipro and Welbutrin (stomach should be able to handle it at this point). Inject 3 needles of Neupogen. Drink lots of water.
10:15am Take remaining drugs and flush catheter with Heparin. Brush teeth.
10:30am Go back to sleep.
That's my morning ritual. Takes a bit longer than reading the morning paper, eh? The key is to take things very slowly; my stomach is incredibly sensitive. Today I nearly puked from eating a bagel too fast, can you believe that?!? The bagel...my staple food. No wonder Barbara says I'm eating 1/4 what I normally eat.
Then, for the most part, I spend the day sleeping. For some reason, I have the uncanny ability to sleep FOREVER now. Which is strange because I usually have difficulty sleeping. Oh well, I'll take it!
On another note, I managed to withdraw from school yesterday. So, I'm out! It's a sad/scary feeling, but at least it allows me to move on. I'm no longer a student. Bah
Also, I'll be heading to a symphony Sunday with Liz, Barbara, and Gloria -- can you believe that? That means I'll be wearing my Darth Vader HEPA mask in a symphony hall! That should get some stares. But if Liz is cool with her date from the dark side, so am I.
Friday, September 26, 2008
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5 comments:
I would rather go to the symphony with you in Darth Vader mode than with anyone else. :)
*smile*
The symphony is Sunday, not today. Sunday 2pm, the Mello Center in Watsonville. Natasha Paremski is the pianist for Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a piece many find familiar because the ultra-romantic theme music (variation 18) was used in the movie tearjerker "Somewhere In Time" starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Also on the program is Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and Bernstein's West Side Story Dance Suite. Ms. Paremski is young, blonde, and Russian and we will be sitting 25 feet from her right shoulder. I'm glad you will be wearing your mask, because the air will be contaminated with viruses from the sick ones in the audience. Myself, I have made myself into nearly a hermit. I have not seen my beloved daughter or grandchildren in over a week, and even then only a few minutes. I tell myself that this extreme isolation will eventually be unnecessary, but it already feels like it has lasted a long time. When I realized that I was the only caregiver for the time being I knew I would need to take dire measures.
3 more weeks Barbara, then you can pass the torch!
I didn't mean that as a complaint, but to show how seriously I take the disease precautions. I'm just being a parent.
How does one tell if someone cares about you? They worry about you. How does one tell if someone is a member of your family? They would be willing to donate a kidney for you. How does one tell if someone is your parent? They would be willing to donate two kidneys for you...
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