Whole lotta waitin' goin' on...

For those of you who have been waiting with baited breath for me to tell you what the hospital experience was like, I can sum it up in one phrase for you; "Hurry up and wait". That was the extent of it. Thanks for stopping by. *waves*

Oh, wait, you want details... Gotcha. ;)

Well, like Katie said, I didn't put enough of the numbing cream over the port site and paid for it. Not only did I pay for it when they were using me as a pin cushion (we'll get to that one in a minute), but also when the nurse was pressing around it trying to find exactly where the port was. If I didn't know any better, I would swear that she was actually trying to rip the thing out with how hard and how deep she was pressing. To say it hurt is an understatement. Ouch.

So, they find the port site and decide to insert the needle (even though she knows I didn't use enough numbing cream). I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that was NOT the most pleasant thing I've done. OW! Of course, this being me and my luck, this stick didn't go in correctly, so they have to do it again. Fortunately, the nurse decided to put more numbing cream on and let it "soak in". This begins the waiting. It normally takes about an hour or so for the cream to take full effect, so almost 2 hours later a different nurse, one that specializes in I.V. placement, comes in and tries to insert the needle. Guess what, that one didn't go in right either. Guess what else, it was NOT a pain free experience. OW! So, we're on try number three, and FINALLY they get it right!!!!!! YAY!!!! Turns out the reason the first two tries were unsuccessful were because they were using the wrong sized needle! They were using a 3/4 inch needle when what they really needed was a 1 inch needle. Don't you just love it when you're the experimental pincushion. OW! OW! OW!

After getting the needle inserted and everything set up, they finally started the process. First thing they do is they make sure you are properly hydrated. Hydration is important because one of the side effects of Cisplatin (that's my chemo medicine) is kidney damage. So, the first thing you get is "pre-hydration", then you get the Cisplatin, then you get "post-hydration". A very time consuming process. A process made even more time consuming by the fact that you are in a hospital and the poor nurses are running around trying to deal with a bagillion patients and everything else that nurses have to deal with. Throw into the mix a 2 pm radiation appointment and you can see why this is an all day affair. *sigh*

As for the chemo itself, it's a tricky little thing. It likes to sneak up on you and crack you over the head with its side effects with no warning whatsoever. It is literally like stepping off of a cliff. Take Tuesday night, there I am in the hospital, feeling pretty good for someone with cancer, when "BAM" I got hit with the exhaustion stick. And it was quick. There was no build up to it. One second I was fine, the next it was all I could do to get into bed so I could sleep. Then there was Thursday. I wake up feeling great. Go to my radiation treatments and come home to finish getting ready to go to work when the "digestive difficulties" Katie mentioned hit me. I had to use the bathroom 4 times in a 2 hour period, each time things got a little "looser" shall we say... Yeah, we'll go with that. I was at work for a grand total of 20 minutes before I told the boss that I needed to go home. When I got home, Katie had the immodium, gatorade and my anti nausea medicine waiting for me. I took those meds, drank the gatorade and crawled into bed. Next thing I knew it was 7 pm. Where does the day go?

Now, if I could just shake this "tiredness" (exhaustion is more like it), I'll be good to go. :-)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...