The Pump is Off!!!

Well, it was technically off yesterday. 

So the entire fam made the trip to the clinic.  It was a nice day, so Eric and the kids were going to hang around outside while I went in to get disconnected.  Overall, it was uneventful.

The cancer center seems to do a lot of training of new nurses, which is cool, so I got two nurses for my disconnection.  There was only a little 5FU left in the pump, so they turned it on high to empty it (into my body, waaaaaahhhhh).  Lame.  Flush with two salines and a heperin, and goodbye needle!  Then one of the nurses said, "Okay, you're all set!"

"I think I need a shot," I said.

She flips through my chart, then finds the notes about the shot, neulasta, which is "prescribed to reduce the risk of infection in patients with some tumors receiving strong chemotherapy the decreases the number of infection-fighting white blood cells."  The nurse bustled off to the pharmacy and then appeared with a shot for my arm.  I was told it would sting and I was all freaked out, but then I saw Eli's tattoo, my newest tattoo, and remembered that it hurt too, and that one shot probably wouldn't hurt as much.  It didn't. 

The most common side effects of the shot are achy muscles and bones.  I don't know when that is supposed to happen.  Mostly it all just made me cranky and tired.

I walked out into the lobby of the cancer center and found Eric and the kids sitting on a bench (yes, they were allowed inside!!) reading books.  Awwwww. 

Now I'm waiting to feel normal.  You know, whatever that means.