Yet Another Chemo Day

Eric dropped me off at the early hour of 8:30am, and I took a deep breath, getting ready for a long day.

9:00am a visit with my therapist.  It's nice to talk with someone who is completely outside the situation.  I really appreciate her.

10:00am  Labs...not much to report here.  The nurse did an excellent job, and no one made me pee in a cup.

10:15  I signed in to see my doctor.  And then I waited.  And waited.  Did some knitting.  Ripped it out because I messed up.  Finally I got the call.  Not a whole lot at the doctor.  I complained about my feet, which are experiencing the effects of neuropothy (ie they are tingly and numb...it's like I'm walking around in someone else's feet).  The doc decided to lower my dose of oxaliplatin.  I asked if this would lessen the effects of the chemo.  The nurse said that the studies show that lowering the dose doesn't affect the way it works, and many doctors are advocating starting at a lowered dose in the first place, but not enough information on that.  The lowered dose should help with my feet, the goal being that I'll be able to stay on FOLFOX longer.

My next complaint was my pesky cough.  After a few questions, the doc determined it was caused by the persistent drainage which is caused by the chemo.  As soon as I get to the pharmacy, I'll be the proud owner of some nasal spray that I'm told tastes really bad.  Okay.

Then I asked about information or forms for an advanced directive.  I don't have any kind of living will, but I do have opinions on how I want my body and health tended to.  It's something that I think will give our little family peace of mind.  I was directed to the social worker, and she walked me through the informational packet Baylor has available.  Is it kind of sad to think about a time when I might need to actually use it?  YES.  But it's the responsible thing to do, and the social worker pointed out that everyone should have an advanced directive, healthy or not, because you never know. 

Honestly, the cough combined with thoughts of an advanced directive freaked me out over the last couple weeks.  It's easy to get all worked up, fears creep in, ugh.  Lots of prayer, lots of encouragement.  I suspect there are still things I need to do, reasons I need to be here, so sorry all, you're stuck with me.  Haha.

After seeing the doctor, I went back to the lobby to sign in for chemo.  Apparently my chemo appt wasn't scheduled until 12:30.  What WHAT?  It was a little after 11:00, so the lady at the desk couldn't even sign me in.  No problem, I went to visit some of my friends to show them pictures of our trip.  We were able to chat for a little while, and that was nice.

Chemo itself was uneventful.  After the ativan, I slept most of the time.  I haven't been sleeping very well, so I probably needed it.  I left with my pump around 4:00pm.  Like I said, it was a long day.

Today I feel...sort of okay.  The cold sensitivity isn't nearly as bad, probably because of the lower dose of oxaliplatin.  I'm tired, but I also slept pretty well last night.  My feet are still annoying, probably something I'll just have to get used to.  Ah well, don't we all have things in our lives that we're unable to change? 

Thank you for your prayers!!!