20 August 2023
There wasn’t any morning walk today. Just about the time I started to gear up for my Riverland segment, a downpour hit. There was a lot of lightning with the downpour and even after the rain stopped, the thunder didn’t so I punted on the walk. It was a good time to work on the L.A. Times Crossword Puzzle. I never can finish The New York Times puzzle on Sunday but I can sometimes finish the Los Angles version. (I had to cheat and look up a few of the answers on today’s.)
I had my second shower and it’s still a great feeling. There’s no leakage from the insertion. Who knew such a simple pleasure could be so good! I shaved my face and my head. I only have to shave every 3 or 4 days these days, a result of the first chemo in June. What hair I do have on my body is still very fine. All the coarse stuff fell off. It gives you a weird feeling to have only fine hair.
I’m spending some time today figuring out what I’ll need for tomorrow’s infusion of Taxol. I’ll be there 3-4 hours. First, they’ll clear the port then take a blood sample. They’ll have to get a result from the blood test before they can administer the infusion. They want to make sure I have no infections, low or high cell count, etc.
Once I pass the blood test, they’ll put the order in for the infusion with the pharmacist. It depends on how long it takes for the pharmacist on site takes to mix the infusion before they can give it.
They’ll administer the infusion over approximately 2 hours because they want to make sure that I don’t have a reaction to the chemo. If that is OK, they’ll speed it up over the next 9 weeks. By the end of nine weeks, I’ll probably only be at the infusion center for a couple of hours.
After I complete the infusion, they’ll keep me on site for another 30 minutes to an hour to continue to monitor me for immediate side effects.
To combat the boredom of four hours, I’ll take my iPad and read. I also packed my ear buds in case I want to listen to any podcasts or music. I also packed my lap top so I’ll get a head start on tomorrow’s blog.
I learned last time to wear long pants and long sleeved shirt and I also packed a light jacket. They provide heated blankets but when you wear shorts like I did last time, you still freeze. I maybe snuck in some Oreo cookies and some King Leo peppermints for a snack. They provide juices and coffee, so I should be set.
I need to remember to take the anti-nausea medicine tonight and make sure I take another pill after the infusion. Fortunately, nausea wasn’t really been a problem with the first infusion.
A special shout out to Catherine who sent me a beautiful bouquet.
Do I have great friends or what?
Stay tuned!