First chemo infusion done

As the evening progressed last night I think I became more anxious just of all the unknowns of today. I took my ativan and Rob covered me with a blanket. I watched Conan and George Lopez before drifting off to sleep. I had a very good night I didn't wake up until this morning when everyone came down. I had taken chocolate croissants out last night - they needed to proof overnight to bake this morning - I popped them in for breakfast. Rob was off of work today and I took advantage and jumped in the shower and got dressed in comfy clothing. I got Ellie dressed for school and then Rob and Nick walked her down to the bus.
I got my lunch together - mashed potatoes, applesauce, yogurt and chocolate croissant - I thought even if I was feeling sick these foods normally don't irritate me. Mom made me a special chemo pack with a nice travel pillow and a monkey fleece blanket for all the monkey business I was getting into. - I packed the set up, too. I applied my lidocaine cream and used saran wrap to smooth it over Plum. I grabbed my water bottle and then Rob and Nick drove me to Mom's house - we came up with this plan this morning - this way my car wasn't at Mom's in case I couldn't drive home and then Rob had the car with the car seat. Mom and I pretty much got in the car and went to Kellogg.
I checked in and was told we could wait for my blood draw stickers and then go upstairs. Margaret had told me that they had moved on to the newly finished 2nd floor and the nurse told me to go up. Cory, Margaret's fill in for the week told me I was mis-directed and I needed to go back down to 1 to get my blood draw. I was brought into a treatment room and I was a bit intimidated by the tray of things the nurse, Deb, was getting ready. Deb removed my saran wrap and cleaned the area with a cold antiseptic and then inserted the butterfly needle into Plum and I did not feel it - tiny blessings! Deb connected all tubing and flushed it and then drew blood - easy breezy. I was sent back upstairs to meet with Dr. Marsh. I am happy to report I am back to my original colonoscopy weight. My blood pressure was good but my heart beat a bit elevated. We met with Dr. marsh who briefly went over the possibilities of side effects and he did his usual exam. He had asked about my xeloda experience and sent me back downstairs with positive thoughts.
Deb met us in the hall and brought us back to the treatment room -nothing fancy but a recliner and a tv. I was first infused with zofran and another anti-nausea drug and then the folinic acid and oxalipatin - I was told by Cory that they would be infused separately over 2 hours each to make sure I wasn't allergic to either of them but Deb hung them both at the same time. Not allergic to either - wonderful news and this took 2 hours off my infusion time. Mom I took the time to plan her menu for her annual ladies get together - we put together a lovely tea menu. I asked Mom if she wanted to work on the Christmas menu but she said it was still to far off. I noticed there was a huge collection of light weight entertainment magazines - People, US and others - so I caught up on gossip and I enjoyed doing some sudoku puzzles and crosswords. Real honestly the time didn't pass as slowly as I thought it was going to.
My friend, Sally, the social worker came in to see how I was doing and if I needed her for anything. The pharmacist, Anna, came in to explain the pump to me and ask if I have any questions. The particular chemotherapy I am on is called Folfox for short and while I get infused with the folinic acid and the oxalipatin while I am at Kellogg - I actually leave with a pump of 5-FU that is attached via Plum for another 46 hours. It is a balloon pump that conveniently fits in a fanny pack and is about the size of a can of pop. I get a small booster dose of 5-FU to finish my infusion at the office. Just as Deb was telling me about the one pesky side effect i was drinking the last bit of water from my cup and it felt at if something was caught in my throat, I took another sip and this time it sort of felt like razor blades. The pesky side effect know as the cold side effect can hit people differently - some it is a feeling of cold, others it is that there throat actually closes from cold - like opening the freezer. I was feeling the pesky side effect with the cold water - I was told to stay away from cold beverages and stick to warm or hot for the next 4-5 days. The pesky cold side effect should be a ton of fun now that winter is around the corner. I was waiting all afternoon for the crappy feeling to begin and it really never did - big blessings. Deb brought me in the informational sheets on each of the different drugs with the top thing to avoid on all three being alcohol. I was not pre-warned about this. I am not an alcoholic but pretty much my one vice in life is my glass of wine with dinner - this stinks. We asked Deb about this and she said it was definitely to avoid but I should talk to Dr. Marsh about it. See, further feeds into my people do not tell me stuff in advance.
We came home and we relaxed on the couch. Rob got Ellie from the bus and she did her homework while Mom was here and then I told everyone I needed to take over the couch and nap. Mom went home and Nick and Ellie went downstairs to play. I napped - for almost 2 hours - so hope this doesn't effect sleep tonight especially because I can't have my glass of wine. I did a bit of google research and it turns out the the folfox puts extra stress on the liver and avoiding alcohol is necessary to not over work it too much. I called Christi as I was making dinner - she had called me this morning to wish me good luck and I was just walking into get my blood drawn. Nick and rob stopped by their house this afternoon for a little play time and for rob to re-measure. Nick and Rob had a busy day at the library, a visit to the GGs, a visit with Chrsti and Susannah and a park. Rob gave the kiddos their bath while I finished up dinner - we had all the makings for loaded nachos and I know everyone eats them so it was perfect.
So far about 10 hours into this first infusion I am feeling most delighted - I can do this if this is the worst of it. I was told to take a zofran with dinner and then another with breakfast - so I know the nausea could still hit me but I am feeling so much better than I had anticipated. Yet another reason I need to get the word out there that yes you can get through this whole cancer diagnosis gracefully and not knocking on deaths door.
I am going to wrap this up - I am sure I am forgetting about something but I have to be honest and this fanny pack pump is getting in the way of me typing without hand cramps. Thank you all for you r positive thoughts, wishes and prayers - look at all this collective energy has done this past week - it blew the rain away for the race and it has made this first round of infusion chemo so much better than I had envisioned - thanks for all the love. Visualising my healthy and continually recovering body, this first round continually going smooth and un-eventful and the new normal me - whoever that shall be, Tree
PS - See I knew I would forgot something I thought about during the day - aren't I kind of a walking weapon of mass destruction right now? I have this pump with these huge warning stickers that it should only be touched with gloves and it is poison, right. I wonder if this could work as an advantage for black Friday shopping (although I won't have it on then) but I could run into the crowd and yell I am carrying a pack 'o poison and everyone should let me through. I wonder what airport security would do with me right now. They would body scan me an see Scarlett and then Plum - I have a special card for Plum that shows why metal is running into my heart and now the fun pack of poison - I am thinking I would be on the no fly list.