Chemo day started off well – empty car park, called on time,
cannula fitted on second attempt, drugs going in nicely. But then on the very
last saline flush I felt my arm getting ‘tight’ and when I looked it was
swelling up just like a balloon around the cannula – yes it was leaking fluid
into surrounding tissue. The nurse was very efficient and went into ‘emergency’
mode. She had to assume the chemo had leaked too and immediately gave me 4
steroid injections around the perimeter of the ‘balloon’ and one in the center
– the pain was excruciating and made me cry. My arm was then wrapped in an ice
pack and I had to wait about 30 mins by which time it had gone down. Thankfully
I have not had further problems.
We are now on day 13 of the 21 day cycle and I
am just beginning to feel a little like ‘normal’. I think I have ticked every
box on the chemo side-effects chart this time but perhaps the worst is the
overwhelming exhaustion and lethargy which I can’t be doing with! Emotionally
it has been a difficult time too both for me and for Alan who has to watch when
I go into despair and despondency mode. I am still losing weight although I am
now eating ‘little and often’ – perhaps too little not often enough. I don’t
think I appreciated how weak my body had become over the last couple of years
with the effects of 2 previous 6 cycle chemo regimes, 6 months on a drug trial and
thoracic surgery. I no longer feel like Superwoman!
But all is not doom and gloom and life goes on. The sun has
shown its face this week which has made such a difference. The garden is
sprouting and Spring really does seem to be trying to make an appearance.
Alan’s potatoes are ‘chitting’ nicely upstairs. It is good for Alan to escape
into the garden.
We are now the owners of a beautifully terracotta tiled front
porch! We had noticed a couple of moths in there and thought maybe they were
laying eggs in the wool carpet tiles – so up they came! Beneath the tiles were
some old tiles which we scrubbed, scraped, washed, wire wooled, brushed, and
painted and voila! They came up like new! When I use the word ‘we’ here you
understand I mean ‘Alan’!
For Christmas Alan & I were given a poster – a collage of
our beautiful granddaugter’s art work which she did at nursery. We have just
had this framed and thought I would share it with you. I have hung it above my
computer so I see it every day. Lilah is now 21 months old.
So hopefully I will continue to regain my strength this
week. Next Monday I see my oncologist to assess whether I am fit for cycle 2!
I thank you for your continued good wishes, jokes, cards,
emails, prayers, cake, flowers etc.
Special thanks to my mesowarrior friends who are there 24/7. I am blessed to
have you all in my life.
Tess x
