The first thing is getting a tube hooked up to the port, and drawing blood to test. (The blue thing hanging down in front is the tube connection.) Also, you've just got to chat with whichever nurse is serving at the moment. This is Kathy; she was Mother's main nurse today.
We are thankful for nurses who both have a good sense of humor... they keep people coming back--that's for sure. (We actually can't decide if patients want to come back because of the entertainment the two provide, or if it's that they HAVE to come for chemo!)
This is the computer that they type all sorts of information about your vitals and meds in...
Then it's time to get weighed. (The blood they drew is being tested.)
The Medical Assistant, Aubrey, has to check blood-pressure, temperature, etc. and verify medications/vitamins being taken at home.
Mother had a "steroid glow" at this point. First thing when we get to chemo they have to ask her her name and birthdate, which are both on the label (that's on her arm in this picture), to make sure she's the right person!
Visit with Dr. Ann Stroh and check-up is next.
This is the other nurse, April, in her blue gown. The nurses have to wear one of these every time they hook someone up to a new bag of chemo, and dispose thereof in bio-hazard containers. (She was helping someone else in this picture.)
Chemo infusion time.
(Actually, Mother gets some preliminary "juices", before the two chemo meds, and gets flushed with normal saline and heparin at the end.)
This picture was taken right before she hooked up the second chemo. The chemo comes in this big "ziplock" bag; and then the blue gown, gloves, and the first (now empty) chemo bag is put in the "ziplock" bag, and disposed of in a bio-hazard bin.
Mother's reading this book to review it for BookSneeze. I'm sorry I didn't get a better picture of her in her chair today.
Lots of documentation on the computer ...
We didn't get a picture, but we always (three times hand running) have a picnic, because of being there over the lunch hour. Today we brought zucchini cake to share with the nurses and patients.
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Chemo 3 report - from Janet
Everything went well today. I took the steroids pills yesterday and that was successful in preventing a reaction like I had last time. Tomorrow I go back for the extra fluid and Neulasta shot. My labs were good. I am a little high on wbcs and a little low on rbcs and platelets, but not enough to be concerned. The Neulasta shot is working, causing my wbcs to stay up there!
If this round is like last time, Sunday will be my hardest day with bone pain from the Neulasta shot. The pain will start on Saturday and last until Wednesday, but lessening each day after Sunday. By next Thursday, I trust I will be feeling mostly normal again. The Prilosec (omeprazole) I take every day for the gastritis symptoms I had the first time, really really helped those symptoms. So I am very thankful for that.
Right now, I feel kinda fuzzy headed and a little bleary, but otherwise good. I am drinking lots of water to flush the drugs so they don't hurt my bladder or kidneys. I will even drink in the night and get up to the bathroom several times in the night. We will take a walk tonight, as is our usual evening activity.
Thank you to each one who is praying for me. God is faithfully helping me. Pray for me on Sunday. I would love to have the pain under control and be able to go to the Sunday School ministry, even if I am in the pew, not doing the story. I love those kids and hate missing every third Sunday.
