The MUGA scan is my small miracle for the week! I went in on Thursday morning to Grayslake Lake Forest Hospital building extremely anxious but determined to get through this test ... as I joked with Dr. Chung on Friday, I finally took a Big Girl pill and just did this test! I had, of course, prayed over and over for the test to go well and the technician I wanted to be there! I got to the Radiation department and was greeted wit the news that John would be my technician and I wanted to hug the girl! I thanked her and told her she just made my day because I was hoping it would be John! When John came to get me from the waiting room I could tell he recognized me and I let him know I was so relieved he would be doing the test! He was surprised at my last experience and took GREAT care of me!!! The IV went into to my hand and worked well! The test took about two hours from start to finish but it went so smoothly I would have been fine to be there all day!
Friday was a different story! I had spent much of Thursday night decluttering for the cleaning ladies... so I got only a little sleep. Everyone was home while the ladies came and cleaned so I had to keep them all in their rooms. The house looked so WONDERFUL!!! I just love the sight of a newly cleaned house in which I did not have to do all the cleaning! We spent the rest of the morning eating breakfast and getting ready for the rest of the day... the girls were heading over to Kim's house as they usually do on treatment days lately. They could not wait to get there and play with their friends and eat "junk food" with Ms. Kim! I got ready for treatment by making sure I drank as much as I could stand to have hydrated veins (Like that would even help my little veins!) and I made sure I had my Nook charged to keep me distracted during the quiet time of treatment....
The girls excitedly went to Kim's while Keith and I went to Libertyville!
My IV did not cooperate two days in a row.... It took two tries and the final one went into my wrist,,, WOW was that painful from the first poke until the day after treatment. I did find it so ironic that on Good Friday I would end up with having to have an IV in my wrist and feel the tiniest bit of what Jesus felt on the cross. I also had a very moving experience at chemo... Dave is a patient who is a fun character! He is a five year survivor of cancer that is inoperable and pretty much unstoppable, He is a fun, older guy who has a great sense of humor and enjoys talking to anyone who will strike up a conversation! I really do believe that if you want to learn about the meaning of life all you need to do is visit a chemo room and talk to the patients who are at a point where they want to talk. Life looks differently to those who have learned a great lesson from this ugliness! Dave is past the time they thought he had to live and I can tell he is seeing the inevitable is coming. He is not giving up but he is taking charge of life. He is getting everything in order to live life his way for the last bit ... whatever it ends up being! Our talk was a great one! He loves car racing so he and Keith talked about all kinds of cars and races. He and I talked about my treatment and how I was doing and how teaching was going. He has no children and his family is all in St. Louis so I know that going home is lonely. He is a talker and I was so happy we had our chance to talk with him! I gave him a big hug before he left! Once he did head out I was filled with sadness. I talked with nurse Katie about how I did not know how she did it!
We did meet with Dr. Chung during this afternoon and had one of the most uneventful appointments. Although I do know I have made an impression on her: for one I laughed when she told me she got my MUGA report back on Thursday afternoon and it made her laugh as she noticed I waited until the absolute last moment to get it done as well as knowing that I detest this test but I did it! The other reason is during the end of the appointment we were talking about how much she appreciates my willingness to help other patients who are in my same situation (young and/or moms of young kids). She was passing on my info to a couple of others. I am so blessed to have such a caring doctor! I also so blessed to have the opportunity to know what it is to have a cure!
I went home from treatment with the worst headache and more nausea than I ever remember before with this drug I went to bed and did not really get up until 11am on Saturday. I missed out on a great deal but was so blessed to have the last half of the weekend to enjoy the Easter Celebrations.
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