May Contain Nuts

I’ve been good this week and had made sure that I had been keeping up with my fluid intact. 

The district nurse came out yesterday to take my bloods. She was going to do a picc line dressing change, but I told her not to worry about it as the hospital will do it tomorrow before my chemo. The nurse seemed such a nice lady. Weirdly, she had to wear a mask as I am classed as vulnerable. I guess she has been seeing other patients before me. 

Woke up in plenty of time, had my usual bath, and got my bag ready for a long day at the hospital. Lower back started hurting last night and hasn’t gone away this morning. I hope it’s not my kidneys. 

Got to the chemo unit, only had to wait half an hour to go through. Told Lauren that ny back was hurting and I was worried about my kidney function. She came back and said that my bloods were fine, then she offered me paracetamol for the pain, but I requested a pillow instead and used that to support my lower back. It’s been fine since, but that might be the steroids that are helping it. Who knows. 

I was in Bay 4 again today. 4 women, 2 men. The man next to me was there having his first round of chemotherapy. He said that he went to the doctors as he was getting a little bit out of breath when walking up a hill, so he was sent for tests, and they found he has lung cancer. He was having the same drugs as me, chemo and immunotherapy, so we were having a race with our meds during the day. Of course, I beat him as my picc line gets everything in faster. And I also had the cold cap on for an extra hour and a half! 

The other man that was in with us was a snorer. He kept nodding off to sleep and throughout the day. When he was leaving at the end of his treatment, he apologised to everyone about his loud snores! I thought that was quite sweet of him as he could’ve just walked away and not said anything. 

There was an Asian lady who was also having her first round of chemotherapy, but she was struggling with it throughout the day. She didn’t eat any lunch and slept through most of it. When she was waking up towards the end and was having her canula removed, they had to pull the curtain around her so she could be sick in one of the bowls. They had to give her the emergency sickness pill that I have but haven’t needed to use yet. At least I know now when I should use it and how. 

I was finished by 4:15pm so Simon came to pick me up. I was feeling pretty good when I got home, but I was making quite a few weird mistakes. I kept dropping things and somehow managed to slide my watch off my bedside table and Simon had to drag the table away from the wall to reach my trapped watch. I forgot to bring my water upstairs with me, and I’m sure there were other things as well. The strong antihistamines really do make me feel like I’m not in my own body. They make me sleepy and slurry, then the steroids get into your system and you’re wide awake again yet shattered. Plus, I know I will have a bad night’s sleep, but the magnesium spray stops the restless legs, I just wake up at weird o’clock and listen to podcasts. I would read my book, but I don’t want to turn the light on and wake up Simon as he is on the early shift. 

We always have Thursday as take-away night, but I’m now getting bored of it. It was curry this week, which was nice, but there was just too much of it for me and Simon will then leave all the leftovers for me.  

Oh well, curry for lunch and dinner tomorrow then.