June 4, 2007

Monday, June 04, 2007
A scare, chemo number two and another surgery

Well Wednesday night of this past week I got a phone call around 10:45 p.m. from the local doc in my town about an ECHO test I had done that day. It was a standard test for someone on chemo but my test came back that I had a lot of fluid around my heart. The doc had me in a panic. I was scheduled to get a second echo the falling day at the hospital where I am being treated. After much waiting and anxiousness the test came ok. There is fluid but it's just a normal part of the Hodgkins. I had a lot of fluid in my chest when I had the biopsy as well. Anyway thank God that was ok and it should resolve itself as I get better. I started my day at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. I then had an IV inserted and some anti-nausea drugs. Then I was wheeled away to surgery for a port. A port is inserted into chest....upper left side. It is a tube that is actually inserted into my vein with a round top inserted under the skin. This round top has a rubbery or plastic cover. This is where they will do my IV's and blood draws from here on out. I had chemo at 10:00 a.m. (well I was supposed to. They didn't start until 1 p.m.! I was mad to say the least. And yes I waited and waited and waited) Anyway, they used the new port for it. They did the chemo right through the port. I guess if you get too many needles poking your veins all the time your veins can collapse. It's not good basically. I will have this thing until November. It's all bandaged up now and I am pretty sore from it. I have some strong Vicodin for it though. Should help. I haven't taken one yet. I am a little nervous about it giving me nausea. I will probably have a small bump under the skin but it shouldn't be too bad. I'm feeling quite a bit better really. I am breathing better. Thank God! I expect tomorrow I will crash hard. I got really tired last time and nauseas. So.....today will probably be my last good day for awhile. Probably 3 or 4 days at least. I hope it's not as bad as last time. Eeeek. I got done with my chemo around 3:30 or so. It sucked. Then an hour and a half drive home. It's a long day and I am ready for sleep. But that's my update for now. Feel free to ask me any questions you want. I am not bothered at all by it. This is my life for awhile. I am dealing.