April 3 - Chemo Day (1/12)

                 It was finally time to get down to what all of this had been leading up to. I would have a chemo infusion once every two weeks for the next 24 weeks. 12 infusions in all. I would have scans part way through to ensure that the treatment was working. If it is, I will continue the treatments, get scanned again, and hopefully be declared cancer free.

                It started off with another blood test. Because the chemo attacks the cells that are dividing fastest it takes a toll on your immune system. The blood test is to ensure that my levels are high enough to withstand another treatment, although this first one is probably more of a baseline. If they aren't high enough then I can't have me infusion and have to wait a week. The infusions are given in a giant treatment room. The room is full of reclining chairs and IV stands. Everyone getting chemo that day sits in the circle of chairs.

                Chase sat with me while they got me started on my first bag of chemical fun. After about an hour he had to leave for class, and I have to admit, I didn't begrudge him leaving. For something so important to my future health, and that was going to have such severe consequences in how I felt for the next six months, it was incredibly boring. I sat in my chair and blogged. I can't believe how much has happened in the last month and it is hard to catch up on writing it all down. Most of the people around me had magazines, or were taking a nap. That’s all there is to it. We just sit there, IV’s dripping, and wait to be told we are done.

                I was by far the youngest person in the room. Most of the patients were in their 50’s or older. I guess cancer just isn't usually a young person’s problem. Most young cancer patients need more special attention and go to the Huntsman center in Salt Lake. But I am old enough to be an adult, albeit a young one, and the treatment I need is easy to give. I will just have to make friends with some of these veteran patients. The nurse was attentive and helpful. It was nice to have someone willing to show me the ropes since I was so new to this whole experience.

                Towards the end of my four hour treatment session I started to feel very hungry. I had only had a small breakfast and it wasn't enough to last very long. By the time Chase got back from class I was ravenous. I knew that the chemo was going to make me feel sick soon, but at that moment all I wanted was a big sandwich. I finished my last bag of drugs about a minute after Chase got there and I made him take me to go get food right away, while I still felt hungry. Big mistake.

                The pastrami sandwich was exactly what I had been craving, until about 10 minutes after I had finished it. Then my stomach revolted. Well, started a civil disobedience campaign anyway. I had eaten too much and I was now paying for it. The nausea was bad enough that I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything, but not quite bad enough to make me lose my lunch. While I laid on the couch and regretted every piece of that strong Italian meat, Chase took our car in to the shop. The brakes had been acting funny since our last trip to Salt Lake and it needed to be checked before some permanent damage happened.

                One of our neighbors brought dinner over. The soup was enough to tempt me to eat a little, but food just wasn't that interesting at the moment. Chase was happy to have it though and ate most of the soup that night. Hopefully tomorrow I will be free of the pastrami burps and have a chance to start over with bland foods. It is hard to know how I am going to react to the chemo and this next week will be mostly watching to see how I do.

                From here on out I will update the blog weekly to keep you posted on how treatment is going. There won’t be nearly so many exciting things happening and hopefully I react well, feel great, and have nothing much to tell you other than that. Thank you for your support and interest in my crazy journey so far. We have felt the love and prayers offered in our behalf by so many of you and it has made a huge difference. We appreciate all of you who have sent care packages, happy messages, and food. Thank you for showing us such an overwhelming amount of support, we couldn't do this alone! I know you will continue to be there for us as we move forward and figure out what the new normal looks like in our crazy life!