Wednesday, March 29, 2023

When I started my chemo treatments I kept a daily record of how I felt, what had changed and generally everything health related. I took it to all my doctor appointments but no one ever seemed interested. After my stint in the hospital I stopped doing that but I could use the reminders now.

I thought I was over all the side effects until last evening I started having back spasms. As soon as I felt it I remembered that I had those the last times too. We think it is from the injections I take but, then again, who knows. The spasms seem to have passed now and I’m pretty sure that is the last surprise.

We got out for a walk yesterday but I didn’t get very far – wobbly legs and low energy. I would have liked to get to the viewpoint but made it only four benches – with a rest every two benches. There was quite a breeze and not very warm but by the afternoon it had warmed up so I sat out on the deck and enjoyed the fresh air.

I was able to get a bit further today – still quite a few rests but I made it to the viewpoint. Now I’m enjoying sitting inside with the sun streaming in the windows.

Monday, March 27, 2023

It’s been a week since my treatment and I think I’ve turned the corner. With the exception of a few things, this first week after treatment followed the same course as the previous ones have. I didn’t have the two days of wired energy that I had previously but that was a blessing as I was able to get a couple of decent night’s sleep before I started to go downhill.

The aches were back again, although this time rather than waves of pain down my legs I was achy all over all the time. I found a warm bath helped with those aches and I was glad I brought my bath pillow back from Texada.

My fingers and toes are still numb, maybe a bit worse than they were. I’ve still managed to do some hand stitching and some sewing so the fingers are still useable. My legs have been so weak and wobbly I’ve not done much walking – we’re hoping to get back out tomorrow.

I had hoped to go to a private viewing of the Quilt Show on Friday but, after spending most of the day in bed, I had to call and cancel. I still had an opportunity to go on Saturday evening but by noon on Saturday I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go. The afternoon was better so I called to make sure there would be a wheelchair for me at the hall; there was no way I was going to be able to walk the aisles to admire the quilts. One of the Guild members met us at the door with the wheelchair and saw us back to the truck after.

Neither Pat nor I thought the show was as good as it normally is. There were lots of quilts but many of them were just different versions of the same pattern. That is natural because there were three year’s worth of mystery quilts. I haven’t heard who the winners were but none of them, for me, had the “Wow” factor.

I’ve spent most of the day working on our Income Tax papers. I have one large section to finish and they will be ready to pass to the accountant. When I stopped for lunch I couldn’t believe it was almost two. Rather than go back to it now I’ll leave it for tomorrow and do a bit of cross stitching for the rest of the afternoon. My stitching station is in the sun and it is beautiful, sunny day here.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

I had a long day at the hospital yesterday. My chemo treatment was scheduled for nine but I went a little early because I had some insurance papers that I needed to leave for the doctor’s signature. I knew I wouldn’t see the doctor so I had to explain it all to the ward clerk. I was still too early for treatment so I sat in the waiting room.

Several people came and went and it was after 9:30 before I got to my chair. More people came for pre-chemo assessments and then they disappeared back to the waiting room to wait for treatments or perhaps they were only there for the pre-assessments. Finally it was my turn. Although the nurse had trouble finding a spot for the IV, the one she settled on went in more or less on the first try. She warned me that it was a very tender spot and it would likely hurt – she wasn’t kidding me!

As I was having my treatment several other people came and went as they had much shorter drip times. At one point the doctor, not mine, came in and asked Jennifer, the nurse, why the lab reports weren’t coming up. Jen assured her that all of the people she had seen had been for their blood work and it must be that the lab was backed up. That didn’t stop the doctor from verbally abusing her (in my opinion) going on and on about how they needed to find out what the roadblocks were in the process and fixing them. Just a short while later Jen heard her taking a strip off the fill-in ward clerk; Jen went out to explain that the patient the doctor was asking about didn’t need lab work due to the drug s/he was getting. Again the doctor, in an unpleasant manner, told Jen she should have relayed that to the ward clerk. In my humble opinion the doctor should have looked at the chart and seen the drug and known that it didn’t require lab work.

When I told Jen she had been poorly treated she just said that everyone must be having a bad day. She was right. There was a woman in her chair for treatment before I got into mine. and another woman who was also waiting for drugs from the pharmacy to be delivered. In the first delivery the second lady got her drugs but they had to wait for another delivery for the poor woman who had been waiting for so long. When I left she was still undergoing her treatment; I hope it wasn’t a 4-hour treatment as mine is.

It was around three before I was home and I was exhausted. I had some lunch, sat in my chair, had some supper and sat in the chair downstairs doing a bit of knitting. I certainly didn’t have that wired feeling I usually get and was still feeling tired at bedtime. I decided to go to bed and see what happened; I figured if all I got was a nap it would be better than staying up all night. I was awake every couple of hours but I was always able to get back to sleep and I stayed in bed until seven this morning. I’m feeling good today and still have lots of energy.

Just another effect of the treatment – but at least this time it is a pleasant one.

Sunday, March 19, 2023

I’ve had several good days so I thought I should catch you up before my treatment day tomorrow. I expect things to get bad for a few days after. I seem to start worrying about the week ahead a few days before my treatment.

I hit another milestone on Wednesday. I walked the full length of the sea walk – just over 1.5 miles. We went in the morning so we didn’t have the sun shining on us and several benches were wet with dew. On a couple of occasions I stopped and sat on the rocks. I always have a few extra stops on the way back and my pace certainly slows but I was happy to have made it to the end.

We had a good trip over to Texada on Thursday. It wasn’t as warm as I would have liked so a few of my “hope to’s” had to be scrapped. I envisioned getting a take out lunch from one of the cafe’s and heading to Shelter Point for a picnic. Instead we ate lunch in their newly-opened indoor space. Not many people and we were off in a corner well away from anyone. Even though it was on the cool side I was able to sit out on the deck for awhile and read my book.

Friday was a lab and appointment day. Everyone must have been on Spring Break as it was a different nurse and a different doctor. I met the doctor a couple of times when I was in the hospital and both Pat and I liked her. It was a problem finding a vein for my bloodwork; she ended up using the back of my hand. I hope she didn’t take the only good spot so tomorrow is more difficult than it normally is.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I did some laundry in the morning and hung it out on the line. We should have gone out for a walk after lunch but I was felt really tired so I had a nap instead. I don’t know if it was due to the longer than usual walk or the two early mornings I had.

Today I’ve done another sort of our tax documents. I checked that I have all the T4s, 5s, etc. that I need so the next thing I’ll have to do is scan them for the accountant. Pat is doing an Open Mic this afternoon and I think I’ll try some stitching with my new light and magnifying glasses.