Friday, March 31, 2023

For the last few mornings I’ve woken up with a headache. For a couple of those days I was able to get up, grab a coffee and the headache went away without any medication. Last night I was up at three with a boomer of a headache so I took an Aleve, which seems to be the only thing that works on my headaches. When I rolled out of bed at 7:30 the headache was still there but I’ve managed to get rid of it by now. I think the headache is related to allergies and not my recent treatment; they started after we got out walking again and after my stints on the back deck in the sunshine.

I took care of some housework this morning. I emptied the dishwasher, refilled my pill containers, had a shower, stripped the bed, sorted three loads of laundry and got one started. I was tired after all that and had to sit and play a few games until the first load of laundry was done.

I’m thinking my lack of energy may also be an allergy – to housework!

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.