Well its 5am on New Years Eve and I'm reporting in on my latest turn of events, yesterday I went for a Visit with Dr. O'Reilly, It seems that all the latest reports & results were pretty much status quo, thats good news! That being said I started my Chemo therapy regimen.
Mary met me in the city, it was a beautiful and unseasonably warm day, it seems that there are no restrictions on your diet before you go through the treatments, so we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a cafe near Sloan. Its amazing how you can always find a great selection of delicious food, close by in the city.
When we got into our appointment all went smooth, the checkin lady was sweet and comforting as they all are, she informed me I would be going for bloods first, then the Doc, then the therapy, AND.......... would I like to use my new "Port" for all the blood work...... I almost fainted because i was so anxious about the whole port thing, which has freaked me out since the beginning! I explained to her my anxiety and she tried to calm me down. She said they will be out for me shortly! I turned and found a nice place to relax with Mary in the lounge, I quickly popped a Sedative and prayed it would work quickly.
We were called quite promptly :(. A very Large Indian Man in a white lab coat called my name with a heavy accent. All I could think was that "This guy doesn't look especially gentle" but upon arriving in the test area i was assigned to a petite young lady who took my vitals etc. Good news was that my weight stayed pretty steady at 226, this was after the horrible week of tests and pancreatitis where I lived on Ice Chips & morphine. (And threw up like crazy). But as I dealt with her I did not have confidence in her being the one to Christen my port - too "young" and "happy" I informed her of my "Virgin Port" status and she said "Oh I don't do that"
We were then introduced to "James" who was like an Angel to me, he was a youngish traveling Oncological Nurse, he was from North Carolina, He told us how much he enjoyed working at Sloan and it was his dream to work at such a place. His contract was up in April and he was hoping to get a renewal because he didn't want to leave New York.
As he prepared my port he joked about me getting it on my birthday, he then explained that he had had a port! And that he was 7 Years Cancel-Free survivor. He did his treatment at Wake Forest, NC. He made me comfortable and handled all the tapping and drawing without me even flinching! He was truly a gift at that moment! :)
Meeting with Doctor was good, no bad news, she said she was very optimistic! we reviewed my med's, and all the side effect issues that could arise.
She pushed my Chemo Schedule up and changed them to Tuesdays- Thursdays as originally scheduled, before hospitalization. She was concerned I was over the Pancreatitis. She said she felt I could be looking at Chemo for the next 6 weeks winding up in mid February and then having the Whipple Surgery with Dr Jarnovic in Mid March. Assuming everything goes along as hoped. So this could be a schedule subject to change.
After a 1.5 - 2 hour wait while my Chemo Cocktail was prepared we entered the "Chemo Lounge" it was a great environment where we had a nice private room and a private nurse, he (Eric) explained everything beautifully and was amazingly attentive. The room had web service, Television, Recliners, Warm blankets, Food, you name it! We were on the third floor with windows all around, so we saw the action on the street, they had Geraniums growing in the windows- It was a very theraputic place. They then packed me with a Carry- Pack that will continue to give me Chemo for the next two days, then on New Years Day I travel back to Sloan's on 67th Street/York to have the Chemo Pack Removed -HAPPY NEW YEAR!
At the end of my session we literally closed the place, we were the last to leave, we had a nice chat with the nurses and went back to the garage where Mary parked, it was a nice discounted rate in association with the Hospital.
To sum it up- I went to Sloans yesterday quite anxious and frankly a bit scared, while showing a brave face, I left there feeling Strong, Positive and Optimistic :)
Love to all!!! And here is a pic of me on my way to the city yesterday at 8am!!
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