Just 3 more to go!

I went with Melanie to her chemo on Wednesday. We got off to a late start; Tyler was sleeping in the back seat and we forgot to drop him off, so we had to go back.

She had her labs; they showed a low white blood cell count, so she will have to have a shot tomorrow. Her pre-meds started at 9:30, then the first chemo medicine. She got the red devil booster after the first bag, around 11. There was a problem with the 3^rd bag. It leaked chemo meds all over the monitor and floor when the nurse tried to hook it up, so she had to get a new IV pole, regulator, and bag of chemo drugs. Got that last bag going, finally, about 12:30. I managed to stay out of the way of all that; chemo drugs will burn the skin if it gets on it.

Mel had befriended one of the patients there; she was getting her chemo next to us. She and Mel were having a nice chat, a real nice lady. After she left, Mel told me that this lady has terminal colon cancer. She’s opted to continue the chemo treatments anyway; very sad. Like before, I brought along my sketchbook to sketch out some ideas for a small project I want to do. Like before, I was unable to focus enough to do anything at all. Wearing an immobilizer on my right arm and shoulder doesn’t help either, but it wasn’t that.

The chemo finished about 2:30, seemed to go much faster than the last time I went in spite of the late start. Melanie has just 3 more to go. She would like nothing better than to not have to do even one of them, but Dr. K is adamant about having them. Each chemo adds another safeguard to remission, and Melanie is aware of that. But like before, the chemo combined with the white cell shot has made her sick and hurting the rest of the week. We always say a prayer that each treatment won’t have these bad side effects that she’s been suffering with.

We continue to be thankful that she is in remission, that in spite of the pain and sickness, a happy ending is in sight. It has been a long, rough road; there are still a few bumps ahead, but we take comfort knowing that everything will be good soon.