Friday 6 November 2015

Round 5 Started Today

Last night I had trouble getting to sleep. My rule is if I'm still struggling after midnight I play a sleep meditation on my phone. I tried out a new one. I found it funny! It was kind of cheesy! Well it made me laugh and helped a little but I don't think I'll use it again.

The appointment was at 9am. We walked in to town. This required what is now considered an early start for me and I slept a bit later than I'd planned.
I always love walking to town. It's a busy time of day to walk in. Life everywhere. And spring too. How lovely.

Then the usual workout - 8 flights of stairs up to the oncology day ward. The hallway was full of people waiting outside and this notice on the door.
Shortly after that someone came out and said it would be another 15 mins. Dave made some phone calls, I sat on a windowsill and waited.  It wasn't that long.
Selfie before Chemo begins

I got hit with a bit of mild fatigue pretty soon. A sort of 'fuzzy head' feeling. And reactions to cold temperatures. I spent most of the time just sitting. I usually get up and walk around a lot more.
We didn't have any paperwork to catch up today (hooray) but I took phone calls from my Superfund and Centrelink, and the dietitian came and had a chat with us. We fine-tuned some details around sugar in fruit juices and the GI levels in bread and rice.
I even played some Sudoku's on my phone - I think I stuffed up the last one and now I can't finish it without mucking up my winning streak - oops, chemo brain!
And I drank a lot of tea and coffee.
The nurses come and go, saline flushes, glucose flushes, chemo drugs, and finally my bottle to go home with.
We walked home. Slower. And with me looking very silly with my gloves and scarf over my mouth and nose. My face and hands were going numb in the fresh air.
Chemo Fashion. Its not the best look.

I popped in at work and said hi at work before we went home, as it is so close to the hospital - always nice to see the guys - I'm not there often enough now.
On a Chemo Friday, sometimes it feels like a race against time, doing the last things I can before I go splat.

Also on a Chemo Friday, Dave and I try to treat ourselves somehow, as a bit of a moral boost. This is how we ended up at Bunnings this afternoon.
We bought Sunflower seeds and tomato plants for our balcony. I am ridiculously excited about this. In spirit. Obviously. I'm not actually jumping up and down at the moment.  


But then we got carried away with the treats. Not at Bunnings. 

We heard the news that Joanna Newsom is doing some dates in Australia in Jan 2016. This is not an opportunity to be missed. So we bought tickets! Now we will have to buy flights and accommodation. This is what I call 'frivolousness leading to more frivolousness'. Oops. But I'm even more excited about this than the sunflowers! 
We played some Joanna Newsom records to celebrate the purchase of our Joanna Newsom tickets

Next round we will skip the treat! The fact that is the last one will be a big moral booster anyway.




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