I'm back from the brink!

Monday, August 11 my mom drove me to my first Cisplatin treatment. I had labs drawn at 8:00 and my infusion was to start at 8:30 but they were running late and didn't start until 9:15 or so. First I had to be pre-medicated with steroids and Zofran. Then the Cisplatin was started. The RN had to stop my infusion at 3:15 so my mom and I could walk 4 blocks to make my 3:30 radiation appointment. Keep in mind she had already made s slightly longer walk at noon to get us lunch. The radiation was pretty painful. The huge hard piece of plastic they make me hold in my mouth while they smash it against my throat with the facemask is what makes it hurt.

The day went by pretty quickly. We watched QVC and HSN and before the day was over I had purchased blinds for my bathroom, 2 skirts and a jacket. We had the pleasure of talking for quite some time to the Director of Nursing who has worked there for 32 years! My reaction last week to the Erbitux made me quite the celebrity, but not the kind of recognition I would wish upon anyone. You could tell she was passionate about her job and she enjoyed educating us. She said in addition to developing antibodies to Erbitux from tick bites nickel miners also commonly have the antibodies.

It was a long day because we didn't leave Wesley until 6:45 pm and we had a shopping list to complete. So we headed for Walgreen's and bought a super-soft toothbrush, Biotene toothpaste, Biotene mouth spray  and some office items to keep everything organized. I told my mom I was going to have to designate a section of my kitchen as "The Cancer Area". 

I took a short walk over to Brandi's and back and then got ready to go to bed. I planned to get up at 6:00 am and go to work. Well that was my plan anyway.

My mommy and me
 

On the chemo