I'm Here. Finally!

I'm doing the old hunt and peck so please forgive any typos. My left hand is in rough shape from lack of any kind of exercise. It's 9 PM, Central Time, and I just got hooked up to the chemo. I'd been having hydration for about 6 hours. I had the catheter put in at about 1 PM. The surgery went well but I came close to vomiting when they put the IV in for anesthesia. I'm not sure why. Maybe from not having eaten anything in 16 hours.

The Hickman line went into my left side, in my neck, and came out above my left breast. Some muscle was cut in my neck and it got a little sore so I was just given something for the pain. I'm having a lot of trouble walking because I've been lying down so much. I need exercise!

About an hour ago a nurse came in to "do my labs" as she called it. She said she'd have to do it again at midnight. As I started looking for a decent vein she said she'd take the blood right out of the catheter. (There are three lines in the one catheter) I immediately got nervous and my left leg started to shake. This reaction is one of the things I'm looking forward to being rid of. It's better than having needles stuck in me all the time but for some reason it really freaked me out. I cried a little over it. Now that I know that that is how they're going to do it I'll be fine.

I have a lovely little device in my toilet called a hat. It measures my urine output. They will also check the urine for blood. It's a wonderful gadget that sticks up my butt when I try to sit down. It has two sides. The front is for urine and the back is, well, you get the picture. Imagine having that job? No thanks!

I was given anti-nausea drugs with this first dose. I had to take a Zofran when I got into the room after I tried to eat some toast. An hour later Andy was out getting me ice cream! He said "you aren't going to lose any weight in here!" Once I tried the dinner I assured him I will!

He is in the corner wrapped up in a blanket watching the game. He's cold. The room has a special ventilation system that equalizes the room pressure or some such thing. If someone out in the hall sneezes the air wont come into my room. It makes the room cool, though. I like it.

Beside having email trouble and having a hard time with this laptop (small keyboard) I'm pretty content. The staff here is amazing. Everyone is very friendly and they triple check everything. OK, off to watch the game!!