Feeling good surprisingly!

Thought I was going to get a relaxing, pajama day on the couch with mom, but she's been feeling great and we've been getting lots of stuff done!

Her port site isn't even that sore any more; it's nice and bruised tough. Yesterday was long, to be expected for your first round I guess. We had numbed up her port site with some lidocaine cream, so when they accessed it with the needle she didn't even feel it! It took awhile to get going, but once she was all hooked up the medications flowed with no problems. It was weird seeing her sitting there getting chemo- all this anticipation became a reality. We kept busy in our little room reading and using the computer. We met some of the oncology nurses who were great and got a visit from Jean. After infusion was complete, the pharmacist met with us and sent us home with another bag of medications- it's crazy all the drugs you get to take! But with that said, we are very thankful for each and every one of them and what they do.

To be honest, I didn't believe the healthcare team when they told us mom wouldn't have any nausea or vomiting after chemo. They said if it was going to happen it would probably show up around 12 hours postchemo infusion, so I was not really looking forward to 1 AM. But 12 hours have passed and we are now at the 24 hour mark with no real complaints. The steroids have boosted her energy, but haven't caused any 'crazy steroid induced emotions', or at least not yet! Having worked in the hospital with patients who have had organ transplants, I have seen the many side effects they can have, but thankfully we haven't had to deal with that.

At 1 pm I got to give mom her Neulasta injection- a little shot in her belly that will help keep her white blood cell count from dropping too low. Usually patients have to go back into the clinic to have this done, but since I'm a nurse the pharmacy dispensed it to us and I got to poke her! I was gentle, so she didn't cry too much, just kidding! But she wouldn't pay the in-home nurse administration fee either, darn it!

So we're holding strong for now, we will keep you updated over the next few days. Have a great weekend everyone! GO BADGERS ;)

Lins & mom