I had another subject in mind for this post, but Infusion Day showed up with ideas of its own. So, I will mentally press “save” on the subject rattling around in my head-which these days came be a little dicey.
Well, Thursday was Infusion Day #3. Eddie and I have settled into a rhythm on these days. We are normally due in at MDAnderson around 8:15-9:00 for blood work. Hands down the fast lab work in the West (East, North or South). That means leaving our house around 7:00 depending on what the traffic apps suggests, later if we have a later time slot. This past Thursday, we did have the 9:15 slot, which meant Rip Van Winkle could sleep until 7:00. I, of course, was up by 5:30 AM to shower, eat a light breakfast, and possibly do a load of laundry before I leave. By 7:15. Eddie was up but not yet dressed. The load of laundry in the washer had finished it cycle, but not without leaving a little present…roughly 15 gallons of water on the floor, under the cabinet, out the garage wall. The washer drain hose was totally out of the drain…guess I am glad that wall is hardiplank with tile over the top. Harvey over-engineering for the win. No insurance or remediation company had to be called. There was an accumulation of dusty bunnies floating in a sea of semi sudsy water…proud moment. I opened the beach/bath towel cabinet, grabbed several towels and started blotting up the water. I sent Eddie after the bucket and mop, then to finish dressing. Yikes, what a mess to clean up…nothing like a house maintenance issue to take your mind of being poisoned with chemo in a few hours. I finished the job in about 20 minutes, so our chemo train was still on time, especially the way Eddie drives. The towels I laid out on the driveway to dry while we were gone…alerted my neighbor that it was not an art installation by a Modern artist, but more of a clean up aisle 2. My sweet neighbor wash my towels before we got home, just in case I have a repeat performance. It was not until we weren’t half way to the Woodlands that I realized I should have used the Wet Vac that Eddie has in his tool toy box outside. Yeah, chemo brain, it is a thing. I will complete this portion of my story-payment of the stupid tax after I review my day at MDA.
While Eddie parked the car, I got my MDAnderson wrist band, and had my blood drawn before he ever got to the third floor. For your number wonks, my numbers were strong, despite feeling rather fatigued this past go around. My CA-19A (the cancer marker for Biliary Cancer) has continued to trend down, which means the poison is working. Our prayer request is that my regular blood work stays strong, and this marker keeps going down. At 9:45 ish, I was called from Door A to join them in one of the 40 infusion rooms. #38 to be exact. Paulo was my male infusion nurse. I showed him my ugly Port, black and blue, raised and angry. It has been this way from the start. He was wonderful-a Port Whisper, I guess. He determined that it was balanced and rocked on the 2016 port scar tissue. The toggling back and forth had caused bruising all the way up into my jugular. There is a lot of sterilization and pregame before they pop the port access for my dose of poison. He worked with it until he could stabilize the port so it would not rock the entire treatment. I quickly decided he was my hero.
Somewhere between the hydration, steroids and the first bag of poison, Paulo took a powder. He ghosted me…kinda like being in the self check out at Wal Mart, dyi and not much instruction for a non priced item. As the IV alarm was on repeat every 90 seconds, a new person would show up to turn it off, but not move the chemo dot in any meaningful way. Dr. Eddie to the rescue. He went to find the charge nurse and get to the bottom of why I had been off loaded. Remember, Eddie has been through this treatment two times, and has memorized both the sequence, meds and timing. Not because he is a medical nerd, he is calculating the traffic home depending on departure time. He has this down to a science. The two chemo drugs must be delivered separately. Each has to be double (now triple with Dr. Eddie) verified that it is the correct drug, my name and birthdate are correct. The final poison is platinum based and has to wear a UV amber raincoat. Dr. Eddie has already started prepping for the radiation portion of my treatment by purchasing a book (I kid you not) on Understanding Radiation. It is good to have Dr. Eddie in charge. Turns out that one of Paulo’s 3 patients was a first time infusion that was in need of lots of love and hugs. She was scared, and Paulo stayed with her…her husband was not much better than she was. It is a simple reminder that every journey down this road is different and that some required more help and strength from others. Besides, not everyone can have a Dr. Eddie.
I will conclude with the stupid tax and the washing machine issue. While sitting in infusion bay #38, I called a plumber, and ordered a new washing machine hose for my crazy draining problem from Amazon. I assumed it was either a broken hose or a clogged line. Friday morning, the plumber showed up. No clog as it shares a sewer line with the kitchen, and we would have seen evidence of a clogged line in there. Duh! No clog. What I did have is too much water pressure on the drain line…got to love a Speed Queen rinse and spin cycle. The plumber made the drain hose go farther down the drain and tied it off so it would not jump out and flood the floor again. That will be $145.00, Sir. Stupid Tax, right. Money spent when you could have corrected the problem yourself, if you had used you brain. Oh well, in my defense, Chemo Brain…it is a thing. Off to add Frog #3, Bryan, to my yard.
