Treatment No. 2


I wake up around 8:15am having dreampt that I was in surgery all night. During my dream, Dr. Gemis, my surgeon had an afro and I could hear everything he was saying while he cut me open. I wouldn't say that it was scary... it was just very unpleasant to have to wake up and actually go to the hospital.


We arrived at Surgical Day at 9:30am. We checked in and were told to go to the end of the hall to cubicle 6. Joan was my nurse. She's been through cancer twice. Back then, they left her port-a-cath in for 5 years!! She's extremely nice with a great sense of humor... which really helps.

I get my IV in my left hand and then we wait for almost 2 hours.



While I wait, Dr. Mom looks over my charts. We are really bored and cold and I refuse to be distracted by the TV. Another nurse comes over to gossip with Mom about the old days and people from the past, while I worry about if I'm going to be completely asleep during the port-a-cath procedure.


Dr. Gemis comes in to see us. He doesn't have an afro but his surgical bathing cap looks pretty rediculous. He pokes at my neck to see where exactly he wants to insert the port-a-cath. He says it shouldn't take longer than a half hour and that I will rest in the recovery room for about an hour. Good, good, let's get this over with. I go into surgery around 11:30am.

I wake up in the recovery room, like always, with a lot to say to everyone. Dr. Gemis comes darting in huffing that he didn't realize I needed the port-a-cath to be accesible for chemo this afternoon. He pokes my right shoulder a couple of times really hard while I tell him that I need to take his picture. The next thing I know, he's gone and the recovery nurse, Marge is bestowing all the best anecdotes for baldness... I'm saying "oh really" and "yea" and then she puts some stuffed animals in my arms and I'm wheeled back to good old cubicle 6 where lunch is waiting.

I look hot after surgery :)


Me and Mom have lunch. My turkey sandwhich is dry and I can barely swallow it because the oxygen mask made my mouth so dry. So instead of choking to death I have a spoonful of onion soup and opt for the vanilla ice cream.



Then, Joan comes for me. I'm late for chemo and everyone wants to go home. Tell me about it. Joan gives me a vicodin and wheels me up to the third floor. It's chemo time!




Joan and I say farewell. I think she was sort of glad to be rid of me. I named the dog after her and I think she took slight offense.

I sit in my recliner and Kay gives me some tylenol and tries out the new port-a-cath. It is so much better than getting stabbed repeatedly!!

I get my chemo and it's pretty uneventful. Kay was super tired as was I and Mom too. I took all of my drugs like a good girl and Mom took a nap. I had a Luna bar. And we went home. Like all of my favorite places, we pretty much closed the joint.