I checked in and waited about 5 minutes before they called me into the room where they lay you back in a recliner and access your port-a-cath. It really hurt the first time since it was still sensitive from the surgery but this time it was no big deal. The big deal occurred when Patricia couldn't get a blood return, which means no blood would flow from the port-a-cath. That's the whole point of having one installed... practically.
Supposedly this happens quite a bit, a fiber and sheath can develop so that liquid cannot pass out. This is slightly disappointing since it means I have to get poked in the laboratory in order to get my blood work done.
This takes about 4 minutes and is practically painless... but still an annoyance since I don't really like Manny, the lab guy.
Gloria, the nurse practitioner comes in and talks to me about all of the side effects I have been experiencing... which is luckily not that many. She takes her time reading my extensive file. I take the liberty of sparing her the details of my latest sad-phase.
Kay comes in, removes the access needle and tries again. No deal. So, it's off to the chemo lounge.
Later, while sitting around eating a piece of bread and helping Billy assemble his new shocks for his truck, the doorbell rang. It was Todd with flowers and ice cream! It was an awesome surprise and made the whole blurry day better. We hung out and watched the new Gordon Ramsey show Kitchen Nightmares. It was an awesome ending to a terrible day.