Treatment No. 6

I woke up late. It seems as though they make my appointments earlier and earlier each time. Oh well. I have toast with jelly for breakfast. Auntie Mary arrives and me, mom, and Mary head off to the hospital.

Patricia accesses my port-a-cath. No blood return. Darn. Manny does my blood work. And I see Gloria, the nurse practicioner. Mom and Mary stay in the waiting room since the lounge is crowded.

In the chemo-lounge, Kathy tells me that she is going to use a vein instead of my port-a-cath, just to be on the safe side. Whatever. She stabs me a total of 3 times. Plus the needle still inside my port-a-cath, plus the stab wound from Manny... that's 5. And I'm all bruised.

Kathy pumps me full of drugs and I just sort of stare off into space. Some Presidential Address is on TV but I can't comprehend it, and trying to only makes me nauseas. I avoid looking at the dripping IV bag by rotating my gaze from patient to patient around the room. Boring. Then, Dr. Sanz comes in with a young woman and I hear him tell the nurses that she has Hodgkin's. I wanted to talk to her but I also didn't want to scare her. I remember wanting to talk to everyone on my first day and being discouraged by all the old, sleeping faces. But still, I couldn't bring myself to butt into her business.

After my treatment, which went by surpisingly fast, I was sent to have a flow-study done on my port-a-cath to put the nurses at ease. Mary, mom, and I went here and there all over the hospital trying to find where I was supposed to go. Finally, I admit myself and head into the "Short-Stay Unit," put a johnny on and get into a stretcher. Sweet. From here, they wheel me somewhere far far away into an elevator onto the X-ray floor and into a narrow hallway. A nurse introduces herself and I explain what's been going on with the stupid port-a-cath. Then the doctor comes out in a Patagonia fleece vest and I re-explain to him and he says that he really likes my hat and "Are you a boarder?" And so the entire time he is injecting dye into my port-a-cath and watching it flow on the monitor we talk about mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire and Argentina and Chile and France. It was sweet. And my port-a-cath is fine.

So I'm wheeled back down in the elevator and someone brings me some cold apple juice. And I just want to fall asleep behind the privacy curtain in my stretcher all alone and sterile and chemo-ed-out. But Mom comes in and I get dressed and we have to go.

See ya, hospital. Outside we have to take our picture so while we are posing Sue Patanaude says hello. Hello!

Finally we get home and I sleep from 1-5 or 6 I can't even remember. And I eat delicious Shepard's Pie that Auntie Kellie brought over. Watch some TV. Help Victoria study. And it's back to bed.

Another treatment down and 2 more to go.