4/26/2012
It’s noontime and
I’m just now plugged in for the first chemical in this round of High Dose
Chemo. They’ve got some glucose running
to clear the way and the toxin starts in fifteen minutes. There will be about six days of the chemicals
that make up the BEAM regimen followed by a day of “Therapiepause” and then the stem cells make
their triumphant return. Looks like an
additional hookup will be used for this, a “central line”.
Upon arrival
yesterday I was quickly shipped off for another CT scan. The results were good with only a spot or two
of “regressing” lymphoma. It’s cleared
from liver, lungs, bones, etc. Hopefully
this last round blasts away anything that remains.
The doc (a female
doc from Argentina whose accent in English is clearly not the usual “Denglish”
we’ve come to know from living among Germans and working at English Camps) just
popped in with a final warning about today’s med – Carmustin. It is dissolved in ethanol before infusion so
she wanted to let me know that I might be feeling the effects of a few
drinks. Well, it is after noon here so
maybe that’s why they waited until now.
Yesterday’s check
in also included the, now familiar, octopus like EKG. I love this innovation. If all of these tests I’ve had over he past
two months had been done with old-school adhesive pickups I’d be worried about
getting rid of mounds of lint stuck to my chest and ankles (rather than being
continually startled by the lack of hair that characterizes them now).
I traded my first
roommate in this morning for a new one.
Both were/are pretty much monolingual German speakers so I’ve had to
step up my game at meal times. Of
course, one can convey many nuances of why the food is unappetizing without
having to express it linguistically. My
first roommate will be coming back in fifteen days for another round of chemo
so I expect we’ll meet again. He’s also
a football fan so he enjoyed watching the Munich-Madrid game last night – we
both slept well with the outcome for the “home” team.
Well, “lunch”
just arrived and “drinks” are about to be served via IV so I best indulge.
So, lunch was not
bad – sort of a veal hamburger with gravy, noodles, broccoli and raspberry
yoghurt. I didn’t have to get out the
salt-shaker I smuggled in and I even ate some of my veggies. I know I’ve been sort of ambivalent regarding
the food but this one could be gladly repeated – and that’s not just the IV talking!
Correction on the
new roomie – he’s not bad in English as a former IBM software engineer retired
at exactly the same time he was diagnosed with the cancer that has him here for
a stem cell transplant as well. We seem
to be getting on well.
Time to kick
back.
2 comments:
Haha - God hears. I'll keep up the prayers for your food - glad lunch wasn't awful.
Thanks for the prayers Jennifer- and to so many others that are praying!
~Diane
Post a Comment