Hallo everybody! Finally got my laptop transported to the hospital today. I'm on Day 4 now out of 5 days chemo treatment. I found out what my treatment consist of (for those who are interested..)
Day 1-3:
- GCSF (injection to induce white blood cell production)
- Fludarabine (over 30 minutes)
- Idarubicin (Slow bolus)
- Ara-C/Cytarabine (over 4 hours)
Day 4-5: All of the above except Idarubicin
How was it? Well this time I had the chemo drugs i/v-ed through my peripheral veins, since I don't have the Hickman line anymore. Everything else went in fine...until it came time for Idarubicin. Shit it's painful!!!! So for the first three days, the doctor had to set a temporary line for me everytime my hand starts to ache. And looking for a good vein on my hand is like searching for the holy grail. My mum tells me I should start doing more housework...heheh. Anyway, thankfully I had a doctor who never gives up, he will try until he finds a good vein, even if it means he has to squat by my bed for an hour.
So Day 1-3 was quite painful. Ok I take that back...it was very painful! Day 4 came and I relaxed a bit. Mid-day, I realized that my line was blocked. Water wouldn't drip in. I thought, shit...not another "poke-my-hands" session!! The doctor on-call came and couldn't find a usable vein, so after getting clearance from the consultant, she decided to insert a long line on my arm. A long line is like a Hickman line, only that the line is put through the fold of my upper and lower arm, instead of through my chest. It would last longer than the normal lines I had. I'll post a picture later.
I didn't ask for sedation for this procedure, since I thought it wouldn't be too painful. But my God was I wrong!!!! I was SOOOOOO wrong!!! I don't know about other people, but I don't take pain too well. So I cried on my bed while the doctor tried 3 times before we were successful. And when we were done, I realized I couldn't fully bend my arm. AAARGGHH!!!! I get very upset when I lose a bit of mobility...so I cried a bit more. This thing on my arm is really the most uncomfortable thing in the world!!! I can slowly bend my arm now..hope tomorrow it becomes more comfortable.
So tomorrow will be Day 5 and the last day of chemo treatment. After this it will be about 4 weeks of observation, where I will get treated with antibiotics etc as I develop fevers, infections etc (hope not laa...) Yesterday one of the nurses said to me "You must be counting the days to go home, huh?" At the moment I can't even picture the day I get to go home, it seems too long ahead!! I'm not encouraged to have visitors or wander around the ward..so I've borrowed four seasons of The Sopranos dvd set to watch while I'm stuck in here. And I've brought a Matematik Tambahan book to take my mind off things. I know it sound nerdy, but it really does work. When worried, do math - try it out. I'm also thinking of buying a TV card for my laptop...know any good and reasonably priced ones?
Adios for now!
