T -5 day.
Part of the LDS branch here at the hospital comes to bless the Sacrament for me. I can't go down to the services. Too many germs. And they can't kneel on my floor because that would leave more germs behind, but they're very kind to come and help me feel at least that connection to the Sabbath.
A nurse tells me about one guy who cleaned everything in his house for the two weeks preceeding his admission--dusted, cleaned out the fish tank, groomed his dog, etc. By the time he got to the hospital, his system was so overloaded with dust, viruses, bacteria, and molds, that he didn't survive the transplant. Darn! I cleaned out our computer hard drive before I was admitted, but I don't think there's too many germs associated with that activity.
So get this. They want me to walk 20 minutes a day, three different times a day. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? I try to walk a minimum of 30 minutes a day at home on the treadmill, so it sounds like a pretty easy goal. Huh! So give the girl whose lungs don't want to cooperate all these extra parameters to deal with. First, chemo that is known to make you dizzy and uncordinated. Try concentrate on breathing and walking straight now. Second, a pig mask that is thick and heavy and cuts off almost all outside air. Now, try to breathe while you walk! Third, add pulling an IV pole for an extra load for your lungs to deal with. Even when they add oxygen under the pig mask, now I have to lug the portable oxygen tank also on these daily excursions. Whew! I can't wait until the 20 minutes is over each time. I think I'll ask about maybe using the portable stationary bikes they have instead.
Oh, and it's not just one dose of chemo every day. Days 2-5 are 1 hour of chemo (Ara-C) in the morning around 9:00 a.m. Then Etoposide about 4:00 p.m. Then another dose of Ara-C in the evening--around 9:00 a.m. It's triple chemo time for me!
Although Dale and I are surprised how well I feel. We both thought at this point in the game I'd be much sicker. Hooray!
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