OUCH...

I guess I whimped out today when my nurse Heather was inserting the needle into my portacath... That little contraption is going to save my veins though... but "good grief" it really hurt!

This place is amazing! It's the Ida Friend Infusion Center at UCSF. The nurses are wonderful, the place is clean, wi-fi (we must stay connected) and there is tons of natural sunlight. It's a beautiful day in San Francisco.

Today is the first time having my port accessed.. and I know part of my aprehension was how it would feel. It wasn't as bad as I imagined but it still hurt big time. She kept pushing it, and pushing it to make sure it was inserted, and at first the blood wouldn't come out to ensure that it was all the way in. My goodness... I'm so happy it was;  There was a patient today who got really sick, I could hear them gagging and coughing and the staff called for housekeeping, so i'm thinking he vomited all over the place... But from the way it was handled so quickly and nonchalantly they are used to it, and it wasn't a huge deal.

Okay, so the the first thing after drawing the blood to make sure the port was working properly, she started the sailine solution and I could immediately taste it... Amazing how we can taste what is going in through IV. okay, so now my IV unit is beeping. I just unplugged to go to the restroom... right when I'm washing my hands to leave it started beeping with a flashing red light... OMG! What did I do now. First day of chemo, and already i'm messing up... I just waked out, Lawrence plugged it back in and we looked at the reading and it flashed "infusion complete" ~ whew... So that was the fluids to hydrate me (like the 2 bottles of water I drank already were not enough) and that is why I had to get up and go relieve myself... At least it's nearby and not a long track down the hall and around the corner.

The next infusion will be the actual chemo medication Adriamycin and Cytoxan ~ I was also given Aloxy to assist with my nausea. The adraimycin (doxorubicin) is like red kool aid and is being injected manually. The next dosing today will be Cytoxan and will be IV drip... all through this nifty little port. So I'm totally hands FREE!!! Whoo Hoo!

For those of you wondering, it will take 2-3 weeks after today's treatment for the hair loss and other side-effects to take place. I bought this cute little cap today to wear to bed. It helps collect my hair when it falls out at night. Nifty idea, because who wants to wake up with clumps of hair on their pillows. But then I think it's cute enough to wear to the store... I opted for a light color so that it would stay cool in the summer... Will post a picture as soon as my hair is completely gone. Stay tuned...

God is Good!

Grace and Peace ~ LaTishia