Keep Calm (and try not to pass out)

Over the weekend before my 3rd chemo, Jeremy and I signed up for a group tour of the Labor & Delivery unit at the hospital where we'll finally meet our Sweet Potato!  We made it a "date day" by going to lunch and a movie before the tour, which was on Sunday afternoon.  The official guide called in sick that day, so we had a haphazard tour by a nurse who essentially read notes from a piece of paper at lightning speed.  In any case, it was nice to get a sneak peak at the rooms and familiarize ourselves with the whole process.  I've heard great things about the unit (which is at the same hospital where I go for chemo), so despite the underwhelming tour, I'm still excited and optimistic that we'll have a great experience there.

That evening, I started to feel a little sick, and woke up in the middle of the night with what I'll vaguely describe as "gastrointestinal issues."  I was also nauseous and just generally not feeling like myself.  I had an appointment with my oncologist that Monday morning (10/6), so I let him know about my symptoms.  But, he didn't seem too concerned, as I didn't have a fever.  He suggested that perhaps I was getting a little nervous, since it was the day before my next chemo.  I had labwork done and went home to rest for a few hours before my second appointment of the day at the OB.

That afternoon, I had my monthly prenatal exam.  I'm 30 weeks now and the belly is really starting to show itself!  My mom came along and got to hold the doppler to find baby's heartbeat, which is always music to my ears.  I learned the results of the glucose screening test that I took the week before.  Most tests have a cut-off of 140, meaning that in order to pass, your results have to be less than 140.  But for whatever reason, the test I took has a cut-off of 135.  My score?  137.  So, that meant I "failed" by TWO POINTS!  Not what I wanted to hear, as this basically means more bloodwork, and more trying to figure out when I'm feeling "well" enough to go and take the test.  I'm irritated that by most standards, I was within the normal range!  The 3-hour test involves fasting and then getting blood drawn every hour, for 3 hours.  Most people will switch arms for each draw, to give their veins a break.  But, I'm only able to have blood drawn from one side, so this is another concern that makes me incredibly not-excited to take the test. Scar tissue is already starting to develop around the veins in my "good" arm, due to all of the labwork. Ew.

Needless to say, I left the OB appointment feeling a little annoyed.  I also still felt sick and just wanted to go home and try to sleep it off.  I laid down around 4pm, and was down for the count.  I continued with the stomach issues, nausea, and now had a headache and fever that was creeping up.  Jeremy monitored it every hour, as I'm supposed to contact the oncologist if it reaches 100.4 (this would be a sign of a developing infection, which would be bad news the day before chemo).  Luckily, it only reached 100.1 and then began to taper off.  I continued my marathon sleep session and hoped that I'd feel better in the morning, because if not, the chemo treatment would probably have to be delayed.

Charley, my napping buddy <3

I felt substantially better on Tuesday morning, and was able to go ahead with treatment as planned.   My vitals were good, though the nurse noted that my pulse was high, around 123.  This time my dad got initiated into the "chemo club" and I must say that I'm very proud of him!  Not many dads have to deal with two daughters simultaneously going through cancer treatment, and I'm lucky my parents live nearby and are ready and willing to help out any way they can. We settled in for our 6-hour session and earned a Starbucks on the way home.

For the next two days I felt pretty good, all things considered (this is likely due to the steroid pill that I take on the two mornings following each chemo).  On those days, I am pretty much a hermit and don't leave the house.  On Friday (10/10), my dad took me back to the hospital for IV fluids.  The nurse had a hard time accessing my port again, which has happened one other time when I came in for fluids.  She could insert the needle just fine, but couldn't get a blood return.  Two more nurses were called over to troubleshoot, as well as a student nurse who was there to observe.  Because the port is located between my armpit/neck, the nurses have to lean in really close to get the job done. So, a tiny room with four nurses in my face, plus my poor dad who was just trying to stay out of their way...I quickly started to feel lightheaded and sweaty.  I asked for some water and then said I felt like I might vomit.  I commend the student nurse who did a stellar job fetching me a barf bag.  Everyone started moving slowly and their voices became very faint and that's when I realized that I was about to pass out!  Thankfully the nurses also realized what was happening and were able to intervene to keep things from getting to that point.  They theorized that maybe the reason they're having trouble with the port is because I was dehydrated.  Despite drinking a ton of water, I should probably drink even more, because afterall, I'm sharing it with the baby :)  So, I ended up with a regular IV, and was given some breathing room.  Kudos to my dad for keeping calm, cool, and collected!  I'm glad I could provide some entertainment for everyone.

After a few hours on the IV drip, it was time to go home.  But, I heard some chatter near the nurse's station about how they couldn't let me go home until they messed with the port again.  Apparently, they needed to flush it out with Heparin, a drug used to prevent blood clots.  They couldn't send me home without doing this.  I also heard mention of trying it with the "long needle."  My dad and I looked at each other wide-eyed and I yelled to the nurse that a short needle would work just fine!  Luckily, my favorite nurse took the lead this time; she has a way of calmly explaining what she's doing and I feel much more comfortable when she does it.  And finally, SUCCESS!  I should add a disclaimer that having a port is actually a good thing.  Most of the time, it works like a charm and is essentially pain-free.  I don't want to unintentionally scare anyone who might be getting a port...they really are great :)

My brother-in-law had a little setback right around this time.  It's been over two months since his open heart surgery, and he'd just been given the all-clear to return to work when he experienced some weird feelings in his chest.  He went to the ER and ended up being admitted overnight.  After a bunch of tests they were able to pinpoint that nothing major was wrong, but rather an issue that could be addressed with a medication adjustment. We were worried about him but are happy that everything is ok and he's back home!  My sister has her 5th chemo tomorrow...so please take a moment and send some good thoughts her way. She's on the home stretch now!