Chemo is no joke!

I officially now know what it may actually feel like to get hit by a Mack truck! 

Yesterday morning began at 9:00 a.m. when Kyle and I would go to Metro and they would surgically insert a port into on my right chest.  It was about a 45 minute procedure but by the looks of all of the bandages you would think I had some sort of open heart surgery.  Geesh! 

We would then be whisked away to the Cancer Center which is directly behind the hospital so they could begin my chemo regimen for the day.  Chemo almost did not happen yesterday, however. For my health insurance colleagues...the insurance company truly can be a pain in the butt when getting chemo treatments (each north of $15,000) pre-authorized.  Thanks to Lynda Cerutti for getting me to the VP of this process.  The treatment was literally going to be called off within a half hour Tuesday afternoon because prior authorization had not been granted.  They came through in the 11th hours...whew!

We had a beautiful little 'pod' to ourselves with a TV and a recliner.  I was hooked up to the first chemo bag at 1:00.  They would tell us to set our iPhone timers for 90 minutes for this bag.  Then some at 20 minutes and then the last two at 90 minutes and 2 hours.  At 6:30 last night I was finally unhooked.  Then re-hooked me to a pump that I have attached through my port and sits in a handy dandy fannie pak (No, Becky Moleski...you can't bedazzle it!).  I am receiving 2ML per hour of a pretty strong chemo drug called 5FU (perfect name for this drug) after my day today.  I literally can't stay awake for more than an hour at a time and the nausea is getting worse as the day wears on.  Another interesting side effect I am experiencing is blurry vision so no guarantee's on spelling.

You have heard me talk about Matt Chattfield in my prior blog and we had the distinct privilege of meeting him and his wife yesterday while having chemo.  What a blessing they will be to us.  I had lots of questions and Matt even lifted his shirt for me to see what my scars would look like.  Lets just say my bikini wearing days are over!

Finally home and a beautiful surprise from Kyle.  Brand new bedding for our bed which my mom and one of her friends worked all day on getting ready for me.  For those of you who know us, Kyle likes the finer things in life and I have always been content with Target brand.  I don't want to know how much he spent on this bedding but I can tell you it wasn't purchased at Target.  It was like sleeping in a 5 star hotel!  What a gift!

As rough as this is I am up for the fight!  I have these two beautiful girls who need their momma!  And this will be all worth it when I can say I am a SURVIVOR!