Halfway there

This is the day I was looking forward to, the day when I could say that Adriamycin will no longer be pushed into my veins! However, as I'd feared, that day did not go so smoothly. Marie, the chemo nurse, was having an off day, complicated by the fact that one of my two good veins was unusable. So she tried once in the good vein, and missed. Tried again, a little higher up, and missed again. She was flustered, so she got another nurse to do it. It was interesting to watch this second nurse, Teresa, as she felt and tapped and rapped on my veins. She closed her eyes and went by touch - brilliant technique, I thought. Third time was a charm, and she got the IV right in. Big sighs of relief.

But then Marie came in and said that I should strongly consider getting a port. This is minor surgery, but there are complications with it, and I really, really don't want one. The next four treatments are, supposedly, less harsh on my veins, so I'm tempted to wait it out. One of my veins appears to be hardened, and the fear is that the rest will harden up, and they'll all be unusable. But that may or may not happen. This totally sucks. I've got a week or so to think about it. I'm just concerned that ego was wrapped up in making the recommendation for a port, and that, since the second nurse got the IV in without a problem, maybe it's not that bad. I just don't know.

Anyway, the aftermath of the treatment was not that bad. No headache, no real nausea. Just very tired and that general feeling of ickiness. One good thing about having a slight cold/congestion is that I can't really smell the Adriamycin. That sickening smell is something that I will never forget.

So, four down, four to go. So, to mix my metaphors really well, I'm not out of the woods, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel!