Cycle 1, Day 19

Friday 25th January 2019
“As long as there are games to play it is not over.” — Sir Alex Ferguson

Today marks the last treatment for Cycle 1, I’ve now had one third of the chemo I am due to have. There are two more 3 week cycles to go, with Cycle 2 starting on Monday. 2 days of rest remain of Cycle 1.

There was an unwelcome 6.30am alarm today, to get to the hospital on time. I needed to be there for 9.20am but Jayne dropped me before work so I was there about 8.25am. I didn’t have to take a ticket and give a blood sample today, given they were there taken on Wednesday and all fine. One less bruise today.

On that note, my right arm is full of bruises. You’d be forgiven for seeing an arm full of bruises & needle marks and the bad boy haircut and mistaking me for a junkie.

Same Friday drill, see the Dr to get the ok for chemo, have a chat about how I’ve been. No real issues today, we already knew bloods were fine. I know I’ve been feeling crappy because of Monday and the Filgrastim injections. I actually felt a bit more spritely this morning compared to the rest of the week. All good for chemo.

Having forgotten to ask on Wednesday, I asked what the infection turned out to be and whether the chest X-Ray was ok. The X-Ray was fine, they spotted my 2-piece healed collarbone on there from 2 years ago. There was evidence of Rotavirus on my swabs, that’s a sickness/diahorrea type virus. Maybe it was that in week 2 causing my toilet trips. Otherwise, it was likely a combination of factors. The main thing we’re interested in is not what it was so much, but that it was dealt with and is no longer a threat. I also gave the obligatory explanation around my haircut and it got a giggle and a well done.

Next order of business, full English breakfast in the hospital restaurant. Tick. Off to the chemo ward for my 10.30am session, waiting for the phone call to go and take my chair, which was also reasonably timely compared to last week. I tried to describe the chemo suite last week, it was fairly quiet this week so I didn’t mind taking a picture.

You get a comfy leather electric recliner, there’s free wifi in most places in the hospital including here so you can use your electronics. Brews on offer, food if you are there at the right time, music playing. Yeah it’s a bit depressing knowing why people are there and being lined up together, but they do a great job of making a comfortable and relaxing environment for you. For it’s purpose, it’s a great facility.

There were only 2 others nearby hooked up, both there a lot longer than me. Only one more arrived while I was there. The drill here is becoming more familiar too. Get the cannula in, first put some steroids in, flush it through with a little saline. Put the chemo through, it was about 15 mins late today so a brief wait. Bob the pump takes half an hour to put the Bleomycin through, and then another 10 minutes to flush some saline through. It’s then a case of having the cannula taken out, and then off home. All in all about an hour with no delays.

Dad picked me up again, I bought us fish and chips on the way home for lunch to say thank you, I indulged too. My sister came around with baby Xander, we all chatted until about 2.30pm which was nice.

I’d been struggling for a few hours feeling tired again, surprise surprise. I crawled into my bed about 2.45pm intending to sleep until 3.40pm when the boys would be dropped off. I slept through the 3.40pm alarm and the doorbell woke me up. I was absolutely dead to the world, mouth open, dribble, the works. I managed to get up, go downstairs, and I was that tired I struggled to keep conversation at the door.

I asked the boys very nicely to find something quiet to do quietly, and let me sleep, Jayne wouldn’t be back until around 5.30pm. They were great and grabbed their tablets and went in their rooms. I was out cold again, dribbling, and was fast asleep up until 5pm. I really needed that. I woke feeling pretty groggy, came round after about 10 minutes and then took them downstairs to begin our Friday evening. Jayne cooked their tea, I ordered Chinese food (have you been counting the calories) again through sheer lack of energy to get off the sofa. Now it’s Arsenal vs Man U while Jayne is out with her buddies for a meal, and then lots of rest.

It’s the third time I’ve had Bleomycin now. Days 2, 12 and 19. Each time, I’ve got a bit of a phlegmy cough reasonably quickly afterwards, and a little bit of a tight chest. No difference tonight, it usually passes fairly quickly. I’ll drink as much as I can again, to flush the system again and stay hydrated. Antibiotics finish today so I’ll also be medication free for the weekend. I still feel like I’ll sleep well tonight. Then the job this weekend is to recuperate as much as possible before Monday’s 3 day visit.