Ain't no grass gonna grow under these feet...

As we sat on the patio last evening, processing all that had gone on during the day and determined to salvage a special day out of our wedding anniversary, my phone rang. It was Suzanne, Dr. Waugh's nurse. She is always a delight on the phone, and she began by saying that she had called to cancel our beach trip. We had told Dr. Waugh that we were scheduled to go to Newport for a couple of days next week to celebrate our anniversary, and she apparently passed that information on to Suzanne. 

It is ironic that this is the fourth trip to Newport that we have planned and then had to cancel. The previous three were on account of freezing weather that made driving treacherous. Surely, we thought, a trip to the beach in July is safe. 

Suzanne disabused us of that notion by telling us that I am scheduled to begin out-patient chemotherapy on Monday. She had called Jill, the RN in charge of the infusion center. We know Jill from past transfusions. According to Suzanne, when Jill heard it was I who needed to be scheduled, she worked us into the schedule pronto! She's so sweet. There's just something about Jills! 

The regimen comprises seven days of injectable medication combined with daily oral medications. So, beginning Monday morning, I will need to be at Skyline Medical Office daily for the next seven business days (M-F + M&Tu) for injections. I will also need to have a blood draw each day to monitor my progress. 

After the seven days of injections, I will continue taking oral medication for the balance of the 28 day cycle. Then a new cycle will commence on August 8th. In the meantime, I will also be taking a number of medications to counteract the side effects of the chemotherapy. Allopurinol to protect my kidneys; posaconazole to protect me from fungal infections; and probably some others for anti-viral and anti-biotic protection. Perhaps, you can understand why I just ordered a programmable, automated pill dispenser!

So, no beach trip next week. We'll make up for that somewhere along the line. We will...really...I mean it....

In the meantime, we will be off to the clinic later this morning for a blood draw and a stop at the pharmacy. I have to start the Allopurinol today in preparation for the meds on Monday. Don't want my kidneys all full of crystals...ewww! 

Life will be complicated for a time, but it will be complicated at home instead of in the hospital. I like home better than the hospital, as well as I was treated last year at Club Sunnyside. Once we are into the new paradigm for a while, it will become "the new normal." We can do this!

Thanks for trying to follow along with all of this craziness. I appreciate the care and concern that so many of my dear readers have expressed. 

Here we are at Waterfront Park yesterday, enjoying our anniversary and processing a whole lot of new info.