What busy day?

We got an early start today. First stop was the North Lancaster Laboratory at 7:15am for a blood draw. (As it turned out, that was not a necessary stop.) Next we headed for the Skyline Medical Office on the other side of town. Skyline is the location of the Infusion Center, but there is also a pharmacy there, and we needed to pick up my oral chemotherapeutic agent (Venetaclax), which I needed to start taking this morning. 

Downstairs we went: from the pharmacy to the Infusion Center, arriving in plenty of time for my 8:30am appointment.  We didn't know what to expect, except that I would get an injection of the second chemotherapeutic agent . When I was called into the room, Jill stayed in the waiting area for a bit and then headed for the car. 

There was some confusion about the procedure between the pharmacy and the Infusion Center. First, the medication had not yet been delivered. Second, there was a note from the pharmacy saying that I should receive 1.5 liters of normal saline (water with the same salt content as body fluids) by IV drip over...wait for it...TEN (count 'em: TEN) hours. Now, I'm not a physician or a nurse, but I do know that it's probably not possible to slow an IV drip enough to require 10 hours to infuse 1.5 liters (a little over three pints). 

Well, calls were made and conferences were had, and it was decided that 1.5 liters in an hour and  half made sense. That decision having been put to bed, the medication arrived from the pharmacy, and the proceedings began. Lisa, the nurse du jour, started an IV using the saline. She had some trouble getting into a vein in my wrist, but soon I was being filled with salt water. 

Next came the Azacitidine injection(s). It turns out that the dose is given in three separate injections. The whole thing took about 30 seconds. But then I had to wait for the saline to drip into my vein. 

Now, when I heard that I would need an hour and a half to receive the saline, I told Lisa I would be most grateful if someone would notify Jill, who, I thought, was still sitting in the waiting area. Lisa said, "Oh, she is welcome to come in and sit with you, if she would like to." 

Well, that was a jolt, because in the past when I have been seen in the Infusion Center, no visitors were allowed. I asked Lisa to go out and bring Jill in. It turns out that Jill had decided she would be more comfortable in the car and had left. So, I texted her and told her to come back. I think she made it in record time from the parking lot to the Infusion Center. We enjoyed being able to chat while I was receiving all of the things I was receiving: one horse pill, one and a half liters of saline, and three little shots. 

Unfortunately, before the saline finished its dripping, the staff needed the other chair in the room for another patient, so Jill returned to the car. When I was finished, I texted her, and she said she would pick me up outside the oncology department. 

Remember those 3+ pints of saline? Do you know what happens when they put that in your veins? I'll tell you what happens. It's just the same as if you DRINK 3+ pints of water in an hour and a half, except for the fact that it doesn't have to go down your throat and into your stomach and then be absorbed into your blood stream. No. It goes directly into your blood vessels and then makes a bee-line for your kidneys. 

After a stop in the restroom, I headed for the door, which was about 100 feet away. I hit the door just as Jill was pulling up in the Ford. Perfect. We headed home for a lunch break. We helped Perry Mason solve his case, and then we hit the road again. It was time for another blood draw to see how the chemo had affected my blood. 

Our day of medical visits was at an end when we arrived home just before 4pm...except for a call from the oncology office. Sara called to say that my platelets were too low and that I would need a transfusion. She had hoped to arrange for a transfusion during my Azacitidine appointment at 4:30pm tomorrow. Of course there wasn't enough time at that hour, so my appointment was changed to 7:30am. So, we will be having another early start tomorrow. 

The really good news is I feel just fine. I have had no negative side effects, and my afternoon labs look good, except for those pesky platelets. Once again, I am in awe of the amazing machine that is the human body. It is amazingly resilient and it can do miraculous things with a little help: a decent diet, a little exercise, and the occasional medical attention will help it to rebound from even a bout of cancer. Thank you, Lord, that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.