Cycle 3...Halfway there!!!
Day 1 of cycle 3
My first full cycle of chemotherapy being done at Peterborough hospital yay! Leighton was lucky enough to be day off from work so he got the joy of spending the day with me again. We got there at 12, hoping to start early but my chemo was delayed because the pharmacy were being a pain so we still had to wait til 1, but we did get given a room straight away which was nice. They didn't start my chemo until just gone 2pm so we knew it was gonna be a long day. Although what we didn't realise was that one of the drugs they were giving me was a weaker dose than what Cambridge were giving me, so instead of 1 bag over 1 hour, I had to have 2 bags over a 2 hour period, on top of another 3 hours worth of fluid.
The day wasn't too bad for me because I slept through a lot of it but I felt bad for Leighton who just sat around, watched me sleep and went out for his pipe. It was weird though, because we used to hate being at Cambridge for long periods of time because of the journey home, but knowing we were only 20 minutes from home made us feel so much better.
However we were still there at 8pm, I was still having chemo and the pharmacy still hadn't got my drugs sorted. Everyone had gone home apart from my nurse and so they had to move me and my bed to a utility closet (Leighton was infuriated by this) until the chemo was finished and they could give me some drugs to go home with. Leighton was beginning to get very irate and I didn't know how much longer it would be until he snapped at one of the nurses or even me! I was absolutely shattered and so was he so we were over the moon when we could leave at 9:15.
However it wasn't over for me. Leighton dropped me off at home and as I was eating my dinner I vomited. I didn't even feel sick, it was just coming out my mouth, after running to the toilet I projectile vomited all over it and then continued to in the toilet. It was the most horrible thing ever and worst of all it was all down my dressing gown! But then my stomach settled and I was fine, so feeling much better I went straight to bed.
Day 2 of cycle 3
Day 2 started with an 8:30am appointment, late nights and early starts don't go well together I tell ya! And it started with me vomiting, again, 2 minutes before we had to leave. Thankfully I felt a little sick this time so I made my way to the loo and was already there when it was time to vomit, so it was much cleaner this time! Today's chemo was only supposed to be two 1 hour bags of fluid, but that didn't go to plan when I vomited up phlegm about 15 minutes into my first bag. Chemo had to be put on hold whilst I had some anti-sickness pumped into me before they continued. However I got some sweets from one of the nurses so I was happy.
Everything else went smoothly and we left by 1pm which was fab!
Day 3 of cycle 3
I was feeling good for my day 3. My face swelling was going down (turns out my body doesn't like being given lots of fluid and decides to hold it in my face) and I felt a hell of a lot better.
Once again we arrived at 8:30am for my appointment and we were the first ones in! However after having my bloods taken the nurses decided that once I'd had my chemo I'd better have a 2 unit blood transfusion because I wasn't back in til the next Wednesday and it'd be too risky. My HB count was at 81, I'm not sure how low that is but I know it's low enough to have a blood transfusion! This meant adding an extra 4.5 hours onto my time at the hospital, which wasn't fun.
I'd slept through my first two bags of chemo which made the time go quickly, but after that sleep I figured I wouldn't be sleeping that night if I slept any more! So I had to try keep myself entertained which was fine until my DS battery ran out and my phone battery was slowly being drained. It was also very depressing seeing so many people come and go over the hours but I got a free sandwich and mum bought me some sweeties so I couldn't really complain.
Once we'd been there 9 and a half hours my blood transfusion was complete, I'd got all my drugs for the next few weeks and was free to go, second from last of all the patients for the day. It was so long, but once again, knowing how close we were to home I didn't mind! Once home, Leighton came round to see me but for the first hour refused to speak to me as his girlfriend claiming that I was someone else because of my blood transfusion, such a mature boyfriend he is!
Day 8 of cycle 3
The morning after a night seeing McBusted in Nottingham and spending it in Leicester I had to get the train back to Peterborough, bus home and then drive myself back to the hospital for 4pm. All would have been fine if I didn't miss my 12:18 train home and have to wait an hour for the next. This meant an attempt at running half a mile, having a shower and only just making my appointment! On a normal healthy day this would have not been a problem, but for someone undergoing chemo and it being about 20 degrees outside did not go well and I think I nearly killed myself!
However I made it to my appointment, had my short chemo, got some injections and left without any problems what so ever! And then I was able to go spend a few hours with Leight, even though I was absolutely shattered, but I needed his cuddles.
And that's it! The half way point to being cured has been met and I am over the moon. There was a slight hiccup with my sickness, but I've not had any since day 2 and so all is back on track! I can't wait for this to all be over and done with.
