I had my third to last Herceptin infusion yesterday. It didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked. The good Elaine who usually does so well with my port got the needle in but something wasn't quite right ... as she was moving the needle around, there was pain just below it. This is only the second time this has happened and she stopped. Must have hit a nerve or something. The needle had to be removed and then inserted by another nurse, Bernie, and all was well.
My potassium level was good - 3.9! It went up by .2, so I am happy. The last two infusions saw it at 3.7, so an increase is good. As long as it stays in the 3 pt range, it's vulnerable, to the "downs" of this chemotherapy. Bringing it up to 4 will be good ... hmmm ... sweet potato this weekend?
The Benadryl hit me hard this time ... napped through most of the infusion and I probably would have slept more if that man in the infusion chair across from me had not had his TV blaring. Some people are so inconsiderate. If I don't want to listen to your private phone calls, what makes you think that I would want to listen to your television?
The Benadryl had not worn off when I got home. I took another nap ... actually I think I took multiple naps, and this morning I was up at the crack of dawn! I am well rested.
The end is so close that I can see it! Hard to believe that one whole year of infusions will come to an end. When I first started I remember being a little weepy as I thought of how long it would all take. But you just have to do it because what choice do you have? You plow through it all and at some point it all ends.
I know for some people the end of treatments can be traumatic because it means that all that can be done to beat their cancer, has been done, and they don't know if it has all been enough. No one really knows and that is the hard part. You just have to have faith and go living your life as if this disease is really gone.
I fully intend to do that. This will be just one awful year and a half in which I learnt so many things about myself and some of the people I thought I knew. This time will become part of my history. I will live my life ... grateful for each day and all the people who have been with me through this terrifying ordeal. There are no words to describe the love and gratitude I have for John and Sarah ... life would have been impossible without them.
Today is a new day and I embrace it.
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