My third treatment was pretty normal until we got into the car to leave. I was really hungry and just wanted some BJs soup. We left to go to the resturaunt and I started getting the chills and shakes in the car but insisted that we wait it out. After about fifteen minutes in the BJs parking lot my mom drove me back to kaiser. She wheeled me back up to oncology and they basically treated me the same. Gave me another tylenol, wrapped me up in warm blankets and waited it out. My body was so tense that it felt like I had just run a marathon. It took longer to calm down than it had the first time.They had given me the same steroids as they did for the second treatment so I no longer thought I was reacting to those. The reaction had to be from one of the four chemos. For some reason the doctor didnt seem too concerned. He said some people react differently and it can be different for each treatment.
The fallowing week we saw Dr. P and the baby was looking great. She was growing ahead of schedule and had really good amniotic fluid. He said as long as she kept growing he didnt see any reason on taking her any earlier than 35-37 weeks. It was a relief because I couldnt imagine having to leave the hospital without my baby. The longer she can stay in to cook the more likely we could leave with her. The only thing that bothered me was the longer she was still in me.. the more chemo she would be exposed to. Both my oncologist and perinatologist are confident that my placenta is protecting her from the bulk of the chemo but its still a concern. I sometimes think of how we would deal with growth restrictions or developmental restrictions. I pray for perfect health and that none of these conditions will occur.. but I am also realistic and know that there is a chance of something like that happening. I feel like if something like that did become my reality that I would do everything in my power to give her what she needed. I would also feel really guilty if she had a condition brought on by being exposed to chemo. It wouldnt be fair that her health was compromised for my health. She didnt get to have a say in this... I realize that these are all things that may not even happen so I try not to dwell on them.. or let them get me down too much. We will just have to take things as they come.
My fourth treatment was a bit of a cluster f*ck. It was scheduled for January 2, 2013. I had to get my blood work done on New Years day in Vallejo because the Vacaville infusion clinic was closed. Ryan had New Years day off so we went to Vallejo together. The clinic was about half the size and not private at all. It was just a bunch of chairs in a large room. One nurse was working the front counter and one was doing the blood draws and chemo treatments. The nurse checked me in and had me sit back in a chair. She asked me what my blood draw was for.. Really? Sometimes I feel like people lack common sense. If you are in the medical field you should at least look at the patients chart. It is amazing to me how many times nurses didnt read my chart. After waiting a good half an hour the male nurse came over to set up my port draw. He asked me what I needed it for.. Um.. seriously? Finally I said its a pre-chemo blood draw. He did his thing and we left.
Usually the lab results show up online a couple hours after my port draws. I expected them to take a little longer.. and they did. I knew how to look at my neutrophils and white blood cells and was annoyed when the results were listed in different terms. I didnt hear anything from Oncology so I thought my results were fine. My Mom, Aunt and Gram came the next morning and my Mom and I went to oncology. They sat me down and we waited for about fifteen minutes. A nurse came over and said I couldnt have my treatment. My blood levels were too low again. The flood of emotions were overwhelming. I had posted earlier on facebook about how excited I was to be a third of the way through my treatments.. Now I was being sent home. She said Dr. L wanted to delay it a week and that we would have to reschedule all of my next appointments. Great. My Mom and Aunt took off work for nothing.. I wasnt getting my fourth treatment and I couldnt really do anything besides wait for my numbers to go up.
The fallowing week came fairly quickly and I had my new blood draw. My numbers not only went up but they were in standard range. I was eating a salad!! I went to Olive Garden and got soup and salad to go. It had been at least a month since I had something raw and crunchy. It was amazing. I savored my whole salad and then moved on to my soup. My Mom came for my treatment and Kamii watched Olivia. My Gram had gotten a cold and we didnt want to chance bringing it around again. December was already a nightmare with Olivia and Ryan both sick.. My treatment went fairly smooth. We had to wait for my steroids to be brought up because for some reason they didnt have their stuff together before we got there. The nurse said I was the only patient that needed the special steroid.. well yea.. I am sure I am the only pregnant chemo patient you are treating here. She was an odd nurse. She definitely over shared about her life. I just wanted to read my book.. I didnt need to know about your two bi-polar children, your cocker spaniel with eczema, your love interest from high school or your weird medical conditions. When my treatment was over I was relieved. We waited about 20 minutes in the infusion center just to make sure I wasnt going to have a reaction. We were good to go. We picked up Olivia from Kamii's.. and went home.
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