Halftime?

During my last treatment cycle, Dr. Weeks told me that he wanted me to have another PET Scan to see how we're doing. Well, that is a very expensive procedure, and must be run through my insurance company before they actually do the process. So, Dr. Weeks submits the paperwork requesting the test to the company, and once it is approved, the hospital calls me to set up this test. Well, on Wednesday they called me to try and set up the test for Tuesday August 5. Well, That is supposed to be the second day of my next treatment, so I instead scheduled it for Tuesday August 12. No problem, right?

Today I saw Dr. Weeks again (I have an appointment with him every time between cycles), and I told him about all this. He decided he wanted to have the PET Scan done BEFORE my next cycle, not after. So I called the hospital back to try and move the appointment back to the 5th. Well, they had no slots left for me on the 5th, or on the 7th. (They only do this test on Tuesdays and Thursdays.) I pleaded and begged and told them I HAD to have this test next week. The girl on the phone I talked to said she would see what she could do and would call me back. Well, she called me back like twenty minutes later, and was able to squeeze me in on the 7th.

So what this effectively does is give me an extra week off before my next treatment starts. Almost like a "halftime". I will have the PET Scan on Thursday August 7, then check into the hospital to start the next cycle on Monday August 11.

Boat Races

I had a very solid recovery this week, and was actually able to get back to work on Tuesday and Wednesday for half-days, and back working full days on Thursday and Friday. I still struggled a bit to get out of bed in the mornings, but once I got going, I felt fine, and even got out and exercised a little the second half of the week.

Melissa and her parents came down for the weekend, as this was the big tourist weekend in the Tri-Cities. We had the annual hydroplane races on the Columbia River. My company put together a little potluck/picnic in a private beach area on the course, and we basically went out there and hung out in the sun and ate and overall enjoyed the races. Normally this time of year the temperature is well past 100, but the weather was absolutely perfect: low-90's with a breeze. By the end of the weekend I was definitely out of gas, but this served as a nice distraction to my treatments.

Locked Out

I was discharged from the hospital this afternoon after completing my infusion of Cytuxin. Amy, my nurse, did a great job of getting me out of there as soon as possible, and my mom took me home around 2:30. I actually felt better than I did at the end of my last treatment, which was good. I spent the evening playing poker (took down a $3/90 donkament), and rewatching Game One of the Wings/Penguins Cup Finals Series from last month. Overall, I just vegged.

Funny story from last night (Friday). So, at Kadlec Hospital, they have this area called "The Garden", which is this little fenced-in, outdoors area with flowers and trees, a fountain, and some benches. It can't be more than 25' x 25', but is definitely a nice place to go to get some fresh air after being cooped up in my hospital room all day. Well, The Garden closes at 9:00 PM, but the way the door to The Garden had previously worked is that it was locked going into it starting at 9:00 PM, but you could always get back into the hospital. Well, after I finished my infusion on Friday, I went down there at like 8:57 PM and went in there. I sat on one of the benches and called Melissa and chatted with her until 9:15 or so. Well, I went back to the door, and wouldn't you know that it wouldn't open! I was locked in The Garden!

Well, after about 90 seconds of being confused, and another phone call to Melissa to share my "situation", and another 2 minutes of pulling on the door, I decided that I would have to hop the fence to get out. Well, luckily there's an area where the fence is only 3 or 4 feet high, so it wasn't too difficult. Anyway, following hopping the fence, walking around to the emergency room entrance, through registration, back through the maze to the B Elevators, up to the third floor, and back down the hallway, I finally got back to my room with a story to share...

Round Three

Once again, I should apologize for falling a little bit behind in my blogging. Spending 6 out of every 21 days in the hospital puts me way behind on getting everything done that I need to, and unfortunately this gets pushed to the back.

I am currently sitting in the hospital on day three of cycle three. The last couple days have been pretty much the same at the start of each of the last two cycles. I came in on Monday morning and had the Rituxan, then started on continuous infusion of Etoposide and Doxorubicin. Overall I've felt pretty good, though today (Wednesday) was quite up and down. I've kinda gone back and forth between sleepy and wide awake, and I've battled some nausea today. This evening, during the half-hour "break" I get, I was able to take a shower and walk around "The Garden" for a bit, though it was quite warm and I couldn't stay out there very long. On the way back up to the room I did stop by the chapel and said a couple of prayers. It is quite peaceful in there.

Overall, the last couple of weeks have gone pretty much as expected. I have my six days of treatment, leaving the hospital on Saturday, then I return to work on Wednesday, where I put in a few hours each day to finish the week, and the following week I'm back to 40+ hours. Compared to last summer, I don't get as sick as last time, but I am feeling crappier for longer.

I am pretty much ready to head home, though. Even though it has only been three days and two nights, I am majorly homesick right now, and am missing being snuggled in my own bed. That being said, I really don't have too much to complain about (except for the fact that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on TV right now), and am actually doing better at this point than I thought I would.