Exhausting Day

So since I didn't have to go into the hospital until 10:00 AM, I went into work for a couple of hours to get a couple of projects taken care of before I disappear for a week. I was quite tired, and I probably should have just slept in, but whatever. I checked into the hospital at 10:00, and was led up to room 316. I got all comfortable into a pair of scrubs and a t-shirt, climbed into bed, and turned on the TV preparing for the treatment to start immediately. Well, they told me that it wouldn't get going until 1:00 PM, which gave me three hours to do nothing. I fired up my computer and got some work done until 1:00, when they came in and hooked me up to an IV through my port. They started me with some saline-substance for hydration, and then some benadryl to put me to sleep for a while (per my request). Around 2:00, they started me with some Rituxan, which is the first chemotherapy drug. The drug would take about four hours to feed into my system, then I would be started on the infusion of the other drugs.

I fell asleep shortly after this started, then woke up in time for Game 5 of the Red Wings series. They quickly fell behind 2-0, and I was very frustrated. At around 6:30, the nurse came in to hook me up to the other drugs. These are Vincristine, Etoposide, and Andriamycin, as well as a couple different drugs to help combat nausea. These chemo drugs will be fed into me continuously (24/7) over the next 5 days. I'm kinda interested to see how this all goes, and how I feel. I have a feeling that constantly being tethered to these drugs will annoy the crap out of me.

As they took the time to change the drugs, I decided to take the opportunity to try and change my (and the Wings') luck. I ditched the t-shirt I was wearing and put on my Steve Yzerman jersey. And it worked. We bounced back and took a 3-2 lead in the third period. I got very excited and was basically bouncing off of the walls. I wasn't noticing any side effects from the drugs (other than having to go to the bathroom every half-hour), but I got very very hot. The nurse brought a fan in to cool me down.

As time ticked down into the last few minutes I could taste the Cup victory. That is until Pittsburgh scored in the last 35 seconds to tie it up and just crush my spirit. Though the Wings dominated the first two overtimes, I was quite despondent, as I just KNEW we were going to lose this game. And sure enough, halfway through the third overtime, Jiri Hudler took a reckless high-sticking penalty, and Pittsburgh scored on the powerplay to win it. I collapsed into my bed. Just exhausted from the days events. Within minutes of the game ending, I was fast asleep, as the day had definitely taken a physical and emotional toll on me.