Notes from the Infusion Chair -- March 2019

There's not much to say today.  Routine, routine, routine.

I left the house at 8:00am for my 10:00am appointment.  Nobody was available to give me a ride today, so I drove myself.  The downside is that I was not able to take xanax as I'm supposed to before appointments; I won't take it if I have to drive myself.  There's always is the worry, though, that my blood pressure will be too high and they won't okay my treatment.  It's been close before, but today it was fine.

I always allow two hours to get to the hospital from home in case there's traffic. Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't.  Today there was.  210 was fine, but 295 was backed up all the way.  Once I got off of the Freeway onto Maine Avenue, it was a breeze.  I arrived at 9:45.

I was called back for my oncology appointment right away.  She did her usual exam, asked if anything was bothering me, and we chatted.  She told me about some advocacy work she was doing in her native Brazil (amazing things she is helping with there), and I told her about my visit to Genentech's National Field Meeting in Las Vegas.  She went over my latest labs (everything looks great), and put in orders for my next routine CT scan and echocardiogram, to take place in mid to late April.

I currently am sitting in a chair in Bay 3 in the second floor infusion center.  I usually have my treatments in the Ground Bles infusion center, but sometimes they send me either here to the second floor, or to the fifth floor infusion center.  Although I miss my usual nurses downstairs, it's always nice to have a change of scenery.

I've finished my hospital provided lunch of a chicken salad sandwich, baked chips (which I think I now like more than regular chips), and cranberry juice.  I had stopped on the way here at the coffee shop for a rare white chocolate mocha latte, and have been sipping on it while alternately knitting and closing my eyes.  On one hand, I think I should close my eyes and rest up so I'm not so tired on the way home; one the other hand, I think I should fight to stay awake so that I'm not so groggy and sleepy on the way home.  I just don't know which way to go with it.  I do have the relaxing music channel on the television, as I don't much like whatever shows are on at this time on the weekdays (it's currently 1:06pm).

There's probably about twenty minutes left for me here, then it'll be time to head home.  Home, to my comfy bed, my warm furry puppy, and my boys.   Until next time....