More treatments

It has been a long time since I have updated you. I often write updates in my head, in bed, late at night. But of course these do not appear here.

There have been 3 more treatments since my last update. Originally Dr. Z said he would probably do 3 treatments, but somewhere along the way he decided it would be 6 treatments. This was in spite of the fact that my CT scan had been positive. Anyway,on to my treatments.

My 4th treatment, in early December, was the absolute worst, considering the first round back in 2008 and the previous 3 treatments. The actual treatment itself was uneventful, and proceeded normally, without incident. As the week went on however, it was clear that this treatment was different.
By the end of the week I had a number of strange effects. First, the skin on my fingertips thickened, until it felt like I had dipped my fingers in glue. Also, I had very little sense of touch. Within 5 days, they peeled off, in big pieces. And the strange mouth feel, with everything including water, feeling furry returned. It is hard to explain the effect, but once you experience it, you will never forget it. Drinking anything became uncomfortable, and of course you need to keep well hydrated following any treatment.

Food also lost all taste of salt. I could still taste sweet, so chocolate bars (m-m-m Big Turks are my favourite) became a staple. We had 2 special dinners to attend, so the food was interesting. Following the first one, rick's 60th birthday, I asked Kyle if the dinner had been any good. I had mislead one of my fellow dinners by telling her you could not taste the shrimp in a dish, forgetting that I could not taste anything anyway.

The second dinner was our family Christmas dinner. Again, I could not taste anything, although I did eat a full dinner, trying everything. I was assured everything was yummy.

Kyle and Greg made a trip to the cottage to finish a couple of jobs, and to deliver a batch of presents etc for Christmas. While they were gone, I slept a lot and ate very little. When you are not hunger, and there is no one to cook for, you tend not to eat. This probably lead to my sleeping a lot (10 - 12 hours a day).

By the week before Christmas, my energy levels were a little better and my taste had returned, but I found that my appetite was greatly reduced. I managed to eat a little of Christmas dinner, sampling everything, but not eating very much.

And of course, it was time for my next treatment again. Kyle, Greg and I returned from the cottage on Wednesday the 29th and I saw the doctor and received my treatment on the 30th. Kyle and I returned to the cottage that evening. We invited Kevin and Gloria up for New Year's.

By the end of that weekend my taste had disappeared again. This time however, because there was always someone around, I was cooking for someone else and forced myself to eat every day. Mornings I generally had a bowl of cereal, and I at least a little supper each day. I don't know if I was eating because I felt better, or if I felt better cause I was eating, but this round was much easier than the last. So I guess I learned that regardless of whether or not I want to eat, I have to. Again my finger tips peeled but not to the extent of the prior treatment.

This brings us to this weeks treatment. Again, the treatment itself was pretty uneventful. Karen came with me and we went off to breakfast after I was connected for my infusion and then we returned for the the afternoon's events.

While my treatment was uneventful, two of my fellow patients did not have such an easy day. One patient was the father of a past co-worker from Block. She came over and visited with us, because as she said, her dad was so zonked out on Morphine and benadryl, he did not even know if she was there or not. The other patient had a bad reaction, his blood pressure falling drastically and his collapsing on the way to the bathroom. Karen ended up assisting the nurse until her (the nurse's) panicked calls brought her co workers to assist her.

As for further treatments, I am scheduled for one more, but I do have another CT Scan scheduled for next week. Dr. Z indicated that 8 is usually the maximum nuber of treatments, as thay are so draining on the patient, so regardless of what the CT Scan shows, there will probably be only 2 more treatments for some time.

So that brings us to today, Sunday. Things are starting to taste furry again and salt taste is gone, but I have been eating. I will keep on drinking water and get the sleep I need.

Oh, and one final thing. I have formally taken a leave of absence from H & R Block this year. The door is open if I change my mind, but for now I am OK with not working. I t is weird not teaching, or attending classes, and I am sure the first week of February will be weird, but I need to take care of me for a while.
~Inez