Strange Magic

Hello Darlings...

So today began Round 2 of vanquishing El Diablo...

I am happy (very happy) to report I am feeling just fine and no nurses were harmed by me or my excessive glitter throwing (pretend) or hugs (because I got good peeps taking care of me).

My day began with a phone call from Dr. SweetMeds (cause she is sweet..and is in charge of the meds) calling me to see if I would participate in her study of cisplatin.

My questions to her:

1) will it compromise my wellness in any way?
2) will it help you to help others...

her answers:
1)no
2) and yes very much

So yeah, sign me up girl...I got you...let's make life better for all the people fighting this shit...

So I got to the Memorial Hermann Medical building right at 10:30 on the dot as planned, met with Dr. SweetMeds and signed the paperwork and learned that I was to have blood drawn like 8 more times...

hmmmm....

they put an iv in...

ok no biggie...I got this...

and no Osmond records or childhood perfume needed to make me agree to do it...

(I do suddenly have a strong desire to see if they even make Love's Baby Soft anymore...and if so would I buy it?  I mean who doesn't want to smell like some freaky sweet version of baby powder.  Best when worn while sporting some strawberry flavored lip gloss you put on from a roller bottle...and not as strong as "Charlie"...and if you are old enough to remember all of those things let's just say we had a good childhood and let's all find some Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific and have a slumber party...)

But I digress...

So after I get my baseline blood draw I jump on the elevator (all the while sherpa-ing my giant bag of stuff, my sewing bag, and my purse...btw the sewing never got touched...le sigh...)

So I jump on the elevator, head down to 27 and get put into a soundproof room for a hearing test which I need because my chemo drug can cause hearing loss.

Now if you have never had an honest-to-goodness real hearing test I shall illuminate to you just what it entails.

First of all, if you have ADD you are screwed.

I have ADD

I was screwed...

Because this test requires focus and if you have ADD and you are put in a room with tiny holes in the walls and nothing to look at except to watch the doctor through the big window which you are not supposed to do so you can't see when she is hitting the buttons and you have plugs in your ears and every time you move the wires move and make a noise so you are distracted by that and you are supposed to be paying attention to hear the beeps...or the sounds...or the words....or the doctor...

(Did that run on sentence make you uncomfortable?  That's what ADD is like except you get "squirrel!" every other word...)

So I'm in the room and plugs (and their noisy wires) are in my ears and I have to respond to the words she is whispering...

then it is time for the beeps...

but in between you hear every single noise that the wires make and you hear your own thoughts in your head...

"was that a beep?"

"pay attention Anice this is very important..."

"I can hear my own breath"

"was that a beep?"

that went on

F
O
R
E
V
E
R

Then I had to repeat back words some recorded dude was saying.

same convo from above goes on in my head^^^

except it was "what word did he just say"

"was that lint or limped?"

UGH

and then more beeps with white noise going on....

F
O
R
E
V
E
R

I mean it was only like 20 minutes but for me, and my ADD it was a test of pure determination not to just scream "squirrel!!!!" and run out of there...

and guess what?

oh this is the BEST part...

I GET TO DO IT EVERY WEEK

I might drive to College Station and steal my son's ADD meds....

or at least have a cup of coffee before and pray that it somehow makes it possible for me to not go insane

I'd bring a shiny object with me to keep me entertained but that will result in me being declared deaf because I will never respond...

So once the hearing test is over I jet back upstairs to start my infusion...

hugs all around as I greet my fabulous nurses who are ready to help me with round 2...

I get the port accessed and the iv put in and then I am told to go to BED 12...

(crying whiny face emoji here)

I hate the beds...

I like the chairs...

but a bed it is and my reward is that I get my awesome nurse Chris to entertain me through the day...

First I get the FUN pre-meds...

the dreaded Devil Devil Decadron was put into me...

I hate that stuff...

What is it?

It's a steroid that basically makes you feel like you can do anything (like a spin class less than 24 hours after having chemo) but it also makes you so hungry you stand before the fridge and negotiate with yourself that olives and chocolate mousse are an acceptable afternoon snack and maybe you should make a cake...

To prevent this I have no cake mix in the house and thankfully hate baking anyway...and there are only healthy things so unless I can hurt myself with some mango slices I think I am good...

After the decadron comes the Zofran (so I won't throw up) and then I get a nice big bag of hydration fluid to prevent kidney damage and to make sure that I get all my steps in on my FitBit because I will be high tailing it to the bathroom every 30 minutes.

Hydration done then Chris brings in the Cisplatin....

I say a little prayer that I won't lose my hearing and that my kidneys will not be damaged and away we go.

My Aunt Jane came to lend moral support and I ate my salad I brought so I would not be tempted to ask her to go downstairs and bring me up a big cheesy sandwich from Au Bon Pain...

The rest of the infusion part went without incident and I donated about a half gallon of blood (not really....more like several tablespoons) to the study and I got all my steps in going to the bathroom repeatedly

Then it was time to go downstairs and Hannibal Lector up and get the radiation (or rads like I like to refer to them).

First I got to see my beloved Dr. Angel...

have I mentioned that I totally love that man?

maybe once or twice?

So we check my vitals and he comes in with a BIG SMILE AND BIG HUGS

I knew something good was gonna happen and sure enough he had GREAT news:

So he tells me he met with the tumor board and presented my case.

Of course I had to interrupt and ask what that was and basically it's all my doctors and their partners who do this life saving stuff...

And I asked him if he informed them that I was a magical unicorn and that was met with a smile and laugh (he knows it...he looks at me and sees rainbows and a shiny horn I am sure...and it's a unicorn horn not my devil horns which are well hidden)

and then he says:

THE TUMOR BOARD AGREES WITH HIM THAT THIS IS HOW TO CURE ME AND I AM GONNA BE CURED!!!!! (well maybe those weren't his exact words but that is what I took from it)

but they did agree this is the way to go and my prognosis looks good...

ok let's have a dance break here...

dance around the room a bit...raise the roof....twerk a bit like Miley...shake your hips...and you in the back there?  Start moving your ass because this is totally danceworthy news...

I'll give you a few seconds more...

and back to reading...

bonus points if you actually DID get up and do a dance...

He then tells me he ran into my friend who I shall refer to as my Atomic Blonde Twin  (she was once his patient as well and she's a total badass gorgeous cancer kicking girlcrush worthy stunning woman---just like me lol).  She told him I write this blog...

let's all be super nice here because he might read it...

I told him he's currently the star of my blog and if he cures me I will dedicate an entire blog to how much I love him and how awesome he is...

he deserves it...

he's gonna make me well and give me a future...

that totally deserves a blog...

Then he told me I was doing good and looked great and let me pout about the fact that Dr. SweetMeds told me no yoga tonight and even let me stomp my foot about it...and was amazed at my ability to have not died from my 90 minute spin class.  I pretty much know he totally thinks I am a CRAZY magical unicorn princess now...

after that I got more blood drawn (bless the poor nurses heart who came down to do it to make sure we got all the blood for the study) and then it was:

TABLE TIME

So on the radiation table I go and I get the mask on and strapped down...

and it was...

not
scary
at
all

the worst part is the lights shining in my eyes when the machine moves...so I kept my eyes closed...and I do my talking to God except my ADD is so on high at this point that my prayers are fragments of praying broken up by "oooo so that's what that looks like now that I am not on my back"...

and there you have it...

I got through this day with the only bad thing being the enormous test of my ability to focus in the hearing test...

And tomorrow and the rest of the week it's just the rads...and next Monday is a long day like today but I can handle it...

I think going into this super happy and confident is helping a lot...and I know the program...and where the bathrooms are....and I love having all that great sonic type ice to put in my water...

I know how to do this...

and I have all of you praying for me and making it better because I can literally feel your love....

So let's all give thanks for the good news from the tumor board that El Diablo is going to go to hell where he belongs (btw my Atomic Blonde Twin told Dr. Angel that I named my cancer that and he totally loves it...)

I feel blessed---I have all of you, I have my amazing doctors and nurses (especially Dr. Angel) and I don't feel the least bit sick at all right now....

I'm lucky...we know the devil we are facing...

I'm happy...today went great and I can handle what is ahead...

So my friends keep those prayers going....pray for my doctors and team...pray for strength for my kids and students...and pray for me and my ADD....

Inspiration Song: "Strange Magic" by ELO...because I feel like today was the result of some strange magic in that despite how crazy it all was it all went really really well...and the strange magic of the chemo and the radiation will cure me...

Bye Darlings---thank you for all the love and support...and the fact that you even read this blog...I mean it...it means the world to me to have you on this journey with me...much love to all of you...