Never Count on Things Running on Time

The tone for Joe's chemo treatment was set relatively early today. I dropped him off in front of the Duke Cancer Center at 7:03 am this morning for his 7:20 labs appointment and headed off to my office to get my Monday morning work done, arriving by 7:15 am. Joe texted me at 7:28 that he was in the food court getting his Subway breakfast (still not patronizing Chick-fil-a). At 7:52 am he was up on the 3rd floor and checked in for his doctor's appointment. However, apparently Dr. Zafar had a meeting and Leigh was busy as well so his 8:30 am appointment turned into more of a 9:15 am appointment. When that happens, there is a cascade effect. 9:30 am chemo turned into a 10:45 chemo and the chemicals didn't start flowing until around 11:00 am. So at this point if the rest of the day goes as normal, we should be out of here around 4:00 pm. Still better than the post 5pm of last time.

Today's nurse, Holly, has been on top of things and we haven't had to listen to beeping long in between chemo changes.  Joe, as you can see doesn't seem to phased by anything yet as he is laying back watching The View.  All 6 bags of chemicals are hung and waiting for their turn.

The biggest decision today is what to have for lunch. And the decision was made at 12:30.....chicken fingers and fries. Yes, I know, that's my norm but Joe usually chooses something else, but today he wanted the same. So off to the Atrium Cafe I went. It's no short walk either, so at least I got some exercise in today! Neither one of us however could finish the chicken so we have a good snack for later tonight, or whenever. Don't you just love these interesting details? Just goes to show how boring it can get up here.

Right now I'm counting the drips of the Oxaliplatin. He has a nice rhythm....drip,drip,drip,
pause...drip,drip,drip, pause, drip,drip,drip, pause. The Irinotecan had more of a slow drip, pause,
drip, pause, drip, pause cadence. Not nearly as interesting. Maybe I'm loosing my mind? 2 1/2 hours to go!  The 5-Flu infusion ball has already been delivered so maybe that will get hooked up quickly after the Magnesium is through (that comes after the Oxaliplatin finishes).

Now that Joe's all fed he's ready to watch last nights "Treme" episode on HBO Go.  I insisted on the headphones because he had the volume at max,  which interfered with my Netflix viewing.  Not sure why I keep him company when he sits with his headphones on ignoring me.  I have to wave my arms to get his attention.

Joe and I have determined that we could live in a room the size of this treatment room since it has an attached bathroom.  The bath is huge so there would be plenty of room to add a shower.  There is already a sink, so we would just need a microwave and a two burner hot plate.  The counter by the

sink doesn't go all the way to the ground so we could have a refrigerator put under there.  Throw in a 

Murphy bed and a couple of more comfortable chairs and we would be all set.

Just think of the savings on parking and travel time to and from Duke!  As you can see, there is room to spare even with the hospital bed in the room and those things are huge!  I might have to repaint though and definitely get rid of the fluorescent lighting.

Joe finished up his treatment at 3:45pm and we made the trek to the parking deck.  That means that the Duke Home Health will be at the house on Wednesday at 1:45pm to disconnect the 5-flu infusion bottle and then Joe will have 11 days free before it starts again.  However, we were not home 5 minutes before the nausea took its toll and Joe fled for the bathroom (of course he had just taken a nausea pill 2 minutes earlier.  Isn't that always the case???).  After that trip he is now settling down on the couch not feeling very well, obviously.  On a positive note, at least it waited until we got home instead of in the car.  It's stacking up to be a long evening!

Thank you for all the messages of concern and support.  They are all greatly appreciated and needed.

P.S. I've finally reached my limit of what I can handle. I've had my hands in Joe's bloody belly when his wound vac failed, I've watched as staples were ripped from his stomach while thick wads of gauze sopped up infectious hematomas, I've watched him heave over the toilet numerous times...but tonight, he is coughing up big ol goobers and it is totaling grossing me out! To make matters worse, he's putting the tissues in his puke pan right next to me. GROSS!