I had to be at the Research Clinic at 7:0 a.m. yesterday. Patrick took me and we got there about 6:45. I was immediately taken in for vitals and then taken to a small room with a bed. They started by doing blood work. About 7:30, the doctor, Pat, my nurse and the nurse taking care of me for the day came in and said my hemoglobin was too low. They called the director of the company because it was so close to the required number but he said no and that they had to follow FDA guidelines. Pat, my nurse, felt horrible, because we were so excited about the possibilities of this study. I asked if there was anything I could do. There really isn't but being dehydrated helps. That was a first for me. We discussed coming back Wednesday to try again or trying another one right then. When they were leaving Pat told me to drink a lot of coffee because it dehydrates you. They took blood again. I drank some coffee and remembered that I had taken a water pill that my cardiologist had prescribed and they are every other day and yesterday was one. That was a good thing...........
Pat loves stones and collects them. When they had first come in, I showed her an amethyst that I had been given from my friend, Jan. It is from Four Peaks and is said to have special powers. Pat told me to take it out and keep it right by me. I have never been into this but have several friends who are.
Laying there waiting for the results was awful. I have really tried to be positive, but there gets to a point where that goes away and I was really close to that point Pat came in again and I could tell by her face that it wasn't good news. She asked me if I wanted to try one more time. I said yes so they took another vial of blood. During the last two times, I drank a couple of cups of coffee and had to use the restroom quite a bit because of the water pill. Again, the waiting was so hard. Lots of things went through my mind and I can honestly say that one of them was to give up. The emotional part of this disease isn't something that is talked about much, but it is so much a part of it. As I have said before, it is an emotional roller coaster.
Around 9:30, the nurse came in and she had all of her "tools" to start the process because I PASSED! I can't even describe how I felt. They had done and EKG and it was fine so they started the actual drug, It was an infusion and last only 20 minutes. It was around 11:30 when it finished and I needed to be there for eight hours getting blood work done and doing EKGs. I had brought my headphones and listened to a book that I had been wanting to hear.
My "niece," Monica brought me lunch from AJ's. It was the best tuna sandwich I have ever had. Monica stayed with me for about three hours and it was so nice to visit with her. Cecilia's kids are so wonderful to me and I thank all of them!
Of course, my sense of humor was back and the nurses and I enjoyed some laughs during the day. They kept apologizing for how long I had to be there but it was the guidelines. I honestly didn't care how long I had to be there because I was finally able to get started and I don't have to worry about that blood test again. Once I passed, that was it.
I was there until 7:38 and Cameron came to get me. He was a little bit early and of course he knows all about hemoglobin and what it does, etc. He always amazes me the knowledge that he has about so many things.
I felt fine throughout the day and my blood and EKG's were fine. However by the time I got home, I was totally exhausted. I had to wait until 9:30 to go to sleep because of a round of meds that I had to do every six hours. I took the meds at 9:30 and think I was asleep by 9:32!
Judy is taking me back today. They have to do blood work and watch me for an hour. There might be more but I don't know about it yet. Pat, my nurse, said the doctor wanted me to have iron so they will do two hours of an iron "drip" I think. I will know more in a bit. Judy will be taking me today. Even though I feel fine and can do lots of things, I am still not confident about driving, especially on the freeway, etc.
The "journey I didn't want to be on" continues and here's to KICKING CANCER'S BUTT!
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