One At A Time

I had my first chemotherapy two days ago. I have been having trouble sleeping since Monday. Even have a couple of dreams where I was at the hospital having my chemo already. Mom flew in from Cagayan de Oro to be with me. Papa wanted to come too but Ma overruled him, saying it's better for her to be the one here with me since she can take care of my food, etc. etc.

Thursday, I woke up around 5:30 am. Tried as hard as I could, I couldn't go back to sleep. So, I had my breakfast, took a bath, dressed up, and waited for Mama. We finally left for the hospital around 7:30 am. Once at St. Luke's, we went to the admitting office and got me admitted.

I finally had my chemo treatment administered to me around 11:30, in my room. My good Oncologist is there the whole time to monitor my progress. By 1:30, we were done. And now, the thumb twiddling part comes in. The next 12 to 16 hours would be crucial. For it will be during this time that any adverse side effect and/or reaction will arise.

By 3 pm, I was hungry. So, I had a pear. And then I had congee. After eating the congee, I felt queasy. Uh-oh, I think I had too much to eat! A bit later, I saw my lunch and the pear and the congee again. Not a pretty sight. After that, I don't know who's paler, mom or me! Hehehe. Poor Mama. I was miserable for the rest of the afternoon.

My ex-roommate is a doctor and she volunteered to stay with me for the night. Mom didn't want to go, but we finally convinced her. I drifted off to sleep around 8 pm. I did not even noticed when Ma went home. I woke up around 10 with a headache. Ahh, dehydration, another side effect of chemotherapy! So, I drank water, and after a short while, threw it up again. They finally gave me Nexium (a drug for nausea and queasy stomach). After that, I felt better and was able to eat a few bites of baguette. I fell asleep again around 12 midnight.

Overall, my chemotherapy is quite uneventful. One down, five more to go.