IV Chemotherapy is difficult: physically demanding, exhausting, and with a list of side-effects depending on your mediport, oncology hygiene, and the effects of the chemotherapy drugs on your body. Rituximab, Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Prednisolone, and Cytarabine were all prescribed to me over 6 cycles from February 2018 through June 2018. They were each administered through a mediport placed in my chest, which I would receive in both in the oncology lab and at home using a portable IV pump.
Prior to my chemo, my wife and I took a couple of seminars on chemotherapy and intravenous (IV) line care. My wife (Vicky) is already a licensed and registered nurse with multiple certifications in critical care, advanced life support services, and drug administration, but we still attended the courses to see what we’d learn about cancer care and chemotherapy administration. I’d recommend all of the classes and seminars available to you if you’re about to go through the same. I can’t say I’m looking forward to Hickman Catheter Care next, but it’s necessary for my stay at Johns Hopkins. While I attended several classes and seminars on intravenous and intramuscular hypodermic needle injections, I still cannot self-administer but need my wife to do such things for me while I look away.
Since Vicky and I will be staying at Johns Hopkins for a while during the chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplant, and months of recovery, we’ve begun preparing ourselves for the long stay. We’re both bringing our laptops and tablets to keep us occupied for the months of hospitalization. I’ll be bringing my Kindle Oasis and Nintendo Switch in addition to my 17″ Razer Blade Pro 4K. While I won’t be able to play or practice on a piano keyboard, I can still use and play with FL Studio on my Razer Blade Pro. Vicky will be using her MacBook Pro heavily and reading on her iPad.
My oncologist and transplant coordinator tell me that for 2-3 months I’ll mostly be “out of it” and in little condition (or with little desire) to work remotely or do anything much. I really can’t imagine being that mentally and physically incapacitated for that long, even if with pain management and medications. Much of what you see on Facebook, on this blog, and on my wiki, are my efforts to prepare myself for keeping busy while away-from-home and stuck in a bed. I am truly hoping to keep myself mentally stimulated, engaged, and making the most of my downtime by reading, engineering, gaming, and learning mindful meditation.
Vicky and I have begun organizing, inventorying, and packing 3-months of supplies into bins with heavy-duty handcarts to move them. Once we’re done preparing, I’ll take pictures and post them along with our inventories and checklists. Maybe other cancer patients or caregivers might be able to make use of our lists and preparation? If nothing else, I’m impressed with how prepared and methodic we’re approaching this.
Of all that is going on, it is our two Shetland Sheepdogs, Kiyomi (清美) and Tōshirō (俊郎) that we’re going to miss the most. Our two beloved pups will be staying with close friends while we’re away from home. Thankfully Chris and Brad also have a loving family of Shelties, and our two will feel at home among their family. It is truly going to be difficult for Vicky and I to be away from our little family together with our two “fur-children.”
And so it goes… I hope to emerge on the other side of this healthier, wiser, and in complete remission. I hope this ersatz cancer journal and my rambling thoughts on how I dealt with and survived cancer will be use or hope to others?
Gallery (click any thumbnail to enlarge)
|
|
|
|
