Round 14 was delayed a few days. Reggie (my right kidney) needed a bit more time. Kidneys filter all of the blood in your body, the waste product being urine. When you only have one kidney, its more work. When that one kidney is processing toxic materials, like chemo, it has to work really hard and can result in injuring the kidney. Injured kidneys don't filter waste as effectively, this can lead to permanent damage. My doctor is trying to prevent that permanent damage. Kidneys are like your liver in that the internal structures can repair themselves, if not too far damaged. This is where Reggie is right now.
Instead of coming in last Wednesday, I came in on Monday. It was crowded here at the hospital, during the week it has thinned out. Monday morning was busy and full of excitement, my cousin Ottilia who has just finished her nursing program and passed her boards, was able to come for a visit at the exact time my nurses were accessing my port. Chemo and oncology is a nursing specialization, so not something she had much exposure to in school. I was so glad she could see this process first hand! While one nurse was accessing my port, Ottilia watched, another nurse was updating the information in my chart asking me questions about my at home medications and my doctor arrived to do my pre-chemo assessment. It was quite a busy half hour. Felt a little like I was the race car and they were the pit crew. Seriously-my bed was raised about a meter off the ground, blood pressure cuff on one arm, thermometer in the mouth, tape and needles happening at my right shoulder, while a barrage of questions fluttered toward me. My room felt very quiet when they all left.
Tuesday and Wednesday brought visits from friends I hadn't seen in far too long. Michelle, Trina, Marcy and one of my students Morgan and her Mom Karen all came. They each brought little treats, snacks, toys and flowers but the also the most important gift of all, their hugs and support. Each of them comes from such a different chapter in my life to see them all in a short space made my heart feel very full.
Yesterday I had a blood transfusion. It was a little different than previous transfusions I have gotten, as it was going at the same time as chemo. This meant my nurses had to start a peripheral line, so for the first time EVER during chemo, I got poked in the arm. There is a first time for everything, even in round 14. Blood products are sensitive, as is chemo, so I cannot receive them both into my port simultaneously. I had five lines at one point: Peripheral 1)right arm-blood, Port 2-5)chemo, fluids, mesna (bladder protectant), and anti-nausea meds). That was a record! There were so many tubes I had to stay in my bed. At one point I got up to go to the bathroom and got tangled up in all the tubing.----
Ten days ago, one of my college professors, Jack Watson passed away. He had been suffering with complications due to a series of strokes he suffered in March and had been slowly making his curtain call since that time. He was one of the first cancer survivors I knew, having gone through chemo when I was a freshman in college. One of the first memories I have of him is in The Robinson Theater at The University of Oregon wearing a Portuguese fisherman's cap watching the production of Nicholas Nickleby he was supposed to have directed. It was six hours of Dickens, he had to pass to his coworkers and grad students due to his frail state. Two years later, I felt honored to be accepted into his London Theatre program where we spent spring term with 20 other students, never having accepted that frail role I thought he had been cast in.
In my own teaching career, Jack has had a funny way of making cameos. He once described me a 'force of nature', a term I have since used to describe students. His tough love, take no excuses, expect the best attitude is alive and well in my classroom. Jack's loving partner Rick is planting a tree in his honor. Just this morning I've found out it is a cara-cara orange, the pink ones I love and often share with my students. This makes me love them even more.
Jack, thank you for the mark you left on the world, on me, and on your grand-students.
Keep it up Wendy! You're so close to getting through chemo. Jack had a huge influence on me too! He put his mark on me and has had a profound influence on my teaching, my career, and the rest of my life. Let's all do our best to remember him fondly.
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