Grab a drink and a snack, this might get long...

Since I am starting to get chemo brain for real this time, I'm going to diary this so I can catch you all up on what happened this week:

Monday:
I worked with my boss, Kelly who is nothing short of awesome. Thank you for being so supportive and still doing your job so well. It was a busy day that kept me occupied and not thinking about the crazy days to come. I did have to run by CVS on the way home to pick up SIX prescriptions, mainly for anti-nausea meds. I have to laugh because I'm pretty sure that's more scripts than I've had filled in the past five years.

Tuesday:
Another great workday with Kelly worked passionately with Pink Fury (inside joke, sorry). Did I already say how much I appreciate her? Well, I do. And I had to squeeze in a late afternoon chemo education with Yvonne, Dr. Sharma's AMAZING nurse. She showed me the ropes and set out some expectations. She gave me a big red binder with all kinds of good reading (not) and tips on how to make chemo bearable. We laughed a lot and I promised her some granola. I know who to bribe :) I did have to have a MUGA scan too so that Dr. Sharma could get a baseline on my heart function, specifically the ejection fraction. Apparently the 'red devil' (you'll meet this bitch later) does quite a number on your ticker. Adriamycin aka Doxorubicin:

Doxorubicin's most serious adverse effect is life-threatening heart damage. 

So unless I want cardiomyopathy, I'd better keep my ass eating KFC (Kancer Fighting Chow) and running, climbing, skipping, jumping, whatever it takes to keep this ticker working well!


I am so lucky to have amazing friends who know how to make these foods and have the ability to drag my ass out to get my heart pumping. Lucky!!

Oh, did I mention that I crammed in a 4 mile run Tuesday evening? Yes, I have a heart to protect :)

Wednesday:
Well, since I didn't have nearly enough going on, I scheduled an emergency port placement with Dr. Shook. When Yvonne said the words 'permanent disfigurement' and 'nerve damage' when referring to what Adriamycin can do in a regular IV, I decided that I'd better get that port placed ASAP! Thankfully, my amazing friend Chris was up early and ready to drive my anesthetized body around. So I went in around 7:30, done by 11am and got to chill with my fave nurse, Carey, who took great care of me when I had the excision. Chris has yet to show me the YouTube video he took in recovery, but I am certain that it is floating around somewhere :)

What? Doesn't everyone wear an ice pack to lunch? I tied it in a bow to make it look nice! 

So afterward, we went to Houlihan's for lunch because I was STARVING! I am pretty sure that in my doped up state, I was very aggressive with the server and explained that I was SO hungry. This is what I looked like so can you blame him for rushing my food??

So on to my next appointment... Chris brought me to the KU Westwood Cancer Center where I will be having chemo. This place is amazing...state of the art. Anyway, he waited with me while I went in for my labs and my appointment with Dr Sharma. Then he passed me off to Erin to drive my nearly normal body home. I cannot thank you two enough for being there!! Oh, my appointment with Dr Sharma was rather uneventful and my labs were awesome. Who knew that having a Power Port would be so amazing?! Well, I guess I knew...but they didn't even have to stick me to draw blood. They just hooked into my power port. I'm a vampire's dream!

Ok, so go get another drink... I'll wait... Wednesday was CRAZY!!

Right before I left the appointment, I was chatting up some of the nurses (go figure) and talking about donating my hair to Locks of Love. They explained to me that I'd better hurry because no one will take hair that has been through chemo...duh!! So on the way home, I called my salon, Headmasters, in Lawrence (25 min drive) and my stylist is on (a well-deserved) vacation! So Jim, the other owner, and amazing man, stepped in and scheduled me for 5pm. Shit!! No time to get anxious! So I texted Kelly and she happened to be at a meeting minutes from my house. She came straight over and jumped in my moving car and off to Lawrence we went!!

Jim and I discussing 'the plan' 

As Jim was prepping to cut my hair, he explained to me that he just recently started teaching the Look Good, Feel Good classes at the local hospital for cancer patients. He teaches people like me how to embrace the bald, the loss of eyebrows, lashes, etc. What an awesome man!! So the girls gave me lots of hugs while I was waiting and Kelly and I had some Aveda tea to relax. So...here it goes!

Oh hair, I'm going to miss you :(

 

The pony

The pony...

Wow. 

Thank you Jim!!

Thank you Headmasters! 

By the time this was all over, Kelly and I were starving so we shared some noodles and drinks at Zen Zero and Rick rode his bike to meet us. We ate outside so my Power Port didn't scare other diners and had a nice relaxing time.

I've decided that Chemo Day is just too much for you all to handle right now so digest my new short 'do and I'll be back atcha shortly!

xoxo Shelley