I believe in the Power of Positive Couture

In the sound of a tinny racetrack sound system "They're off". Yes I have on board about 250 ml of science's best cocktail for what ails me. The infusion took 1/2 hour but don' you know that the Hickman's did great for inflows but wouldn't bleed today. So I got a jab in my arm for my blood test and that took a bit extra. I may be a little down a quart in fluid or there is a little flap over the hole but no one seems worried so I won't be either. They'll have another go tomorrow.

My blood test today had about 20 lines of data and all but about 5 were red (meaning values outside the normal range) many of them are high so that is good as the treatment will make them drop. This begins my obsession with the daily blood count. In the end that will say when I go home so apparently the patients eagerly await the results. Makes sense, I guess but I have never seen so many red lines. Perhaps there is something wrong with me after all........naahh. Nothing that can't be fixed with a little cytotoxic drug!

I made notes.... where are they. Oh yeah from the last post. the schedule and 'happy today'. from my doctor talker book...power of positive couture, High School Chris, and meeting Shoes.

So I have decided that I'm going to be "that guy in the Larry shirt". Why? It’s all about the power of Positive Couture. Bright on the outside Bright on the inside. It's working already as a traffic guide. I started with a nurse that was going to get me started while my 'real nurse' was just coming back from lunch. When the 'Real Nurse" rocked up she said she had been directed to (say it with me) "the guy in the bright shirt". It has cause a couple of laughs so far, and who knows, may even prevent accidental nursing if I am this easily identified. "Please state your name, your birth date and what color was you last larry shirt." Picture this.... one nurse says to the other "take this choclate cake to Chris and give that other guy the enema". I want that nurse to KNOW that Chris is the guy in the larry shirt.

So Happy today.... yeah I just wanted to go on an on about how strange it was to wake up excited about starting Chemo today. It was, I guess, just that we have been waiting for a bit now and it's exactly four weeks delayed so I had a spring in my step. but that was a bit weird feeling as I didn't seem to be nervous.

Oh and as an aside we had to do another of those heath questionnaires and it seemed harder to do cause they seemed to be asking about my hyper (activity...well yeah) and heart flutters (when Joyce is around). "Real Nurse" (Liz) was a bit of card herself. Although I should not of called her baadd, while she still had a needle in my vein.

Oh how am I going?

Good thanks, just a bit sleepy from the pre-med of a mild anti nausea drug. A good latte seems to have nipped that in the bud.

Now the schedule. It was fixed in my mind by Judy last night get your pens out. today 9th fri Fludarabine outpatient;10th Sat fludar out;11th Sun fludar out; 12th Fludar out; 13th Tueday Fludar out THEN check into hospital between 2-3 pm; 14th Wed Malfluine in-Patient; 15th thur rest day in; 16th Fir Transplant day. That makes today Day minus 7 by my calculations but Shoes wrote in my chart that today was minus 6! He may be forgeting rest day or I have it wrong or whatever. more later on that.

After the chemo we saw Shoes and he's all smiles. I stop the Platelets drug, halve the steroid drug till check in and 'get off the turps" .......After all those are little "Bundy Bears" all over my shirt (yes look closer) it's even in the Bundy rum color scheme. He probably thought that I was so happy to get started I was going out to celebrate with a few jars. But no.

Lastly, for this afternoon's posting. Joyce came into the lounge from the computer room yesterday and said that it was a good thing we met later as she wasn't sure she would have gone out with 'high school Chris' ! I was not fazed by this comment, as she would have been in line with the majority of the girls in high school! I blossomed at Uni!
She seems pretty happy now.

more later