"Who Wouldn't Love a Diva?!"

"Who wouldn't love a diva?" were the parting words of my IV therapy nurse, Victoria, as I finished my first session of chemo today. The whole experience was so normal it was surreal. Dennis, my Mom and I arrived at the hospital shortly after 8am. First thing I did was run to the restroom as I'd been drinking water like crazy all yesterday and this morning. Before they even started my chemo meds I had to go again! Everything happened as they said it would - they took my vitals (they base how much meds I get on my height and weight); they poked me to start an IV line; then they led me to a comfy chair along with Dennis and Mom (who proceeded to bust out the computer and Harry Potter book, respectively); they gave me anti-nausea meds (in pill form) and then we sat around and chatted for a half hour or so. Finally, the medication (two kinds) came in a total of six syringes (three of each). They were manually pushed through my IV line by Victoria - the whole time we were chatting and having fun. I chewed on ice chips for the first fifteen minutes and then switched to a popsicle for the last fifteen. Victoria and I were joking around so much other nurses joined in the fun.

We talked business of course - things like what I'm doing to cope and all that - which is how we came to talk about this blog. I mentioned starting this as an outlet, among other things I had in place. Victoria gave me tips on what to expect in the coming days. Amazingly though I did not experience any of the immediate side effects: no puffiness, congested feeling around my nose and forehead; no immediate nausea; no feeling of warmth running through my body. Oddly, what I did experience right after we wrapped up was: hunger (which is why I had a huge bowl of seafood fried rice soon after); sustained energy (enough that we stopped by Whole Foods after lunch; St. John Berchmans for a brief visit; came home, chilled for a bit, then changed into work out clothes and went to the gym for half an hour); and then stopped by Target before picking up Alyssa at daycare. Tonight though after this quite full day, I feel tired and my tummy feels like I've drunk too much water (which is entirely possible as evidenced by more visits to the bathroom than when I was pregnant!).

So how am I coping? Pretty well for day one I think. There's a few more days to go of course and I'm projecting that I will do well. I'm projecting, as my friend Paula said to me this morning, that the meds are a magic potion that's coursing through my body cleansing and healing me. I'm projecting that I've taken great strides prior to today to help my body be healthy and cope with the effects of chemo. I'm projecting that I will be OK. After all, I'm a diva and who wouldn't love me? Even cancer fighting meds will hopefully give me a break, right?!