Chels has been right there at my side this whole week!
Man am I glad to have gotten the hiccup issue fixed! Hiccups were attacking me Tuesday and Wednesday. I brought this up with my nurses and it turns out the steroid they were giving me in my IV has a tendency to cause hiccups, so my oncologist gave the nurses the green light to use a different type of steroid, and ever since the change was made the hiccups are no longer a problem!
One highlight from this week is when my IV cart toppled over and landed on the floor. Here's what happened: I was reclined in my chair getting some rest, when all of a sudden I got slammed with a "I have to pee NOW" moment...I adjusted my chair to sit me up, not realizing that my IV cart was snagged on the chair. I saw the IV cart start to tip over in the corner of my eye and it was like time froze...it was a gut wrenching feeling. When it hit the floor there seemed to be a ripple of panic that spread through the area. The IV cart started beeping, everyone in the area looked at me, 4 nurses rushed over, it was intense. Luckily everything was fine though. They set the IV cart back up, nothing was damaged, no leaks, and I was back on track. Thankfully my IV didn't get yanked out of my hand either. It was embarrassing but I was told that I wasn't the first. Now I am extremely cautious of the whereabouts of my IV cart when I adjust my chair. I think I'll blame this on the "chemo brain", which is a real thing. Chemo can cause people to be fuzzy and not think straight, so right now I'm going to milk that excuse while I can...
In one of my earlier posts I talked about the man my grandparents connected me with who had the same type of testicular cancer as me. He went through it 5 years ago. As it turns out he is a student at the U of U and was able to drop by and visit me yesterday! It was an absolute pleasure to meet him in person. Up until now we had talked on the phone several times and have texted a lot, and he has been nothing but a source of comfort. Chels and I had a great visit with him for about 30 minutes and we talked and laughed and had a good time. He told me when you get through it, something changes. You feel different about life and you have a different perspective on life. After he beat his cancer he decided to switch careers and go back to school to become a Physician Assistant so that he could help patients and be an inspiration to them.
Me and Brian
I made a friend this week in the infusion center named Chase. He's 22 and he has been going through chemo for about a year now. We've been chatting for about an hour each day. We hit it off right away, talking about our cancer experiences, and about future goals after getting through this. He was kind enough to give me lots of advice on mitigating the side affects of chemo. He's got a few weeks off after today, but I'm sure I'll catch up with him in a few weeks when we're both in at the same time again. He showed me his Mine Craft world he created on his lap top, pretty sweet!
One thing I have enjoyed this week are the therapy dogs that have been coming through. I learned that it's a volunteer bases, an owner and their dog (who has to pass a training) come through every week or two weeks. One of the dog owners we met is an advanced breast cancer survivor. I will say, the dogs were cute but in my opinion they don't compare to Cash's happy smiley face. The light bulb went off in my head that me and Cash are going to be a team when I get through this! I'll get him certified and take him through to see patients. He has a special gift of brightening people's days.
One of the therapy dogs sitting on my lap (watch the Minkey blanket little guy!)
Cash would make a phenomenal therapy dog, just look at that face of his...And there's cute Chloe with a photobomb.
It was great to have Grandma and Grandpa Rogers stop by and visit me today! Grandpa is getting over a small cold so he is being cautious wearing the mask! They will be taking me home here in a few minutes.
Grandma and Grandpa Rogers!
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