Well I'd say that our journey through lymphoma is finally off to a start after Chris' first visit to the Chemotherapy Clinic. I took the afternoon off work so that I could sit through the first appointment with him, just to make sure he was okay. They were a bit behind which was a little frustrating, only because I think I was feeling a little anxious about how it was going to go. When we finally got into the room I felt a little overwhelmed seeing all these people hooked up to IV's--all at different stages in their treatments. Many of the people had lost all of their hair, some were wearing wigs and others were nearing the end of treatments with their hair starting to come back. It was an odd feeling, seeing all these people affected by the word CANCER.
Once they got Chris hooked up to his own IV, we were under way with this first round. The nurses there were so wonderful and I am grateful for all that they do to keep everyone's spirits up. Chris' nurse, Kate, went through all the drugs he was currently taking and set up a schedule for when to take each pill. They make the drug names so complicated, I think that by the end of all this Chris and I are going to sound like doctors.
The appointment itself was pretty uneventful, I read a bit and we watched a show on the DVD player...Chris made the nurse take our picture so he could document it for prosperities sake. I think for the biopsy pictures he said it was because he wanted to "show our kids one day." Unfortunately, we managed wear matching outfits to the clinic which set off a round of "how cutes" from the nurses and other patients. Pretty sure my face was bright red with mortification.
I've been feeling a lot more optimistic about the whole situation, maybe its been all the wonderful messages and good advice I've been getting from people. The support that we have been receiving from people is just amazing! I know it has helped me to gain a little perspective on our situation and feel a lot more hopeful.
I got a call from Chris a little while after I had dropped him off at home and he told me that our doctor had called to let him know the cancer is not in his bone marrow. I'm not going to lie, I did a happy dance before running down the hall with a big grin on my face to tell my parents. FINALLY, some hopeful news...let's keep it coming!!!
Monday we head back to the clinic for part B of round one. They have to drip this next drug in really slow because there are a lot of associated side-effects. My fingers are crossed that Chris doesn't have to endure anything too bad and that the 5 hours of sitting there are just as uneventful as Fridays.
Enjoy your weekends!
Kaitlin
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