cold and colder

from yesterday: It's cold in the Ivy Clinic. Nurses comment on it. Yes, it's cold, the renovation work affects the air conditioning, do you want a blanket? I have a blanket, I'm still cold. How cold? Hours later -- at home -- I am under blankets, wearing jumpers, still cold.

I go to bed early, even before Deb. I spend the first half of the night under every blanket, plus the winter-weight quilt. Finally -- after hours of restless sleep -- I wake up warm. Pajamas are damp with sweat and I'm finally warm.

I sleep comfortably for the rest of the night. Comfortably except for a flow of snot -- as though I have a slight cold. So far back in the nose that it won't blow out. If I lie anyway other than with my nose pointing down, I make annoying snoring sounds. Even while I'm awake. Yes, Deb does notice but only admits it when I mention the noisy night.

This morning: It's a full day of grandson watch, something I enjoy. Though it's exhausting ! I tell Deb, Not today, I'm going to rest. I'll join the fun when they come back here after lunch. Just for a few hours till I get dropped off at the clinic.

I eat a standard breakfast. My digestion feels uncomfortable but otherwise fine. Food goes in, I feel better for it. Food gets processed, leftovers go out, I am relieved :-) I feel as though my lungs are clagged up with a cold, I try a puff of Ventolin, it does seem to help.

I phone the clinic, tell the receptionist that the room is very cold. She says she will talk to the nurses. I refer to my first paragraph for today. Receptionist says she will talk to "environmental services". That sounds worth doing. I thank her.

Then I lie down, relax, read for an hour or so. Again, wearing jumpers and under a blanket. By 11am I am warm again.

No run today... I just can't be bothered. But I do go for a walk. Just over 3km, past the Far Playground, back to the Near Playground. (Names which make sense if you know where they are relative to our house.)

Now I've eaten some lunch. Washed last night's sweated-in pajamas. Feeling as good as ever... Well, as good as I have for the last few days. Which is, not ready to run but not too bad. No major side-effects from the chemo. Except...

Yesterday, a cannula popped out of its vein. There was a bit of a bruise but no pain (once it had been removed). This morning I checked that hand. No bruise. But...

The hand -- both hands, in fact -- are noticeably swollen. So is my face, particularly the lower half. My whole body is swollen -- visibly. Thank you, to the water retention properties of my daily Dex.

There are a lot of possible side-effects to this chemo. I was looking forward to the weight loss. At a kilo lost per week I could be at my "target running weight" after three treatment cycles. (Ever since I started thinking of a suitable running weight I have kept the same target. And have always been heavier.) Now I am 20kg over -- and rising at a kilo per day. Sigh...

Still, the next two weeks are light chemo only, Mondays only. Perhaps the Dex will be dropped. Perhaps I will lose some fluid weight... Perhaps :-)

It's almost 1pm. Deb and grandson will be here soon. Time for me to have a shower, look as though I'm ready to be dropped at the clinic. With time for a couple of hours of being entertained by our grandson. While Deb does the heavy lifting of looking after him. As usual :-)

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem, and only five minutes finding the solution." … Einstein
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====