Infusion and Radiation

On Thursday, April 2nd, I had quite the day. I had two infusions scheduled along with targeted radiation for my brain. On top of that, all visitors were prohibited from entering the hospital, which meant I was tackling it alone! Kim was working that day, so I was planning on heading up by myself anyway, and fortunately the symptoms of these infusions and radiation sessions don't come until the following day, so I felt pretty okay with the plan. That being said, I had to leave WAY early and I'm not a fan of that! haha

I absolutely love watching the snow fall, but driving in it isn't my favorite. Fortunately, the roads weren't TOO bad, especially once I got through Nephi canyon. And with the COVID-19 shutdowns, the roads are pretty bare, which makes an early morning commute in the snow much less stressful! Anyway, I made it early and was ready for the day ahead of me. For some reason, though, this ended up being kind of a weird day...

I was taken back for my infusion before my scheduled time, but it took forever to get my IV started! And the guy that was doing the IV had worked in the ER for years and had done more IV's than anyone else there. But for some reason, things just weren't working out... He found a good vein and went for it, but he couldn't quite get into the vein. After a few attempts, he decided to switch to another one. He was able to get the needle in, but couldn't get any blood to come back. He was able to get some, but when he went to flush it to check on the IV, it wasn't flowing like it should have and he abandoned it. He didn't feel comfortable running an infusion through that IV.

You can kind of see bruising already below #2, and this was taken right after he left. Anyway, he moved to my other arm and was able to get a good IV going. The blood flow took a minute, but ultimately worked out well. It took around 45 minutes to get the IV in! That being said, he was as nice as could be and there was less pain between all three stabs than a lot of the IV's I get.

Normally, after blood is drawn, it takes between 25-30 minutes for the results to come back. The results are used to determine if my body is okay for the infusion. However, it took almost an hour! Just weird... And then it took a while for the drugs to be cooked up! Even though I went back around 8:50 am and it was a slow day there, I didn't get out of there until shortly after noon! It was just a really weird morning where everything was really delayed. Fortunately, I didn't have anywhere else to be! hahaha

After the infusion, I ate some lunch and hung out for a little bit until my radiation therapy. I checked in at the front desk and she said to head back around 2:15 pm (my appointment was at 2:40 pm), so I read a book until that time. At 2:15 pm, I checked in AGAIN with the front desk and they sent me back. So I went to the waiting room in the radiation area and visited with some other gentlemen for a bit. Well, 2:40 pm passed and then more time and then more time.... I was a little confused when 3:00 pm rolled around. Normally, it's not like that in radiation. At 3:07 pm, a lady popped in and informed me that they had never been told I was there! I thought to myself "Huh?! I checked in TWICE at the front desk!".

Anyway, despite another odd delay, I was taken back for radiation. I hadn't been looking forward to this. The mask is beyond uncomfortable and the first session usually adds extra time to ensure things look right once I'm in the mask. That being said, the people back there are always fantastic! Well...they strapped me down in my mask (which wasn't painted like a ninja turtle like I requested... *sigh*) and we began. The best way to get through that, for me at least, is to just close my eyes and breathe. I can feel my heartbeat throughout my face from the pressure and I just wait for things to get worse. Fortunately, this time it never reached that point where I needed a break. With just one tumor being irradiated, I was able to get out of the mask after about half an hour. I still ended up with mask impressions on my face, but it wasn't as bad as the first go around back in March 2019.

I was glad to be done with that! And that it was bearable. After that, I headed home and, fortunately, the snow had stopped and it was a clear drive home. When I got home, I felt pretty good. I ran water around to the families that are trying the Kangen water and ate dinner. Traditionally, my days up north have been a "free" day as far as food goes. We got pizza and donuts and all sorts of crap. Partway through eating, I realized that I was being stupid. That moment was when I needed HEALTHY stuff going into my body to deal with everything that had just happened, not crap. I decided to do the "free" day on the off Thursdays. Interestingly enough, though, by the end of the night I'd decided that I need to step away from all processed junk for a while until I got to where I wanted to be physically, including with my cancer. I still have brain tumors and tumors in my body and the junk won't help in the fight. So, I've decided to eliminate that for a while until I'm comfortable bringing it back in. And even then, it will probably be limited. We shall see!

The next day, Friday, was a rough day. I didn't have any energy and had struggled to sleep the night before. On top of that, I had a lot that needed to get done for work, so a nap was out of the picture. After work, I was right back in bed to nap. My body was just having a rough day. That evening, after all of the rest, I felt a lot better and was looking forward to the weekend because it was going to be a lazy weekend watching General Conference.

Saturday I felt better than I did on Friday, but I was still tired. I jumped in the oxygen chamber between sessions of conference and really enjoyed a lazy day. The weekend, in general, was a great weekend. For those of you that don't know what General Conference is, it's a two day conference that is held every April and October for all the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During these two days, all of the leaders of the church, including the prophet, his counselors, and all 12 apostles, speak to us regarding our faith and how to draw closer to Christ. This session focused on the First Vision, which occurred 200 years ago this year. It was a wonderful session of conference, as they all are, and I was spiritually fed while allowing my body to recover.

I've learned that life will throw us all sorts of curve balls, including disease. We can focus on the downside to these trials, or we can find the silver lining (or in some cases the miracles) associated with each trial and grow closer to God and Jesus Christ throughout the process. I invite all of you to choose the latter. Focusing on the negative will profit us nothing, but focusing on the opportunity to grow puts us in a position to truly change and become stronger as we are refined. God knows each of us and loves each of us. He, too, hopes that we all will choose the latter.

#FaithOverFear