I closed down the Infusion Center...again!

It was another long day of chemo. I sat down in my recliner, chair #9 at 8am. I came prepared, I had my bag with lunch, ham on a croissant for lunch, Cracker Jack and Godiva dark chocolate. I had a mocha coffee from the coffee stand downstairs too.

It started out the usual way...get vitals taken, asked questions about pain levels etc. Tap my port and get me hooked up. I get 30 minutes of pre-meds, to help me get thru chemo without getting sick. Nica, my nurse put me down close to the bathroom as I will be getting lots of fluids too. We had a chuckle about that.

In the other recliners are much older patients...20-30- years older than me. I get my first drug...Avastin, it needs to run for 30 minutes. I break out the Cracker Jack. When it is done I get a 5 minute flush before I get the next drug. The nurses liked the gifts. I took little individual hand sanitizer in scents of aloe, lavender, vanilla and also some chocolates. Today was National Chocolate Candy Day.

Nica hooks up my next drug...Taxol....it runs for 3 hours. At 11:30 I get out my sandwich and have lunch. I page thru my gossip magazines....laughing at the predictions for 2021, Jlo and Alex will break up, Harry and Megan will break up and stuff. After 3 hours the Taxol is done and I get flushed again. I can hear other patients coming and going. I have my light off...I have tried to nap, I have my comfy blanket..it is big...covers me up...but sleep eludes me even though I am really sleepy. I tried all day. I get a 5 minute port flush again.

I get hooked up to my first bag of fluids, 30 minutes of fluids before the last drug. It gets running and I make the first of many bathroom trips, my kidneys are functioning properly. At the end of 30 minutes I get hooked up to Cisplatin, the pharmacist put it in a brown bag...I chuckle at it...like I am sneaking some drugs. However the nurse also hooks up more fluids and runs it too. In hopes of getting me out 30 minutes sooner. Two hours later...my machines start beeping that the bags are empty and I am done! There are no other patients, its 4:58pm.

LAST CALL....LAST CALL....IT'S TIME TO GO PEOPLE....LAST CALL....TIP YOUR SERVERS...IT'S TIME TO GO...I shouted this out. The remaining 4 nurses who were cleaning up and charting started laughing. Nica comes to give me Heparin and unhook me and take the needle out of my port. She looks around. " Dolly are you the last one here again?" YES I AM. Nica says..."you are always fun". I commented that we had lots of much older patients today. They agreed and said it was too quiet...no chatter or visiting, except from me. We looked at my next chemo and realized I will be closing up again. More laughter.

As I walk out and put on my coat, I told Lori who was prepping the check in desk for tomorrow morning..." I am not doing my charting...I was here since 8am and didn't get a full lunch break". She laughed and told me that was ok and to have a good night.

I am tired. But I make the best of it. I gotta work at 6am tomorrow....(SIGH).