Well, I got my port out yesterday and thought I'd be doing wonderfully by now, but my plans had a little hiccup. When I was in recovery, the IV-sedation had worn off, and the pain was growing in intensity, so the nurse gave me a 1 mg. (I think) injection of Dilaudid. It worked very quickly on the pain, but by the time I was back in my outpatient room, I was so sick to my stomach that I lost my cookies almost immediately. I hadn't had anything to eat, so the nurse brought me some apple juice over crushed ice and a package of Cheez-its. I ate two Cheez-its and took a couple sips of apple juice, and that's all she wrote.
My poor angel of mercy and driver for the day, Janie Baber, faithfully plied wet cloths and asked what she could do for me. My speech was thick from the drug, and I was so groggy it was hard for me to know what to do. I wanted to sleep, I wanted to get up and go and I wanted to throw up--not knowing what to do, I did a little of each. CRH has these cool, blue sickness bags that are coiled up in the shape of an English Muffin, and they expand when you use them, if you know what I mean. I think I used three bags at the hospital.
Janie finally got me home, and I laid down and slept until Barry got home from school. He sent Traci out for food, and since I was hungry, I had them get me something, too. It tasted so good, but I could tell almost immediately that it wouldn't last long, and it didn't.
After a nice bath, I headed back to bed, and I slept pretty fitfully through the night. Because of the reactions that I've had to pain meds, I was determined not to take anything else, so I just gritted my teeth and stood the discomfort from the incision. but it wasn't so bad.
Today was not much better, and I had several side effects from the Dilaudid - nausea, vomiting, headache, redness and flushing. I am just now feeling decent this evening after more than 24 hours of getting the injection. I don't think I will let them administer that drug again. Maybe it was a build up of chemo in my system, I don't know. If there was a horse named "Dilaudid" in a race at Oaklawn Park, it would have my bet.
I am glad the port is gone, and I'm glad I had it removed prior to my radiation starting on May 2. I had been doing very well over the past week and half, and I'm determined that tomorrow and the next day and the next day are going to be better and better. I have too many plans and too much that I want to do. Baby steps.
I have so many friends who have come to my rescue this week with different things. I don't want to name everyone because I might leave off a name, but you know who you are--thank you!
I'll write more in a couple of days when I'm feeling more perky or is it "perkier"?
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