Aug 21, round 3, it's a knockout

view from my hospital room this morning

Today was my 3rd dose of chemo, end of first cycle. Rest week next week! Nice early 8am start. "How late can I be?" I asked the admissions clerk. It was 7.59. I may as well test the boundaries. "No more than 10 minutes, otherwise we ring you" Dammit. Pod 29 today. Obviously the one to have, check the view, city skyline in the distance (looking north from Cabrini) That Norfolk Island Pine I estimate to be 7 stories high. What a shame it will be when the lightning hits it one day. I remember a tree like that near my old place with an eagles nest at the top, I used to watch them through binoculars.

It was a little bit different today, one because a cousin had a day off and came sat with me, (many have offered but I refuse to allow them to miss work) so the time passed quickly, and you all know how full of shit I am, poor guy's ears must have hurt after a while...but thanks, it was really appreciated; and two, my cell counts were low (neutrophils 0.8) so I only got one of my drugs, the nab-paclitaxel, but not the gemcitabine. Oncologist says its because the drug is hanging around and doesnt need to be boosted. Its protocol. Yeaaahhh...OK. Not sure I completely buy that but anyway. So the morning went quickly, and soon I was home, where I was overwhelmed by fatigue, so had to take a nap. Then again, I might just be super lazy. I cant really complain too much about side effects - ongoing bleeding nose, sore gums (so its hard to chew, I have to limit to soft foods, as I eye that packet of chips in the pantry, soon my precious, soon...) C'est la vie.

Oh I must mention, yesterday I went to the "wellness center" for my 1st session of oncology rehab. Run by exercise physiologists I labelled the two Laurens. They were super nice, and turns out both were ex Deakin students, so we reminisced. "Don't work me too hard" I pleaded. "Oh no, we'll go easy on you...this week" they reply with a glint in the eye. Oh my. I have never been to a gym in my life. It wasnt too bad after all, and besides, I was the youngest in the group by about 20 years. A bit of cycling, treadmill, few weight machines, yoga stretches, ball work - done. The funniest thing was they had to show me how to use the machines, because I was clueless. I had to laugh. Then we had a lecture presented by the OT on relaxation techniques. She had a Monash student with her who I swear looked younger than my 16 year old niece. Still, it was useful.

Now, an aside. One of my friends (thanks Anne) found a picture from our Monash days, maybe a decade ago - me and Victor, dressed up for "talk like a pirate" day. Its motivated me to hunt at home to see if I have any other photos to share, so stay tuned... The most amusing thing is, that over time, I am going to start looking more and more like Victor! Twins! LOL.