Tim v. Chemo - round 1

It is amazing to me how quickly new experiences can become normal. We went in to the andrology laboratory today and then to T's first round of chemotherapy. Two hospitals in one day, ew. Thankfully Tim is feeling well tonight, watching his beloved Cubs likely lose another one. He has so far not experienced any nausea or pain, just a general feeling of tiredness. He decided after chemo that it was imperative that he have a chocolate cake shake from Portillo's, so he was able to eat just after the treatment. He also had some garden-fresh tomatoes (Thanks, Mommala!), an avocado-tuna salad and some bean and kale soup. No worries, moms, I'm making him eat his superfoods!

Chemotherapy was a lot different than the Rotuxin treatment. He was sitting up in a chair fully dressed this time instead of in a bed in jammies. The nurse put on a full gown, face mask and gloves and pushed two enormous syringes of bright red fluid through Tim's IV. There were also two bags of fluids hung, plus some saline. The whole experience took about two hours, but that included picking up his medicine and the explanation of what we should expect for side effects. Next time should be shorter for the chemo, though a longer stay because it's at the same time as the Rotuxin.

The social worker also came in today to talk to us for the first time. As anyone who has met Tim already knows, he's not exactly one who tends to open up, but he is one of the most amiable people I know. It was slightly amusing to hear him trying to balance politeness and reservedness while talking to the social worker about what he's going through. She might have more success with getting him to open up without me there, so next time I'll leave the room when she arrives.

That was our day and it was a long one. Only five more chemo treatments to go, so that's sending us off to bed with smiles on our faces!