Treatment Begins and Bounties of Soup

 

Thursday was a big day! Although she will not usually get to accompany me for treatment, Ruth, FtC (Fauxliot the Cat) and I were ready and waiting at the hospital at 7am. The day was actually pretty smooth, though very long. Because it was the first day, there were a lot of discussions to be had about the vitamin D study, a meeting with a nutritionist, and general on boarding about what I might and might not feel going forward. This is the scariest thing about chemo so far - every symptom is a possibility, and every extreme range of those symptoms is a possibility. But everyone reacts differently so there’s no real way to know until you go through it yourself (I do not recommend). We were there about 5 hours, two of which I received the start of a chemo infusion. Mixed in with the chemo, they pump you full of anti nausea medication, which, you are warned, will wear off in 48 hours. 

Over all, I felt pretty good. We even faced the gauntlet of a food court Panera at the lunch hour to get a sandwich. I left with the infusion bag, all plugged into me, which turned out to be super easy to manage (camp counselors love sleeping in their Fanny packs. Safety first!) A super kind and helpful nurse came to the house Saturday morning and unhooked me, took my vitals and played with Eliot. I spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday sleeping intermittently on the couch - but thankfully the nausea never came. These treatments will likely get harder and not easier, but it was a positive first step in a long journey. I go back for more at the end of the month.

Though I spent much of the weekend sleeping, Ruth studied, exercised, attended a class (in person!) and vacuumed the house from tip to tail. Our whole community has been humming and workshopping and vibing during these last few weeks and we have been the beneficiaries of a whole neighborhood that came together and fill our fridge (and freezer) with decadent soups. We’ve had grocery drop offs, juice and plant and candy drop offs, incredible homemade cookies sent all the way from Florida, and boxes full of all the stuff you need to make chemo easy that we hadn’t found the time or energy to purchase yet. I’ve received endless cards in the mail and text messages of support and just regz TikToks, which are just as important.

 When Ruth and I got married, we spent so much time talking about how overwhelming it was to feel your friends and family rise up and support you, like every step of the way from engagement through our honeymoon, we could just feel all the love (and time! And money!). I was hesitant to ask our people to band together again only two short years later, but it turns out I didn’t even have to ask. Our incredible family (blood and chosen) activated in an instant. And we are so thankful. 💖