Things move quickly in this little country. When I woke this morning, I expected to spend another day on the sofa, taking it easy, eating and holding court like Jabba the Hutt. Our friend Brenda is bringing pulled beef tacos for dinner and I was really looking forward to that. But like everything else this week, someone else had another plan.
The doctor from the hospital in Oslo called around midday and said that part of the test results were in and that if I could get to Oslo fairly quickly we could start treatment today. We figured the sooner the better. And I kind of like it when things happen so quickly because I don’t have much time to think and over think and get scared, I just have to react.
We jumped in the car and May got us to the hospital around 2pm where we met with the doctor. This was the small print doctor. All the other doctors to this point had been pretty positive. Today’s doctor had the unpleasant job of making sure that we knew there were risks and no guarantees. There will side effects and a bunch of stuff we all know but don’t want to talk about. Poor lady, that can’t be a nice job.
After a few more tests and measurements I was led to my new room, where I’ll be living for the next few weeks. Its not bad here, its not home, but its not bad, and as hospitals go, its pretty good. I have my own room, with a door to the courtyard, a fridge, TV with cable and Netflix, an exercise bike and a DVD player. (starting to regret throwing all those DVDs away now). Oh, and 24-hour access to the little cantina where I can go get food and drinks whenever I want. That will be convenient as I eat my way through this mess.
By 4:30 I was hooked up to the pumps and the chemo is pumping through my veins. As I understand it, as long as I am doing the chemo treatment, my pee and blood are considered toxic biohazardous waste. I should be able to cut through porcelain. Any mosquito that wants to try his luck on my arm is more than welcome.
So, I am officially in the program now. So far so good, but its only been two hours. Next stop baldness, nausea and retaining massive amounts of water.
On the bright side
We had to start sometime and why not Friday instead of Monday or Tuesday. I’ll be through it a few days earlier this way. Encouragement keeps running in and I am reconnecting with people I haven’t heard from in years. God is so good.