4-5-10 At the meeting with Dr. Fintel he explains how aggressive the drug are and some side effects. The scheduler informs them that Ted's first chemo can't be on Friday 4-9, they had to attend a training session first. Ted and Tammy were both upset. they were hoping due to his vacation It would give him some rest time before he had to return to work. Ted and Tammy had worked our the chemo dates so that Ted would only miss the lest amount of days from work.
When they arrived to the Oncology dept for their meeting the nurse talked with them about how the chemo can affect different functions of the body. She cautioned them to look for side effects and warning signs. She then said Ted would be getting "the meat and potatoes today". They explained that they were just there for a meeting and she went and got Dr. Fintel. They could see our shocked expression. Ted got his first treatment that day. They didn't have any time to worry or fret about the treatment.
Friday-4-9-2010: Ted's and Tammy's Thoughts on the First 7 Hour Chemo Treatment
Ted and Tammy had the car packed to go on vacation even if it was only going to be a few days with the family. They thought today's doctor's appointment would be for classes and training about chemo. However,the doctor came in and told them that today was the Meat and Potatoes day. Ted thought, O.K. this won't be bad at all. What the doctor meant was Ted was getting both drugs today, Gemzae and Aspatin in a 7hour treatment.
Tammy had to go to get his anti-nausea medication filled. She called Janet to tell her the plans had changed that Ted was unexpectedly getting his first chemo treatment that day. Janet got in touch with the family at the beach so that they would know.
A friend was at the Oncology office with his father. He spent some time with Ted which helped pass the 7 hours.
Being the first treatment Ted didn't know what to expect. He ate and drank nothing. The nurse was surprised he didn't have to go to the bathroom because they had pumped him full of fluids.
They also gave him lots of steroids, which put a bounce in his step. Ted walked out of the session and said, "Lets go to Hilton Head". Hind sight is always better. It probably was not the thing to do. Steroids only last so long, then the side effects kick your butt.
They stopped at Wendy's and then continued on their way to Hilton Head. About 7:00PM Ted started to chill. That lasted about one hour, and around Columbia, SC the chill was replaced with nasusea and fever. They arrived at HH about midnight and finally got some relief with ice packs and meds. That continued until Saturday when he ate a nice dinner. After dinner the nausea returned until the next morning. Sunday afternoon he watched the Masters golf tournement on TV. On Monday, Tammy and family packed the car and Tammy drove them home. The rest of the week was not too bad until the next treatment.
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