Third Time is a Charm

So I guess the world is waiting to see how things turned out.

Shortly before noon, our day nurse began to set things up to access Jamie’s abdominal port and get things rolling. After three attempts, and with the help of our now favorite chemo nurse Christie, they got the needle set and flushed the port for the first time with a little saline. Over the next few hours Jamie took on three liters of fluid to her abdomen, along with plenty more via standard IV (chest port).

The whole shaking table was a cancer myth, but once the chemo portion of the infusion was done, Jamie spent the next two hours changing positions, head up / feet up / roll right / roll left, at 15 minute intervals.

While running an errand between turns, I had the opportunity to speak with nurse Michael. He seemed genuinely happy to see me and made absolutely no mention of the sushi-vomit episode. He accompanied me back to the room and he and Jamie caught up a bit, Michael sharing a few tidbits from his female companion’s cancer experience and how she made best use of being bald at Halloween.

Note; Michael actually uses the term “partner” to describe this woman, but I used the above phrase for the benefit of our more rural constituency who might interpret this to mean “gay” which Michael obviously is not.

Anyway, Michael is just one of the many genuinely caring people who have helped us at UWMC. I saw him again in the hall as I ferried our personal effects to the car and he was returning from the family lounge. Michael had washed one of his patient’s clothes because he was a transient with no family or friends to assist him. I am touched by how these people who are already doing a demanding and often unpleasant job, go even further to bring comfort to their patients.

We got things wrapped up a little after 4 pm, and stopped by to informally check out with Christie who was charge nurse for the day. Among other gossip we were sad to here that May is no longer at UWMC, as she moved to NY shortly after her wedding this summer. We wish her the best and can not thank her enough for her efforts. I just hope that she somehow gets word about Jamie’s recovery and knows what an important role she has played.

So from UWMC, it is just a couple of minutes to the Silver Cloud, our favorite cancer vacation hotel. I got Jamie settled in, truck unloaded and headed out for a quick ride on the Burke-Gilman trail towards Fremont. Although I did not encounter any nude cyclists, I did see many other intriguing things, a Vespa shop, the Hales brewery, and a score of other interesting business, construction sites and parks.

By the time I got back to the room, I had just a few minutes to relax before Joel, Katrina, Madeline and Erik arrived. The kids were fascinated by my bike, which was parked in the room and so soon Katrina was wiping chain oil off of Erik’s hands and face. For now he is harmless, but his obvious lust for the mechanical will make him a threat once he learns that you can tear anything down with an adjustable wrench and pliers.

We ordered pizza online from Zeeks and then Joel, Madeline and I set out to buy some beverages. Despite her generally adventuresome persona, Madeline has obviously been scarred by our past outings and whined for her mother for a good 15 minutes. Once she became confident that she would not be forced to operate heavy equipment or engage in some other frightening activity, she regained her confidence and soon was running up and down the aisles of QFC.

After dinner Katrina left us with some candy sushi and great cookies, so after I did some sampling we settled into bed for a restful night’s sleep without residents and nurses. We both slept well and come morning I was refreshed. I ate the free breakfast and then returned to the room with a waffle for Jamie. She ate it all, but was still sleepy, so I let her go back to bed for a bit. I went out on my bike again, exploring a bit more then stopped at the Metropolitan Market to fulfill Jamie’s request for fruit.

The ride home was uneventful, Jamie slept most of the way home and then unloaded and went straight to bed. Despite some prior discussion about a delay in symptoms because of the absorption rate of the IP chemo, she is on the same “schedule” as the previous regiment. Both the remainder of yesterday, through the night and today have been spent sleeping, with only short breaks to eat, take meds and have a little conversation with me.

Tomorrow I made her promise we would go to Starbucks and lunch, and hopefully we will turn the corner for the week. As much as I hate to see her suffer, I think we were encouraged by last weeks CT scan results and feel positive about pushing forward.

Shorty has been at my parents’ house since Saturday and apparently has made no indication of wanting to return home. I am sure he is enjoying company of Sammy and Stella as well as a few extra “cookies”.

Thanks to both Jen, Katelyn and the Healy’s for taking care of GB and BB. I also want to thank Joan specifically for helping with Jamie’s injection last night. Although capable, the task is still a great effort for me and so her professional touch is always appreciated by myself, but probably even more by my patient.