Desensitize Yourself

After my little allergy scare episode at chemo last month, it was decided I would go in for my next chemotherapy at the Boston Medical Center under close supervision in the ICU.

There I was first admitted late Sunday afternoon to the 7th floor cancer care unit to a very nice private room with a beautiful view of the North end of the Boston skyline. Thank you Dr. B. :-)

The next morning, after spending the night getting woke up for blood work and vital signs every 4 hours, I moved upstairs to the ICU to receive my chemo under very close observation. There I was hooked up to an EKG, Pulse oximeter, and Electronic blood pressure cuff to assess my vitals hourly while I received 6 small bags of Carboplatin given at an extremely slow rate. I had a private nurse sitting right outside a glass window monitoring every little beep and blip on the mini version of the large machine over my bed.
I was heavily sedated, and as a result I have very little recall of the various members of my medical team as they came into my room to assess me. One thing I do remember is the huge smile on Dr. B.s face when she informed me that my CA-125 had dropped from 54 to 38! I tolerated the entire thing very well and was transferred back down to my room on the 7th floor that evening.

Tired but happy!

 So there we have it. My first experience of receiving chemotherapy in an ICU setting. I have to say that the level of care I received was top notch, and other than the expected fatigue and nausea, I felt well. By morning I was ready to return home, and after a few hours of discharge red tape, my paperwork was done and home I went.

It has been over a week now and my level of strength is on the rise. I'm still sleeping a lot more but hey, that is all a part of healing. In a month I will go and have my CA-125 rechecked. We are looking for that magic number of 35 or below and then finally I'll be able to begin maintenance therapy.
And hopefully I will actually be able to say that I am in remission or NED (no evident disease)
The outpouring of love and support I have received, especially this week has humbled me. I know that everyone's prayers are playing a huge part in my recovery. I cannot express my gratitude enough.
This has been a long damn road and I appreciate every smile, every prayer, every "You can do this Dixie," every single kindness that I've received. God Bless and keep everyone of you. I simply say "Thank you, I love you"

Good Morning!

My nurse AnnMarie looking a little too chipper with that flu shot she gave me!

My view in the ICU

Me taken yesterday!

My beautiful Teal Warrior Angel painted for me by my friend and artist Audrey Keenan

Till next time my friends,
As a twitter friend Shell @shellandjeff tweeted. "No tip toeing through the tulips-Just run like hell through the rose garden!"

Love, Dixie