Waiting on... um....

So I am sitting here waiting for Mom to have Chemo. It truly is a strange thing. First they bring her into a room and ask her the exact same questions they ask last week (I know! They need to know each time!), about what medicines and when she took them (exact time!), appetite, bowel movements, fatigue, swelling, falls, sores, nausea. I can see the … not necessarily embarrassment but invasion of privacy showing on Mom’s face. Then they have to put in an IV. Well not only is Mom’s arm black and blue from the many pokes over the last month but her skin is also very thin from the Chemo. Her veins which were always awesome, now roll and blow at a moment’s notice. Luckily she has a high tolerance for pain and she just keeps talking while they poke and re-poke, never batting an eye. This takes about 40 minutes.
Next, we wait for the blood work (that was drawn went the IV was first put in) to return to make sure she can have Chemo. That takes about 30 – 45 minutes. When she is okay-ed for chemo they send the order in to the onsite pharmacy to mix it. This takes about 1 hour but they are able to do the hydration at the same time so that parts not too bad. The hydration (thru the I.V.) takes an hour as well.
The actual chemotherapy for today only takes 30 minutes. Now last Thursday it was 3 hours but today only 30 minutes.
Amazing what steps are needed to have 30 minutes of chemo.Mom has been very lucky in the fact that she has very little side effects from the chemo. She usually is just tired after the small dose (today). After the long one she has nausea and fatigue for a couple of days but that is it. And, this is the 4th treatment and she still has her hair.
Hair is a good thing.