5 Days..DONE.

Well the past few days have been interesting to say the least. I got to the hospital Tuesday night and spent the night, in a good sized room, with my own shower and view (but not a good view...). I have a bench that people can sit and sleep on (yes! i had a sleep over last night..which was totally unexpected!) I got chemo on Wednesday and felt fine all day. The following day (Thursday) i was pretty wiped out and not feeling well at all. i slept all day and was pretty nauseas. I got my stem cells back mid-day which was sort of a lame climax to this whole process. I mean i got hooked up to all these machines (to monitor my heart rate) and then there were tons of tubing etc, and then 5 minutes and it was over. IT did taste really bad going in, and i had to eat a cinnamon candy to cover up the taste, but once it was over it was pretty uneventful...well besides emitting a disgusting rotting green smell (the preservative that the stem cells were in made me sweat out this putrid smell--luckily i did not have to smell it!).

So now i am bored. I have watched so much TV my brains feel like mush. I don't feel pretty. I feel like i am being poked and prodded by everyone that comes into my room...if it isn't one doctor wanting to hear my lungs, it is another one wanting to look at my mouth, or a nurse wanting to give me drugs, check my vitals or inquire about my eliminations. I will be glad when this is all over. I'll be SO happy to be in my own home With my own people. With no one bothering me. With my puppy and kitty, and loved ones close by.

The day i got Chemo...dancing with my pole. I mean, if you have to be attached to it, you might as well make the best of it...right?? haha
What i am dreaming about. Raw sliders from Grezzo (a Raw restaurant in Boston!) YUM!!
Mr. Incog Nito, looking incognito.
Some of my visitors...Nice gloves gals!!

About 40 Tums, a Commode and 5.3 million stem cells

It was probably more like 50 fruit flavored (the worst kind) that i had to "snack on" (as my nurse called it) over the past three days. You might be wondering why one might decide to chow down on these fruit flavored gems.

I started the stem cell collection process, also known as Apheresis on Tuesday, and finished today, collecting about 5.3 million stem cells, all packaged up and ready to be infused back into my body next Thursday (well about half of them will be). The whole process was a bit science fictiony, but amazing to watch. In a nut shell here is what happens.
I get hooked up to the machine via my Hickman line, which consists of two little lines (catheters) coming out of my chest...the machine is hooked up to the lines, where it takes out my blood from one catheter, runs it through a centrifuge to collect the stem cells and then returns my blood (sans stem cells) through the other catheter.The stem cells are collected in the machine and then "harvested" or released into a bag that will be counted and then frozen until i need them. Each day i think the sum of all the blood in my body is run through the machine about 6 times.

So while i am hooked up to the machine i cannot get up to use the bathroom, so i have to grin and use a commode. Which is not, as i had initially thought a bed pan, but rather a toilet seat on wheels with a little bucket. It is quite hilarious, especially when someone walks past the curtains that separate me from the rest of the people in the room, and the curtain sort of flies open a little, giving everyone a little show. Haha.

Missus Roboto

Let the games begin.

Today I got my new piece of hardware (ooohh so exciting!). It is called a Hickman Line and will be used in place of my Port. Sexy, huh? Add two more scars to my scar collection (for a total of 6). I like lists and plans. Here is my plan listed out:

Stem Cell Collection 1/5/09 to 1/9/09
Admit to the Hospital 1/13/09
High Dose Chemo 1/14/09
Stem Cell "Rescue" 1/15/09
Tentative discharge date 1/29/09

Stinson Mountain 2850ft.

Well it isn't the burliest hike i have done, but it sure was pretty. Mr. Incog Nito and i decided that today would NOT be the day to do Moosilaukie (it would have been his first time). The weather was calling for -20 wind chills and 40-50mph winds. So we decided to go up to Stinson Lake in Rumney, NH to climb Stinson Mtn. I was psyched because with the cold temps, the snow is PERFECT right now...making for sweet skiing conditions The cold has sucked the moisture right out of the snow leaving (if you can believe it) Powder...about 2-3 inches of it!! Anyhow, we got to the trail head, i put my boots on and went to get my skis and realized
i forgot my skins. (skins for those of you who know nothing about backcountry skiing make it possible for one to walk up mtns on skis. You take them off to ski down).

This would be a good ski (down the snowmobile trail) first thing in the morning before the snowmobiles.

So i took off my boots and put on my hiking boots, and Mr. Incog Nito and i hoofed the 2 mi. up to the top. It was gorgeous outside...blue skies and sunny, but cold and really nippy. The view at the top were so-so. You could sort of see the views North of Cannon and Franconia Ridge and Moosilaukie.
We got grand views of Cardigan and Tenney Mtn. and the surrounding towns in the south.
Despite the gorgeous day and the fact that we were outside, it was a bittersweet day, as Mr. Incog Nito and I realized it might be awhile before we are able to hike any mountains together. We have a few big "hills" to conquer and get over before we can actually physically go and scale any mountains. But when the day comes. Watch out.