Chemo – Three Days In

It’s been three days since I had my first round of chemotherapy. I feel weak, I didn’t sleep at all last night because of steroids and my knee and hip bones also ache; not too much, but when added to the twinges in my stomach, it’s enough. Worst of all is the chronic constipation. (I remember going to a health talk given by a doctor many years ago. One of the things he said was: “Small poops – big hospitals; big poops – small hospitals!”)

Rob cooked lunch today - under my supervision, of course. I just wanted to show him how to organise the kitchen and prepare properly in case there was a day when I didn’t feel well enough to cook. To start with he wasn’t quite sure even how to put the grill on. However, he managed in the end, doing things ‘his way’. All things considered, he did a marvellous job. I should add that when we lived in Johannesburg I had a corporate job and Rob was a full-time writer working from home. Every day, he made me a delicious health breakfast and either a salad or sandwiches to take to work. More importantly, my lunch box always included a ‘love note’ – all of which I have kept. (see photo) (I should add that after seeing the notes, the women on my staff were willing to take Rob off my hands if I ever decided to dump him!)

In my last post I wrote about stress. I feel that we give ourselves stress. I often worry about things I have no control over and that are not really important. When I think back I can name a number of toxic situations that I could have dealt with differently. I’ve learnt not to ignore my ‘gut’ feeling. Experience has taught me to weigh up all the facts, but to never ignore my instincts when making decisions.

And finally, some information that you probably don’t need: I’ve just taken something to make me go to the loo because I haven’t been for five days. This is despite the fact that I’ve been eating normally! I’m going to give it an hour for the medicine to kick in then I’m going to tell Rob to either hide in a closet or stand well clear!