Back to Work

We've stuffed as much summer as possible into the past 2 weeks, knowing that once I start  chemo, I might not feel like doing much. We've fished the Big Hole twice, van lifed up to Canada and northwest Montana, played in the hippo pool, ridden the horseys on the carousel, hung out with friends, and probably some other things that I'm missing because we've been busy enough living life that I haven't had a chance to sit down and think about the "not-so-fun" stuff about life right now. 

I had my Hickman line placed right before going to Canada so I'd have some time to recover before getting treatment. The procedure wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and I have a suspicion that it would have been even easier had I not wrecked my bike 2 days before having the procedure completed. In my 31 years, I've never wrecked a bike like that, and despite how my injuries still look, I finally feel like I'm on the mend. 

Fast forward to today- back to work on regaining health. Today is the day that shit gets real. It's my first day back in the St. Pat's Infusion Center for the first day of G-CLAM. I'll be getting 4 drugs this time- filgrastim (growth factor shot), cytarabine, cladribine, and mitoxantrone. I'm a little nervous about the mitoxantrone because I've never had it before. Some people call it the "blue thunder" which sounds a little ominous. Others say that it's no big deal. I handled the chemo fairly well last year, so I'm hopeful that I can do it again. 

I haven't heard much from Seattle except that they are confirming the availability of the cords for the transplant. Once that happens, they'll provide an arrival date which they mentioned might by August 8 for pre-testing with a tentative transplant around Labor Day weekend. The nerd in me thinks it's sort of cool that my second birthday might actually occur near my actual birthday. Virgo 4 Lyfe 💪

You'll have to forgive me today for the rambling. My head feels like it's spinning a little bit with everything I need to do/take care of while continuing to enjoy what time I have left with my family and friends in MT. It sort of feels like I'm at the top of the first hill on a rollercoaster...the anticipation, the stomach drop, etc. It usually ends up being worth it when the ride is over, but at the top of that hill, you're not quite sure if it was a good decision to get on the ride to begin with, but there's no turning back now. 

I still feel good about everything, and I'm ready to do what I need to do. I just wish I didn't have to.