Ok.....Jon and I wake up at 4:30am. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30am. We get registered and taken to a prep room. I put on a gown and they gave me some warm blankets. They put in my IV boy those needles are huge! You should see the hole in my arm! The two pictures above are day of surgery and the other one was taken today. The nurse came in said its time for my "cocktail" and no they didn't mean margarita! Jon got to leave and the last thing I remember was being wheeled down the hallway.

     I woke up with my shoulder feeling sore and my throat hurt from the breathing tube. Here is what they put in me. Its called a PowerPort its a small device implanted beneath the skin. Its a cylinder with a hollow space inside that is sealed by a soft top. The port connects to a small, flexible tube called a catheter that is inserted inside one of the large central veins that delivers blood to your heart. When a needle is put into the soft top of the port device, it creates access to your bloodstream, meaning that medicatons and fluids can be given and blood samples withdrawn.

     Now my first chemo treatment. We go to the new cancer center which is wonderful! Once I check in they take me to this room with views of the mountains and I get my own recliner and another warmed up blanket It was a good thing Jon was with me because I forgot everything. I think the anesthesia was still with me. We got the full run down of my treatments and Jon got a lesson on how to give me a shot Since neither Jon nor I volunteered to be the guinea pig for the lesson the nurse did. She used saline and diabetic needles and told Jon to jab it in and that is just what he did! Scared me to death but she said it didn't hurt. I get my shots in my stomach and before Jon gave me the shot I gave him the look! Which meant don't even think about jabbing me. He was much easier this time and it didn't hurt.

     I get my treatments once a week on Thursday for the next 6 months. I get my blood drawn first to see if my counts are ok. Then I get Adriamycin by port, Cytoxan in pill for two a day, Dexamethasone by port (this is for nausea and vomiting and kills some cancer cells), I get a shot of Neupogen 6 days a week to help rebuild white blood cells. I also take some other meds for nausea. I will be there for about 3 hours every Thursday. I have only had one treatment and I know it gets worse the more you have. I guess I will find out.

    Jon was so thoughtful and bought me a little care package so I won't get bored. I got a Nintendo DS Lite its pink! How appropriate huh! I got the Braingames(has sudoko and other puzzles), uno, Big Brain Academy, Club House Games (card games, chess, checkers, billiards etc) and Trauma Center Under The Knife (yes, I picked this out I get to play doctor in this game). Ilove all these games and puzzles they will keep me very busy! I will have a lot of waiting to do on those days.

     I just want to say I have the best husband in the world! He is amazing! I don't know what I would do without him during this. I love you Jon!