TUESDAY WAS MC ROUND 2
It was still dark early Monday morning when we left Locust, NC. It was a long drive home. Traffic was lighter than it would have been Sunday but I was tired going into my chemo day.
Tuesday morning I was just not into this chemo thing. I woke up feeling as if it was going to be a long hard day. It was damp and rainy which did not help my spirits. I reminded myself that God is Good All the Time and headed off to my oncologists office for treatment.
I arrived a few minutes late. Sat in the office for fifteen minutes (which is unusual) when the nurse appeared. “I do not have orders for you! You can wait here or you can come wait back with us but I am not doing anything without orders!” She promptly disappeared back into the chemo room. I looked at Nancy and said, “What am I doing here today?” “I do not do well with her and I am not in the right frame of mind to deal with her all day.” She is the one nurse in the whole practice who I do not do well with. We have a history.
A HISTORY
It was early on in my chemo treatment. I needed some fluids to get me through a rough spot and arranged to go to the office to get them. When I arrived she greeted me with a lecture on how I was not going to be able to do what I used to do. “I know you, you are like all the men here. You think you can do what you used to do. You keep doing more than you should and now you end up back here needing fluids.” The lecture continued on and on. I was not in the right frame of mind nor physical strength to hear it and the longer it went the less well her “advice” was received.
Since that day we have not done well together. She is loud, abrupt and makes any treatment process harder than it has to be. Nancy looked at me and asked, “do you want to leave and come back another day?” “No, I have to do this…lets get it done.”
NEEDLE IN
After a few minutes we had orders and I was getting prepped for chemotherapy. The other nurse on the floor came over to access my port. Needle in, look for blood return…nothing. That is not a good sign. There needs to be blood return in order for treatment to continue. Twenty minutes of different positions, multiple needle pricks and my port was still not showing any blood return. This is NEVER a problem. My normal nurses always comment on how great the blood return is and how well the port functions.
In the end I had to sit for thirty minutes with some “drano” type solution in my port to free up blood flow. That worked and we were finally able to start treatment. With treatment underway two hours later than scheduled it meant my pump was going to be on way into the afternoon on Thursday. I was not a happy camper.
Trying to push everything into the background I put on my headphones and turned my i-Pod to the greatest mix of 80’s music you will ever find. I drifted in and out of sleep for a while.
CHAOS REIGNS SUPREME
Turns out that Tuesday was the day the nurses were going to have a meeting regarding some changes in office procedure. They chose to meet in the treatment room. Change is never easy. Forced change is even harder. Conversations were sometimes heated. My loud and abrupt nurse “friend” was true to form and the longer the conversation went the louder and more animated she got. My i-Pod got turned up louder and louder until the sounds of the 80’s were all I focused on.
Their meeting was finally over. My treatment came to an end around 3:30pm. As I packed up I could not get out of there fast enough.
GOD BREAKS THROUGH
On the way to my truck I was struck by how blessed I was. Yeah, you read that right. I am truly blessed.
As I have gone through this journey God has matched me with the caregivers that best suit me and care for me well.
I love my normal Monday treatment nurses Shannon and Meghan. They are compassionate, gentle, friendly and competent. Monday’s are busy days in the treatment room. All the treatment areas are usually full. Meghan and Shannon go about their work moving from one person to the next with intention and precision. When it gets really busy Angie comes in and helps. Angie is a friendly face and talks with you as if life is normal in the midst of a less than normal situation. They make you feel as if everything will be okay and that they will help you get through whatever it is that is going on. We have a friendly banter that goes on every other week and they are quickly becoming friends. Angie always asks if the tattoo has happened yet.
On Friday’s I have another set of nurses who take care of me. Friday visits are very quick. Get some blood for labs, see the doctor, remove the needle from my port. I do not spend as much time with Geri and Ronni but I know them well. They are friendly, calming influences to the treatment process.
My oncologist is a perfect match for me. Dr. Saroha is calm, gentle, and patient. When I ask questions, hard questions he cannot answer he is gentle in helping me walk through plans and arriving at decisions. Dr. Saroha is wise. He knows his stuff and yet there is no doubt in my mind he is humble enough to ask for help or seek a second opinion should he be stumped by my case.
Yes, Tuesday was hard. I was uncomfortable and not happy with much of what went on during the day. The truth is that every now and then we need a day like that to remind us of how blessed we are the rest of the time.
The next time your day is spiraling out of control and you find it hard to see anything positive in the midst of the moment take a step back and ask how this “crazy” is actually a window into how blessed you truly are.
Remember…God is Good All the Time, All the Time God is Good
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