Chemo Three, Day Three
When I went in for Chemo Three, there was quite a bit of confusion as to what we were ding.
I had hurt my back, so walking was difficult. But the morning of the infusion, it turned out I had neglected to go get blood work done, so I had to go first to the lab, then to the Infusion Clinic. No way I could walk all that far, so Tom get a wheelchair to push me in.
Showing up in a wheelchair was a red flag for the nurses - they felt it might mean I was too weak for the infusion. So after getting the results of the blood test, my doctor called me, and we discussed what to do. We both agreed that I had been stronger the day before, and that it was okay to proceed. She slightly lowered the dose of one of the drugs, and we went forward with the infusion.
It definitely was not as bad as last time. I felt pretty sick and out of it on Tuesday, and have had zero appetite for both Tuesday and Wednesday. i have had to force myself to eat one of the only things I could stomach, a vegetable soup made by my next door neighbors.
But last night, I woke up with a craving for real food, for the first time in a long time. And of course, knowing me, it is not a stretch to figure out what I wanted: a chicken kebob sandwich from Pollo.
When lunchtime arrived, I told Tom that that was what I wanted, and he was thrilled. So he went downtown and got me one, along with a nice tall ice tea.
I was nervous about eating it - would my system manage it? But once I started, I ate more than half of it, and it tasted so good. It also made me feel more energetic than I have for a while.
I think I'm getting a handle on all this, and clearly things are going in the right direction. And once again, Pollo has stepped in to help save my life. I have felt more energy since eating it, have not fallen asleep, and have not felt like I couldn't keep it down.
The measure of how I will do in the future is on whether or not I can continue to eat, gain weight and build my strength. I'm hoping that, with the two and a half weeks before the next infusion, I can gain back a bunch of weight and get more energetic, so the next infusion has less of an overwhelming effect on me. The goal here is to be able to tolerate the chemo going forward and still live a good quality of life.
Anyone in Berkeley who wants to celebrate: go by Pollo. They deserve our business.
Dmitri, thank you for so generously sharing your experiences with us, your fans. I know what you and Tom are going through is a day-by-day and sometimes hour-by-hour process. I'm glad you found your appetite, and that Pollo's hit the spot. I'm a pretty good cook, so if you get a hankering, or have a group of people signing up to cook for you and Tom, sign me up.
ReplyDeleteSending my love,
Alana
Thank you, dear Alana, I will let you know. Sending much love,.
DeleteI love it when comfort food actually comforts. Pollo is an energy vortex. Stonehenge? Feh! Sedona? Piffle! Pollo is where it's at!! Keep taking in that nutrition. xox
ReplyDeletePollo is good! Now instead of an iced tea, add a chocolate shake. WWMD....what would mom do? She would take you to Carvel.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying a Pollo kebab sandwich! This is tremendous news! Eat, eat! And bless those neighbors who make the good vegetable soup.
ReplyDeleteI don't even eat chicken and I'm inspired by this to go grab a kebab at Pollo.
ReplyDeleteOh, I wish we could take you to Carvel! Is there one around here that we're not aware of? We are so glad that you enjoyed, and benefited from your Pollo meal. Love, Ann and Sam
ReplyDeleteAahhh. Pollo’s! Thank goodness they’re hanging in there! And their hanging in is helping you hang in. We’re all in this together, and you’re an inspiration D! I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteAndus
Geez, D, all the times I ate with you on my trips to the Bay Area, and we never went to Pollo's. We'll have to fix that. In celebration of your improved appetite, I'm going to a nearby place called Los Pollos Hermanos. It looks very clean! Maybe I should end it with a trip to Carvel, which we have a lot of.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you should write up your miraculous experience in some form that the restaurant could post; I bet they would. If you are worried that it's tricky about mentioning cancer, I suggest you go the other way entirely: "Pollo's -- it's better than chemo!" OK, maybe tone it down so you don't start some kind of alternate therapy fad. (But would it be so awful if they applied for a grant from the NCI Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine? Marianne Williamson, get behind this shit and push!) Howzabout "Pollo's -- it's better with chemo!"? We'll workshop it. Anyway, the fallback position is that no one goes to a restaurant called Chemo's, no matter what they serve. I'm being told there's a Chemo's restaurant in Seattle. Also Mexican. They're neck-and-neck on Yelp, so Berkeley: activate!