Back in the Saddle Again

Sing to the tune of “Back in the Saddle Again”.  (If you don't know the tune, look it up on YouTube)

Back getting Chemo again

Cause poison can be my friend

It kills all the bad cells and some good ones, too

Back getting Chemo again

So, after Monday night, with chemo medication leaking all over my clothes, they tore out my chest catheter.  Instead of using that piece of defective hardware, they’re putting chemo into me through a port that was inserted into my chest a few months ago.  

To be honest the worst of it is the bloating.  I weigh 13 pounds more than when I walked into the hospital on Saturday.  It’s all temporary bloating caused by steroids and tons of fluids that they are pumping into me.  If it gets any worse, I won’t fit through the hospital room door.  When they discharge me (hopefully tomorrow) they may have to just roll me sideways down the hall and to my car.  Then I’ll be visiting the bathroom every 10 minutes until 13 pounds of bloat is all gone.

If they do release me tomorrow (Thursday), the next step will be a series of blood tests to see how effective the chemo has been.  At some point, they will have to give me a new chest catheter before they can harvest my stem cells. Then they will move on to the actual transplant.