Chemo hangovers suck, electrolytes are what plants crave, and maybe my vision is improving

I am now on the "maintenance" chemo, which is a pill for 5 nights followed by 23 days off, followed by 5 days on, etc., until the docs decide I'm ready to go off or try something else. I've been in Lubbock for two weeks and have enjoyed being with my little family, seeing friends, and getting into work some. 

I finished the fifth dose of chemo on Sunday night. Approximately 24 hours later the hangover hit. Full-on head in the toilet and/or trashcan every hour or so all night. Which meant Jason was up with me all night too, so it was a marriage strengthening exercise! The following morning (yesterday), when I got up to throw up one last time, Jason was freaked about dehydration, limited caloric intake, etc. so he called MD Anderson and they said to go to the ER. In our non-compliant Rinaldo way, we decided to just call our local doc office since they are on the grounds of the hospital anyway. Luckily, they had an appointment open in 45 minutes, so we just went. Jason made me go in my pajamas. At least they were cute pajamas. 

We saw the youngest looking resident ever, who was very nice. He even laughed at my joke and said, "I can appreciate that you can keep your sense of humor through this situation." So here's the joke I made when he asked if there was anything else he could do for me. Since Jason was a bit freaked out and making me nuts, I said, "Sure. My husband needs Xanax." 

From there we were sent to the infusion clinic, where all they do is infuse people with stuff. The nurses were the nicest I've had in Lubbock. The only downfall was that the heated blankets were in a different building but the nurse walked two buildings over to get one only to find out that they were out. Then she said she is putting in an order for a blanket warmer in that department. Even more reason to go there! I think I'd go back there every time even without the blankets. I was supposed to get  2 liters of fluids with electrolytes ("it's what plants crave!"), but the IV leaked and a lot of it got all over me and the bed. By mid-afternoon, I felt well enough to keep down fluids and so we headed home. Jason had parked a mile away from the building so we had to walk a distance and, of course, he let me walk right into a side mirror on a car. He says he told me to watch out for the mirrors and he may have, but he was walking in front of me facing away from me. How the hell would I hear him in the raging Lubbock wind and sounds of traffic? And then he said I should watch out. Well, genius, I'm blind there. So, anyway, he's trying but not quite there yet. 

We came home, got a good nap in, and then then Jason forced me to eat and drink. I'm fairly sure he's in the market for a gavage tube.

So here we are 24 hours later and I woke up feeling great this morning. I held down my fat coffee, some nuts, and half of an avocado so far. That's serious progress, people! I did hear that there is a stomach virus going around so I've decided to work from home so that I can avoid that. With zero immune system, a stomach virus could become a serious health crisis. I'm one of those people who dies of the flu. I'm the equivalent of a newborn 90 year old! I've long since decided I'm not going out with the flu. Absolutely not. It just seems too cliche and unsophisticated.  

Next up is keep on keeping on. We go to Houston soon. I have appointments with oncology, neuropsychology, I will finally see the clinical trial department that we missed last time, and (of course) there are TWO obligatory blood draws at the lab.

The following day I see the neuro-opthamologist to see if anything has changed with my vision and hopefully get the ugly glasses. I've added a stolen internet photo of a person wearing peli glasses so you can all see how ugly they are. The good news is that I'm pretty sure my vision has improved. First off, the rudimentary exam of "where are the wiggling fingers" that I am always given at MD Anderson was easier this time and Jason swore I was able to detect better than I had been previously. Today I was wearing my regular glasses in the kitchen and I saw something in my blindspot. I thought it was a hallucination but instead of moving my head, I moved my eyeballs in the leftward direction. If the middle of my retina is looking on the left, I can see the left side. It's only when I look straight on that I lose the left field. So, anyway, when I looked over with eyeballs only, I realized that the movement I saw was a reflection on my glasses from the trees outside the window. Even though it was a reflection, it was still in my blind spot and I shouldn't have seen it. Therefore, I am so looking forward to getting the vision testing and then seeing the look on the doctors' faces when they realize the radiation improved my vision somehow instead of making it worse, as was the expectation. 

To truly appreciate this post, you might consider watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3boy_tLWeqA