Monday, May 4th
Day 1 - Round 2
Today went pretty much as expected - headed to the hospital in Pristina with Shem and started with a pre-chemo blood test to make sure my levels were strong enough to proceed.
The surgeon that was supposed to check my surgery scars wasn't available, so we went ahead and started with the chemo - first with the anti-nausea, then with the allergy meds, followed by the "Red Devil" for 15 minutes and the Cyclophosphamid for an hour, then a full saline bag to keep the vein happy.
Following this, I had a very brief conversation with the surgeon - it went like this:
S: Are you having any pain in your abdomen?
M: No.
S: Are you having any problems with your bowels?
M: No.
S: Are you having any difficulties urinating?
M: No.
S: Okay then we're done. Why am I here?
M: Because I still have a lot of pain in my frankenbreast.
S: Huh. <walks away>
I'm thinking, THIS IS ODD. But apparently it made sense because when chemo was done, I was escorted to the radiology department for a post-surgical ultrasound.
If boobs make you uncomfortable, you'll probably want to skip the next paragraph.
He did an ultrasound of my left breast (the normal one) and found a mass - which made my heart stop for a moment, but he explained that it's just a fibroid (NON cancerous) and then told me how they tell the difference between good and bad findings. When he'd finished, he moved over to Frankenboob and was able to see the thick seroma that's formed under my arm (it looks/feels like a baseball and it normal) but was able to tell me that there are no abnormalities, no dangerous scar tissue, and that everything is healing as it should be.
I paid my bill and Shem and I were on our way back to Ferizaj. Because the post is on lockdown, we had a list of errands for all the other people on my contract (there are 17 of us total) so we stopped in town for fishfood, medication, groceries, cleaning supplies, etc.
It was strange because I thought Ferizaj was still under driving restrictions - but they had absolutely normal traffic (heinous) and EVERYONE was out and about. Most stores downtown were open, people were congregating, hardly anyone was wearing a mask and they were giving each other kisses on the cheek as normal.
Less than a week ago the Mayor of Ferizaj proclaimed that all the illnesses and deaths attributed to the town were a direct result of the American base being there - everyone had been infected on base, and then they brought the infections out to their friends and families. This is wrong on SO many levels. First of all, it's a NATO base - and NONE of the original cases of Covid were soldiers - they were all local nationals. But the base was put on lockdown anyway, and it seems that this put everyone's mind at ease because there were NO apparent restrictions in town.
(I broke my mask strap at one point while we were out, and will spend the next two weeks being overly paranoid about whether or not that put me at risk - next time I'll definitely bring a spare.)
We finished our errands and headed back to base, to a grateful crew. For me, it was just a treat to get off base - and strange to be envied for having the opportunity to get chemotherapy. But there you go. The isolation is definitely starting to affect everyone's mental health.
Side effects today - fatigue, mild nausea
Day 1 - Round 2
Today went pretty much as expected - headed to the hospital in Pristina with Shem and started with a pre-chemo blood test to make sure my levels were strong enough to proceed.
The surgeon that was supposed to check my surgery scars wasn't available, so we went ahead and started with the chemo - first with the anti-nausea, then with the allergy meds, followed by the "Red Devil" for 15 minutes and the Cyclophosphamid for an hour, then a full saline bag to keep the vein happy.
Following this, I had a very brief conversation with the surgeon - it went like this:
S: Are you having any pain in your abdomen?
M: No.
S: Are you having any problems with your bowels?
M: No.
S: Are you having any difficulties urinating?
M: No.
S: Okay then we're done. Why am I here?
M: Because I still have a lot of pain in my frankenbreast.
S: Huh. <walks away>
I'm thinking, THIS IS ODD. But apparently it made sense because when chemo was done, I was escorted to the radiology department for a post-surgical ultrasound.
If boobs make you uncomfortable, you'll probably want to skip the next paragraph.
He did an ultrasound of my left breast (the normal one) and found a mass - which made my heart stop for a moment, but he explained that it's just a fibroid (NON cancerous) and then told me how they tell the difference between good and bad findings. When he'd finished, he moved over to Frankenboob and was able to see the thick seroma that's formed under my arm (it looks/feels like a baseball and it normal) but was able to tell me that there are no abnormalities, no dangerous scar tissue, and that everything is healing as it should be.
I paid my bill and Shem and I were on our way back to Ferizaj. Because the post is on lockdown, we had a list of errands for all the other people on my contract (there are 17 of us total) so we stopped in town for fishfood, medication, groceries, cleaning supplies, etc.
It was strange because I thought Ferizaj was still under driving restrictions - but they had absolutely normal traffic (heinous) and EVERYONE was out and about. Most stores downtown were open, people were congregating, hardly anyone was wearing a mask and they were giving each other kisses on the cheek as normal.
Less than a week ago the Mayor of Ferizaj proclaimed that all the illnesses and deaths attributed to the town were a direct result of the American base being there - everyone had been infected on base, and then they brought the infections out to their friends and families. This is wrong on SO many levels. First of all, it's a NATO base - and NONE of the original cases of Covid were soldiers - they were all local nationals. But the base was put on lockdown anyway, and it seems that this put everyone's mind at ease because there were NO apparent restrictions in town.
(I broke my mask strap at one point while we were out, and will spend the next two weeks being overly paranoid about whether or not that put me at risk - next time I'll definitely bring a spare.)
We finished our errands and headed back to base, to a grateful crew. For me, it was just a treat to get off base - and strange to be envied for having the opportunity to get chemotherapy. But there you go. The isolation is definitely starting to affect everyone's mental health.
Side effects today - fatigue, mild nausea
Your so thoughful Knikki, thinking of your co workers (stopping at the shops to buy them supplies) whist out to get chemo
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