Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Thursday, September 25, 2025
A lot has happened in the past eight days, and it's been terribly frustrating. The oncologist sent the order to the surgeon to have the chemo port inserted - twice - and the latter either never got it or they lost it. When I called the surgeon's office this morning (the second time this week) to follow up, they finally said they'd schedule me. "We don't have an opening until February." But my chemo is scheduled to start Monday.
Please hold.
I now have an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday at his office that's about a 40 minute drive from here. I have a plain vanilla medical appointment that morning to see if other meds are doing their jobs. Gonna be a busy day.
My chemo now starts on October 7, assuming they can get the port in next week. This is incredibly frustrating, and I did let some people know about it. In as kind a way as I could manage, of course. After all, the people answering phones and setting appointments aren't responsible for other people's screw ups.
Then I got a call from a nurse at the oncology center. What now? She hadn't got the memo that my chemo was starting a week later (hey, that had only happened an hour before, and she was at another office, so no biggie), but she asked if we could talk anyway. Why yes, we could. Her job was to make sure I understood everything about the chemo process, the side effects, etc. She was very thorough.
That was this morning's drama. This afternoon's fun was the PET scan. First I had to prep, which started yesterday. Those of you who have had one of these know the drill. For those who don't, I was on a restricted diet. Lots of protein, zero carbs. Guess who dropped their birthday weight gain this week? I had to fast after midnight, but I had to drink lots of water this morning. I also had to keep warm. Yes, even in the Texas summer. It's supposed to make the scan work better, and believe me, I wasn't going to me this up if I could help it.
The oncologist's office was all decked out for Halloween. Of course, the lab where they do blood draws was decorated with vampires and bats. One of the easiest draws I've had - and I've had a lot since June. I'm always amazed that they can still find a vein.
The people who worked with me on the scan were really nice. First, I was injected with a radioactive isotope. Why yes, I *did* ask if it would give me superpowers, or at least replace the one I have. (Taking The Blame is getting old.) He said yes, it will give me the superpower of wanting a huge meal. Well, that was disappointing, because I already had that superpower. I hadn't eaten since dinner the day before, and all this mess got underway shortly after noon. I got injected, laid back in a comfy chair - no soft cushions, but I did get a warm blanket - for an hour while the isotope made its way through my body.
Then it was time for the scan. Got another warm blanket, was told to lay down with my arm behind my head, and that it would all be over in 20 minutes. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but it was tough to hold still. I had muscles cramping up on me because I wasn't to exercise. I could have gone for a walk on Wednesday morning, but the rain took care of that plan.
I got out, got to the checkout desk, and promptly felt woozy. By this time it was almost 2:00 and I said it was probably lack of food. I suppose my low hemoglobin didn't help. They brought me a snack!
I had another snack after I got home, and then proceeded to finish putting out some fires I'd started to extinguish in between phone calls this morning. I'm sure no one will notice the things I did.
I'm off to bed. I'm exhausted.