One down, eleven to go!

The weather was truly horrid today so why not spend it indoors in a small room being pumped with chemicals?!

Actually more time was spent hydrating me and putting in compensatory vitamins etc that the two chemo treatments tend to take out, which can harm the kidneys. There were no immediate side effects from either of the latter. Tonight I feel fine, have had fish and chips, with a very nice glass of prosecco, while watching a reassuring episode of Poirot.

So an hour and a half was chemo, three plus hours flushing, hydrating and boosting.... and more than an hour and a half trying to find a vein to carry the canula!! It wasn't all 'pincushion' work but also warming hot pads and also a bowl of hot water, quite a lot of which ended up on me! My veins are rather narrow, always a challenge for the nedical profession. This was also not helped by my blood pressure which was surprisingly low - I assumed it would be high in this stressful, unknown territory that I was entering! The top reading, usually about 120, remained stubbornly below 100.

Anyway as you can see from the photo they eventually succeeded in finding a very good vein which withstood all the variety and length of the intravenus action. You can also see evidence of some of the failed attempts. And also my dark red nail varnish, which is also on my toe nails. Apparently there is good evidence that dark red/ black varnish protects the nail beds from chemo damage (ridging and flaking)!

All in all a successful day though a long one. Geoff worked and drank a series of coffees; we talked, attempted the crossword and ate lunch; I drank a lot of water, did a sudoku, placed my Sainsburys order, listened to good old Leonard Cohen (thanks Chiff) and enjoyed my kindle. We had a nice garden view and, besides nurses and a pharmicist, saw no-one else. 'Our' nurse, Sonya, is very pleasant and efficient. We'd met her on Monday for our briefing and she continued today talking us through things and giving helpful hints, as well as telling us about herself and family. I imagine we'll know her quite well by September.

I could feel the strong vibes from all of you, and was comforted and grateful and hugely encouraged.