Chemo Cycle 4 - The Christmas Balloon

So cycle 4 happened on Monday 22nd November, the usual side effects ensued and I spent week 1 sporting a right mish mash of nightwear as per! (Christmas PJ's are much needed, but I'm assured they're in the post!).

Week 2 and we put up our Xmas decs and things started to feel all festive. I had lunch out with nana Joan, who remains as entertaining as ever and just the best tonic following a week of rubbishness! We had a trip to the caravan and the Knaresborough xmas markets which was just lovely! Maddy even tried her first guinness! not sure she'll become a connoisseur!! All in all things were shaping up quite nicely until.......

I went to the hospital on Friday 10th for a quick appointment to take my bloods and a check up. My face had become a bit swollen over about 4-5 weeks (when I look back at photos it's pretty evident but had happened so gradually) so I hadn't paid it any mind. The look on the doctors face told a different story entirely and when I looked in the mirror in the consultation room it was very clear I'd blown up like a Christmas Balloon!!

A whirlwind ensued to send me for an urgent CTPA (a CT scan to look specifically at the vessels around the lungs and heart to check for clots and blockages), this is because build up of fluid in some areas can mean lack of venous drainage, not gonna lie I was petrified, I called Mark to tell him and he came home from work to be with me at the hospital, my amazing in-laws went to collect Lily from her house in Gateshead (this was my task after my 10 minute appointment!). My Janey was on the phone to reassure me, and remind me to hitch up my 'big girl pants'. My bloods were sent to check the function of my kidneys (another cause of fluid build up can sometimes be because your kidneys are not getting rid of the fluid as they usually would), I spent the next 7 hours in hospital trying to work out what had happened, the upshot: likely a very rare (1:100,000) side effect of Pemetrexed (one of the chemo drugs I'm having), trust be to be special!! I was given a prescription and sent on my way.

The wait for pharmacy was 1.5 hours, and I was issued with a Frankie and Bennys type vibrating device (now now!! haha). Whilst on the edge of my seat waiting for the imminent buzz, I caught up with my ACCP buddies who had been having a study day, they looked after me like they always do, by just by being there! Finally the buzz came, drugs dispensed and it was time to join the Marton Crawl (if you know, you know!!). I didn't make the ACCP Xmas party but they understood. I managed to get to my friends Cheryls for our annual xmas jumper party the following night and oh my how we laughed, we almost had to do a pit stop to issue out the Tena lady's at one point!!

It seems to me, with every rubbish thing that happens and every set back or negative part of this bumpy journey, one thing is for certain; there is, in the midst of it, the most beautiful people, with the most beautiful hearts. They are there to support you, love you, and make you laugh, and laugh I have, by the bucket load (thank the lord for a good pelvic floor!!).