Sir John of the Chemo Ward

John had his second round of chemotherapy on Thursday and Friday. He has emerged in good spirits (so far as we can tell in a long distance call). He arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning (after his daily radiation treatment) and they told him he was a bit dehydrated (in spite of the cream-based milkshakes he had been downing). This meant that the chemotherapy would be delayed until they got his liquids back up.

The first part of Thursday, therefore, meant an IV drip on top of the other preparations made for chemo. The pleasant discovery of the process was the combination of ginger ale and cranberry juice: its lower acid level meant that it did not aggravate his throat as much as orange juice.

The chemo drip began later in the afternoon and coincided with a visit from Wilma who used it as an occasion to try out the Canada Line. John reported how lovely it was to see her.

Thursday night was a bit fitful sleeping so they gave him a sleeping pill. He was pleasantly surprised that the sedative didn’t mean that he would end up wetting the bed as the extra liquids made their way through him. Instead, he found he would still wake up for frequent urination, but he had no trouble falling back to sleep. He even felt that it had been a rather restful sleep by the time the morning came around.

John also discovered that he would be able to continue using the strong nausea pills he was given when leaving (on Friday). During his last chemo session he thought they had to be distributed over all 3 chemo sessions so he had cut back on them prematurely. This time around, he was assured they would give him a new set next time – so he is looking forward to a more comfortable time over the next few days.

Aaron passed on a few photos documenting John’s journey. The first gives you an idea what all the fuss is about – the lump in John’s neck (if you can see it!) – and the second is the attire that “Sir John” wears when outside in the sun.