Round 1: Chemo 1 - Levi 0

Cancer has been very real and present in our lives these last couple of days. I think we have kind of been dipping in and out of reality and it's easy to kind of forget that Levi really is sick. He has healed up from his surgery so well these last few weeks that when he started his first chemo treatment on Thursday, we were anxious and not sure what to expect.

The bump under his skin is his power port.

It has been a rough start, and we hear it only gets worse the more infusions you get. We reported to the doctor on Thursday morning at 9 am. He began his infusion at around 10:30am. He was infused for 2 hours and then hooked up to his pump that would go over the next 46 hours. He was given a sweet fanny pack as a parting gift to carry his pump. It was an exhausting day for both of us. We were also extremely surprised by how quickly the side effects kicked in.

They started out by giving him anti-nausea medication before his chemo started. Within 10 minutes he was already getting a headache, which is a side effect of the anti-nausea pill, so they gave him some Tylenol to offset that. His only other minor complaint was having to go to the bathroom every few minutes since he was being pumped full of so many fluids. I tried to make myself useful by unplugging and plugging back in his IV pole. I was so good at it, I offered my services to the little, old ladies sitting next to us if they needed to get up. You can't help but wonder what each person is in there receiving treatment for, but you almost don't dare ask. I also felt sorry for those that were there alone. Not that you necessarily need someone there, but it's so important for me to be there and feel supportive.

The room is "L" shaped with recliner chairs lined up full of people (90% of them over 70) facing inward. Ironically there is a beautiful view of the mountains in the big windows behind, but no one gets to look out of them because they want you facing towards the nurses station in case of any reactions to the drugs.


I grabbed him some Subway before we left and he felt good enough to drive home. He opened his bag of chips in the car and almost gagged on them. He experienced a bit of lock jaw and the chips hardly had any taste. He tried a bite of cookie and then some gum, same scenario. There was a bottle of water that had been sitting in the car as well. It was a little colder than room temperature, but as soon as he took a drink, he throat constricted and felt like he was choking (all of these expected side effects). He had been told, but now he knew first hand, his drinks could only be room temperature, at best. When we got home, he grabbed a handful of bottle waters that had been sitting in the garage. By the time he got into the house, he literally felt like he was being electrocuted with pins and needles and threw them out on the counter. Warning, wear gloves next time (touching anything remotely cold, oh yeah, and use warm water to wash your hands). He choked down half of his tasteless sandwich and laid on the couch feeling quite tired and nauseated by this point.

Later I made him some ramen noodles, of which he forced down half a bowl and proceeded to lay around. By the hour he looked more and more sick. His face was very pale and he had large circles under his eyes. The best he could compare it to was feeling like he had the flu. I was trying to help in any way I could, but it was so hard to see him in this state and feel so helpless. The worst part of the night was when I came downstairs to the most awful noise of him throwing up. He NEVER throws up, so I almost didn't know what was going on when I heard it and he had given me no warning. As he sat in the dark bathroom with only the reflection of the TV I was reminded of what a horrible disease cancer is and how nasty it can be and I wanted to run far away from it. Good news was he did feel better after throwing up.

Friday morning he was extremely nauseated still and tired. He slept most of the day and felt a bit better by the evening. Good enough to go to REI to trade his dorky fanny pack in for a "cool" waist pack water bottle holder. Jealous? Much more stylish to sport around his chemo for sure.



That brings me to this afternoon. He unhooked his line from the chemo this morning, flushed it out with saline and heparin (helps prevent blood clots) and is back asleep again. He hasn't eaten much and what he has eaten, it's more out of thinking he should, not because it tastes or sounds good. He said when he was eating a delicious "Cup-O-Soup" for lunch, he had no idea that chemo would kick his butt like it did. Well good news babe, only 11 more rounds to go and I'm cheering for you...

And so is Brecken...we love you!