Thursday, December 18, 2014

Throw Back Thursday?

I know I've been really sporadic with updating this blog as of late and I really would like to start up again.

This is a TBT post, I guess. Back when I first got put on Rituxan in December of 2012 (and subsequently had a pulmonary embolism on Christmas and spent that day, and my last infusion day, in the hospital....) I decided to write a bunch of "Chemo Carols" to occupy the long hours spent in the infusion chair.

It was a long, boring, and more than a little drugged experience. I thought that posting them here on my dusty blog for a TBT would be appropriate since I am getting scheduled for it again after the first of the year.


In the first hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, a full bag on the IV tree.
In the second hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, two vitals checks.
In the third hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, three pillows for my back.
In the fourth hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, four sterile pads.

In the fifth hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, five medicines.
In the sixth hour of rituxan my oncology nurse brought to me, six new chemo patients.
In the seventh hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, seven machines beeping.
In the eighth hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, eight bruises forming.
In the ninth hour of rituxan my oncology nurse gave to me, nine disinfectant wipes.
In the tenth hour of rituxan my HMO told to me, I’ve got to pay a ten thousand dollar fee.
In the eleventh hour of rituxan the song has gotten long, eleven times I’ve wished that I was home.
In the twelfth hour of rituxan I’m finally going home, for another week I get a reprieve!



Rituxan infusion number 2
More chemo carols brought to you by Rituxan and Benadryl :)
Oh the room is so cold and sterile, but the rituxan in the bag does babble ,
And since the IV’s got hours to go, let it flow, let it flow, let it flow.
I don’t show signs of reacting, my lungs are not hacking,
And since the IV’s got hours to go, let it flow, let it flow, let it flow.
When I finally get to leave, how I’ll skip down the hall to the door,
But the rituxan will help me heal, so my health won’t be so poor.
The IV is slowly stopping, and my vein has started popping,
But as long as we take it slow, the Rituxan flows, the rituxan flows, the rituxan flows.


I posted these on my tumblr account when I first wrote them, so if you've seen them there that's because it was me that did it.

Now you know!

I hope you are all having a pleasant season! I've got some exciting news that's coming after the first of the year so stay tuned!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Yoga vs Me


Oh man, I made the mistake of going to a yoga class with my mother last night. Cue me sleeping in to 1:00pm today and waking up so stiff and painful that I can hardly move. Arthritis and yoga do not mix. I snap, crackled, and popped through as many of the poses as I could but downward dog is just not my friend. Not to mention lung and connective tissue problems makes it really hard to breath during said stretches. Let's not even start on attempting to balance.
It was an experience for sure.

Next time, I will bring a chair so that I can modify the poses to be easier for me to handle.
If you would like to try it, here is a link to a lady who specializes in yoga for arthritis and she has instructional videos on youtube!
https://www.youtube.com/user/KimMcNeilYoga



PS sorry for the sporadic updates.