Three down...
Well, I've marked off three days on the calendar...roughly an 8th of the way there. I did get sick both Thursday and Friday after treatments...no fun. The nausea and fatigue hit you like someone pouring warm milk over your head...it oozes from an "oh no...I think I'm getting sick" thought and quickly spills all over you. Thursday I as caught without my meds when it hit. Amy said the retching only lasted about 5 minutes, but it felt like 20. Friday I was prepared with my anti-nausea drug and it worked quickly. Because they're radiating my stomach, there's a high likelyhood that I'll get pukey each time, so they've now decided to pre-medicate each visit with a drug called Kytrel. Let's hope it does the trick. After hearing about my attack on Thursday, my mom equipped her car with about 200 brown paper puke bags and trick or treat tub...I think her car is prepared.

I've been struggling with anemia since this medical stuff started back in July. In fact, it was the anemia that led us to the cancer diagnosis. So far I've had 5 units of blood transfused and different times to try and get my levels higher. Yesterday, instead of blood, they administered a big bag of iron. It looked exactly like Coca Cola in the IV bag...no bubbles. The whole infusion took about 6 hours. It's supposed to help with my energy level and lightheadedness, but it may take a few days to fully bind with my system.

With the C. diff infection and it's awful Flagyl treatment coming to an end (I hope...), my nutritionist has given me the green light to eat any foods with exception of fried foods. I'm exercising a rare sense of restrain, however, and am easing into this whole food thing this time. Reading others' experiences on the net, it's amazing that what works for some gastrectomy patients simply can't be swallowed by others. I have a hard time swallowing foods that would seem to be ideal: mashed potatoes, pasta...even yogurt to an extent. The biggest problem is getting full too fast. As soon as you've adequately tested a food to see if you can swallow it well, you're full! That's really why I'm supposed to eat about 5-6 meals a day, but I've not quite hit that stride yet. I'm more grazing when I'm at home. Of course every time I open the pantry, the kids are right there with wide eyes wanting a snack of their own. Luckily, they love healty snacks and are as excited by a little box of golden raisins as one might be with a Twinkie. No Twinkies in our pantry...

I've really been enjoying all of your comments and insights. Thanks for hanging with me through all of this.

Hans