These first few days of Chemotherapy have been awfully easy. The anti-nausea drugs (with steroids!!) work most effectively. Imagine knowing you're full of poisons that should be making you terribly ill, and feeling quite well!
Taking the drugs was predictably dreadful, but contradictorily anticlimactic. There was an uncomfortable little IV line in my forearm. The drugs were cold going in, making my veins temporarily ache around the injection sight, they left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.
There is constant monitoring going on: I take my temperature regularly and stay rather aware of any unpleasant sensations, like headaches, muscle aches, hunger, constipation, fatigue... I am careful of what I eat, and of staying well hydrated and clean. It's all pretty normal maintenance work, with new importance.
Yesterday, the Hogliners (my curling team) won their third game! It was fast and fun, decided by one point! I played, and drank a beer after! THAT'S how good I've been feeling. It's so weird!

Mexico was BEAUTIFUL! The people, the food, the weather, the language, the architecture, the landscapes... The Henry Clan took me in without reservation, and I think it's safe to say we all had a great time. Yes, there were some very uncomfortable moments. There was that dinnertime I realized the fertility drugs were still in the fridge three hours behind us in our travels. That was uncomfortable. But, then, I got to explain cancer and fertility treatments to my 7 year old traveling companion!
I got to play in salty waves, help build a sandcastle for mermaids, drink fresh orange juice, watch pelicans, listen to the surf at night, develop friendships, overhear a spanglish cover of Coldplay's Clocks, drive the narrow streets of Merida at dusk...The list goes on. "Why do we live in Canada?" we kept asking each other.

Back in Ottawa, the fertility treatments were successful, as was the harvesting procedure. I now have six mature eggs on ice in Ottawa! The funding for that part of this long road came from the Fertility Centre's trust funds. Their compassionate care policy covered every expense. Amen.
Also, miraculously, in this short time, I have been made a beneficiary of the Ontario Disability Support Program! Thank goodness!

I'm planning to have a little time with the puppies out at Grandma's farm this week. I'll also shave my hair off so I won't be left waiting for it to fall out in patches and clumps. It's hard to keep from scheduling lots of activities, but it's important to just see what I've got energy for when the time comes... The chemo schedule indicates there could be a "crash" very soon.