Day -6

Today was so much better than I was anticipating! My husband and I stayed at the condo in Toronto last night, after jetting back to Courtice after my CVC line went in where we got to see some of our family for one last big family dinner.

My amazing hubby made me a delicious breakfast this morning and then we packed for the big day! I’m a bit vigilant about things so I’m sure Bill was laughing to himself quite a bit as I washed every item of clothing and Lysol wiped every single item that went into my bag haha. You can never be too careful! I was supposed to check in at 2, and right when we were about to walk over the the hospital it started to pour. We called an Uber and then headed up to the 14th floor at PMH to check in.

I thought I was going to be starting chemo today but I actually start first thing tomorrow morning. They told us that since we had a condo that was close, if I was feeling up to it and I wanted to leave the floor between day -6 and day +2 (which is when I hit Nadir after my chemotherapy and my counts bottom out) that I would be able to do that, and that was such a pleasant surprise! They told me I could even sleep at the condo if I wanted! But then they told me that my bloodwork has to be done every day at 6am and I would have to be back by then… so I’m definitely sleeping at PMH because 6am is not my friend haha.

I went through everything that would be happening for the next month with my nurse, then met with my doctor who explained my chemo schedule to me. They were both so positive and kind, and made me feel so much better about everything. My doctor explained that because the effects of chemo are cumulative on the system, and because we had been able to keep my CML in the chronic stage the entire time without requiring additional chemo, that my outcome had excellent odds and that I would likely experience fewer issues than many people who have multiple rounds of chemo before transplant. That made me relax a bit!

Then I met with the pharmacist and we talked about my drug allergies and potentially still challenging my penicillin allergy to give me the best drug options. Everyone seemed really on top of everything and I felt so welcome. Definitely felt any remaining anxiety I had fade away.

Because they said we could go out if we wanted for one last dinner, and even take off my mask, we round up a couple friends and grabbed some dinner at three brewers and just kept our spirits bright. It was really nice and was just such a wonderful day compared to what I’m sure tomorrow will be like haha. Bill was sad to go back to the condo alone and leave me here, but I know I will be OK.

Anyways, I’m pretty tired and I have Chemo at 9 & 11 Tomorrow, but I’ll catch up with you all then! 🙂