6-2-11 An injection and not such a fun surprise

Less than 24 hours after the chemo, I’m back at the office.  Luckily, it’s just for a few minutes so that I can get my injection of Neulasta which boosts up my platelet levels that the chemo has just decreased.  It does so by making my bones release platelets through the marrow, or something like that.  I’m not really allowed to google these things, (I’m sheltering myself) so my knowledge is rather limited. On that note, I did, however, find out that the Neulasta is apparently made with E. Coli. Fun stuff!)

Since I was feeling pretty well these past couple of days, I figured I must be one of the lucky ones, so rather than go home, I went to the mechanic with my dad.  The nurses did mention that I should eat and drink before and after each of my infusions and injections, but I figured that since I don’t really have much of an appetite so early in the day, it would be fine to just pick up a bagel near the office.  I ate said bagel on the way to the mechanic, sat there for about 40 min.  As I mentioned before, I was very tense and anxious during that first week.  My throat hurt when I swallowed and it felt slightly difficult to breathe.  My mother suggested that I stop in at her office and have a check up with the physician assistant.  I was hoping that if she could tell me that my lungs sounded clear, my brain would follow suit and then I could finally relax.  That was the plan.

My dad drove me to my mom’s workplace and waited in the car out front.  I stopped in to say hello to some of the staff and to ensure them that I was doing fine.  Then, I made my way upstairs to see my mother who offered me some lunch, which I declined.  We were just about to head downstairs to see the physician assistant when suddenly I felt “weird”.  I remember telling my mom that I needed to just lie down on the floor.  She put me in her desk chair and leaned my head onto herself.  I felt dizzy and the day light shining through the windows seemed too bright.  My mother offered me a chocolate covered pomegranate which I didn’t take because it seemed too difficult to chew.  “You turned down chocolate?!” said my mom, “Now I know something’s not right!” 

The quiet room I had just stood in suddenly held so many people. Two physician assistants, one doctor, and several other staff members all stood around me as I sat in one chair and had my feet up on another.  My mother held a cold compress on my forehead and gave me some cold water; someone else handed over some mint candies.  I started feeling much better but felt so embarrassed that all these people were called on the overhead speaker to come tend to me.  This whole episode lasted less than 5 minutes, but I was pretty scary.  Let’s just say I learned my lesson and I always eat and drink before any of my appointments.