Day 43

Back to the hospital today to start third round of chemotherapy.

St. Mary's Hospital has the same problem most hospitals do namely the parking facilities are woefully inadequate. This in part is caused by the authorities closing clinics and small hospitals down to save money. As elsewhere the Hospital would like to build a multi story facility but the council says no because they wish people to use public transport. For most people on the Island this is not a serious option. The purpose of this rant is to say we arrived at 1010 for a 1030 appointment. As the clock ticked along towards appointment time Ev had to drop me off so I could turn up on time. Eventually she succeeded. One of the nurses told us it is as bad for staff. She once spent half an hour looking for a space.

All that was sort of forgotten about because the chemo suite was very quiet so with the drugs available the staff could get on with it. The whole process took a shade under 4 hours. The first thing they do is warm your arm up. This is to help you cope with the drugs. This time the vein was easy to find. The nurse then started to put in some weird liquid that looked like tomato sauce. This was followed by a liquid administered by a drip. It lasted for 2 hours. With a heat pad on my arm started to feel like a weight was resting on it.

Coming home it was easier than the last two. This is because it is warmer. However the fingers are still getting numb when exposed to cold water. A similar sensation occurs in the mouth when I try to eat anything straight from the fridge. If it runs true to form those feelings will disappear in the next week or so.

All in all the day could have been a lot worse. I hope to be able to do my Hospital Radio Show tomorrow.