Infusion

I was up at 6:00 AM this morning totally nervous about my 9:00 AM appointment at the hematologist's office to do my iron infusion. Overall it was a pretty good experience. I got to the North Georgia Oncology Center around 8:30 AM (I hate being late) and was quickly wisked away to an exam room. They took my temp (97.6) and my blood pressure (132/80 - woo-hoo!!!!) and I waited for the doc. I talked to him about what's been going on in the past year, the DS and what that entails. He explained what would be happening that day and then I was wisked away to the infusion room. Let me pause here for a moment. The staff there were incredibly awesome (one of 'em said I look 19 years old) and I know its for a reason. The vast majority of their patients are people fighting for their very lives. They are giving it all they got and I certainly got a real sense of that. I kinda felt out of place, y'know. Here are all these people going through so much and here I am with a freakin' low iron problem. It was a very somber, yet hopeful kind of atmosphere. I didn't really talk to anyone in depth besides one of the nurses who was setting me up. I told her about the DS I had, how much I had lost and she really made me feel at ease as well as allow me to look at this in a different light. In some small way, I am fighting for my life as well. Clearly not to the depths as all the cancer patients, but I truly believe that had I not had the DS nor had any intentions of getting surgery, I would never have the chance to see 35. I really feel that way. So maybe my fight is not as desperate, but the consequences of losing the fight are much the same. Needless to say, just being in that room was a very humbling experience and very much a blessing.

The infusion process itself was really easy. I got a dose of Benadryl and Tylenol as well as some kind of steroid to stave off any allergic reactions to the Iron. I'm not prone to have allergic reactions to stuff (thank God). After the steroids via IV. I was put on saline for 30 minutes. Then the nurse came back to give me a test dosage of iron to see if I had any negative reactions. I did not then I think it was another 20-30 mins of saline before the big bag. By this time, the Benadryl was hitting me full force and I was sleepy and starting to doze off. Finally, the nurse came back with the big bag of iron which looks very much like a very dark tea or very rusty water. For some reason, I thought it'd be green. Anyway, I started on that and I wanna say that took maybe an hour and a half, I don't think it took the two hours she said it would take. After the bag, then more saline to flush out the line and I was free to go. Piece of cake. I don't really feel any different. Even now, well past 6:00 PM, I still feel the effects of the Benadryl. Needless to say, it's gonna be a short night for me.

Well, the doc said this infusion should last 6-12 months, but I return in 2 months to get everything checked out. He also mentioned that I would probably need a B-12 shot, but I don't know about all that. I think RNY-ers need that crap, not me. I'll have to do some more digging about that. I'm pretty sure I don't need it.

I have two more Christmas/Holiday parties to attend and then I can relax a little. I have to bake some cookies to bring for both of them so I kept it simple. I bought some pull apart sugar cookie dough and some Hershey's kisses. Gonna put the kisses in the cookies to bake. For a good 2.2 seconds I contemplated baking some sweet potato pies, but man, that's too much work. The cookies will have to do!