Three days of recovering from chemo

Day one – The first day after receiving chemo feels pretty much like having the flu, headache, nausea, palpitations, a little cramping, and a bit more aching where I was already sore. My dog Lucky makes sure I get out for our ½ mile walk. He keeps a pretty good pace, which helps work out the soreness. Eating is sporadic and Denise and I have an understanding that she doesn’t make my favorite meals just in case it ends up coming back up and then become my least favorite. So I just had a turkey sandwich with some water. Sleeping was not too bad. I woke three times rolled over and went right back to sleep. Day two – I had half a bagel with some peanut butter and some Cheerios. After breakfast I went out to check the garden and just enjoy the nice weather. Everything seemed to grow quite a bit, except the hail reeked havoc with the sweet potato sprouts I just planted. I have a slight headache, fewer palpitations, and less cramping. Every once in a while a little nausea creeps in, nothing like yesterday though. I made a couple pancakes for lunch with just a little syrup. I probably should have had something with more protein, but those pancakes were pretty good. I thought about taking a short nap, but ended up checking emails instead. Then I spent an hour or so on the patio swing, listening to the birds and watching the world go by. Since I am feeling better, Denise made one of my favorites – cheeseburger pie. She is doing everything she can to make sure I eat enough and keep my weight up. After supper, Lucky and I go for our daily walk and then Denise and I sit on the porch swing. A couple of coworkers stopped by today on their break to see how I was getting along. What a boost! Day three – Woke at 6:30 and felt pretty good, at least good enough for a cheese omelet, some Tylenol, and the last of the Emend (a three day supply of anti-nausea medicine). I stopped by work today, just to keep in touch with everyone, and then made a quick trip to Wal-Mart. I’m having much less soreness and nausea today, and no more palpitations. There is a little more cramping, than yesterday so I think I’ll stay home the rest of the day. Like I mentioned earlier, the first three days recovering from chemo feels to me like having a flu. I try to do as much as I can, and refuse to just lie in bed. That would make for a long year. Hopefully as the weeks go on, I can get into work a little sooner and much more often.