November 1, 2011

Here we go!
We overslept this morning in our dark cozy room. We had the best intentions of getting up early and going for a long walk but . . . we went to Micky Dee's instead! Direct orders from Coach Bill Dunn (thanks for breakfast Billy, Adrian and Carly Rose)!
The first radiation went off without a hitch. The most painful part was the five minutes of embarrassment that came with walking around with a waffle face caused from the Super Hero mask! They have Pandora and offered to play any songs that Ran wanted to hear during the 15 min. treatment. Suggestions for a playlist or artist for future visits are welcome.
We left the hospital for lunch and a walk downtown. Refusing to admit for the evening before we absolutely had to. We requested a window seat at the Atlas Grill as Iowa City has proven to be a great town for people watching on a 70 degree Tuesday afternoon (rain and snow on tap for tomorrow).
We parked at the Hope Lodge, packed an overnight bag, and decided to walk to the hospital - a short 1/2 mile away.
It was a little chaotic at first but things soon settled down and Ran was changed and ready for treatment number one. We had all kinds of visitors for the first few hours: doctors, nurses, a pharmacist, Mike - our roommate! The chemotherapy process seems to be as follows:
Check in; find a vein (this may take few attempts); two hours of fluid to make sure hydration is at an all time max; a few different types of nausea medicine and steroids; 192 minutes of chemo fluids; followed up by additional fluids to protect those pretty kidney's.
We are an  hour into the chemo and so far so good. No complaints from Randy at all! We're just watching the late night shows that we NEVER stay up late enough to watch. Is it just us or does Jay Leno not age - ever?