Hello to all "Chippers Journey" readers,
Well, Karen finished her first of six cycles of the Taxol chemo treatments this past Thursday (May2). She will not be receiving any treatment this week, which she is very happy about. Luckily, Karen's is not experiencing the harsh side effects like she did last year. She still has the neuropathy in her finger tips and the balls of the feet. One of the pre-meds she is given before the chemo has caused a little bit of insomnia, especially on the night of the treatment but Karen is dealing with it by sleeping in late the following day. Overall, Karen is feeling pretty well and has a very upbeat attitude regarding this new journey.
As reported in the last writing, the infusion center that Karen goes to will be under the auspices of the hospital. As such, there is more paperwork that must be completed by the cancer patients before the treatment can begin or services can be rendered. Yes, you guessed it. All of that information is then entered into the computer by the nurses and other staff personnel. To ensure that the computer system was operating correctly or accurately, Karen was selected, not by choice mind you, to test their computer equipment. Being the guinea pig for this project, the new protocol requires the cancer patient to wear a hospital wrist band. In addition to the patient's name, the band also has a bar code. The nurse, who was carrying a portable computer with a scanning port came over to test it. Standing by was their IT individual. After several attempts of trying to scan the band, you guessed it, it did not work. To say the least the IT guy was not happy. The nurse went back and retrieved a handheld scanner and tried again. After a couple of attempts and the sound of a beep, the nurse went back to the desk computer and replied, "You are now in the system." Karen remarked back, "Is that better than being on a LIST?" Of course everybody had a good chuckle except the IT guy, who was still trying to get the portable computer to work. Karen is praying that when she starts her second cycle, the system will run a little bit smoother and not appear so chaotic.
Lastly, Karen and her mom wanted to extend their heartfelt thanks to their East Coast cousin/niece, Jamie, who lives with her husband in North Carolina, for her participation in the Relay for Life event on May 3 and for honoring several family members (our grandmother, Jamie's father, an uncle and Karen's brother) who died of cancer. Thank you Jamie.
Tip of the Blog: Today and everyday, use your senses to re-discover the magnificent splendor of your life's blessings.
