Recovery day 1

Oh, the cold!  The cold!  It’s somewhat milder now, but it was brutal this morning.  I dove straight back under my blankets and went back to sleep for an extra hour and made sure to avoid windows and doors for most of the day!  Jerry was unhappy last night because I didn’t let him sleep with me.  He trotted down the hall carrying his toy all excited, but I’d shut the door before he got there, and he was thoroughly dejected as he walked back out.  I was concerned that he’d lick me and I don’t want to risk him ingesting any of the chemo drug that I might sweat out.  He was up on my lap, of course, this morning, and enjoying being cuddled.  He alternated between us, having us throw his new toy for him to chase.  It’s adorable to watch.  Don is generally OK, although he’s grumbling a bit about the pain in his arm which hasn’t gone away.  I think I have a sports-free evening today; I wouldn’t bet much on it, but he’s catching up on PVR recordings (mostly true crime and detective shows) and I’m in the middle of a new book.

I had my first day of hydration today, and I am happy to say that I feel ok.  I was a little tired last night and this morning, but that’s not unusual.  We ran the IV for just over 6 hours, and I have a little energy — I did not fall asleep as I usually do in the mid afternoon.  I ordered some Thai today because I was craving it, and I managed to persuade Mr. Super-Fussy Eater to try Thai fried rice.  He ate a small serving, and was ready to say that he didn’t like it, when the flavours snuck up on him, and he went back and had a larger plate!  I was thrilled, and thought that I could vary his meals.  But no.  He said that he doesn’t think he’d try it again.  🙄  And that’s without him trying the chicken or the shrimp rolls or anything!  I’ll need to find him some roast beef and (actual) mashed potatoes or something!  For myself, the Thai was as full of flavour as ever, and I’d ordered low spicy, but my tummy is a little warm, so I know the spice level was higher than I expected.  I’m thinking that I’m gradually able to reintroduce pepper into my diet, which is excellent!

One of my friends sent me a plate of Italian breads for nibbling on, and it contains a chunk of chocolate chip panettone.  I was surprised at the chocolate — I’m used to the citrus flavoured one — but it’s quite good.  The only problem (minor) is that it tends to burn easily in the toaster.  I have a bad habit of liking any of my breads to be warm, or toasted, when I eat them.  I am occasionally surprised when I have a sandwich that’s not toasted but the bread is soft and tasty… I’m finding that most store bought breads, especially commercial sandwich loaves are tasteless, mushy and uninspiring.  I don’t know why, but we’ve both found that bread isn’t as good as it was, and I find that the first thing I smell in many loaves is preservatives. I don’t have the energy I want to be able to make my own, which I’d been doing for several years, and I really like my bread! One of my friends does an absolutely amazing homemade bread, and when she treats me to some I’m a very happy little eater! There are one or two small bakeries that do a decent loaf, but they are moving into a price category that’s outside of my budget.  A standard 500g loaf for $13?  No, thank you kindly!  $5 is pushing the edge for me, and I find it challenging to pay that!   I think you guys realize that my appetite is recovering well, and I’m getting picky, which is a good sign!

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings about food (and everything else) as I work my way through this treatment.  I’m so glad that there is stuff available in the fridge and that my support worker is willing to help with meal preparation so I don’t have to struggle as much.  Oh, I have a question for you… when we say that something is “out of this world” we use it to mean that it’s extraordinary… but what if an otherworldly experience is horrible?  Have we thought this through?  Something “heavenly” would signify extraordinarily good, “hellish” of course dreadfully bad, but “out of this world” by itself?  Thoughts?  Or should I just quietly go make a sandwich and eat some ice cream?  Good night!