August 28th 2008, Day 2 Chemo, Part 2

I have an aversion to boredom. Seems to me life is full of reasons to never be bored. Its one of the things that attracted me to my husband. I knew I would never be bored - he still fascinates me.

Perhaps that's why I see my cancer as a curious journey. Not one I would have signed up for but hey, here I am. Might as well sit back and enjoy the ride.So here I sit - IV dripping its tiny cell warriors into my veins equipped with a powerful arsenal to do battle against the enemy cancer cells. It fascinates me that they know how to target different body parts with this stuff.

6 other women share this room today - each in varying stages of their battle. There's implied comaraderie here. I'm grateful for the upbeat jazz playing and that it still makes me want to get up and dance.I'm slipping into the routine of this process. It is my new norm and not nearly so threatening as last time. The scariness is gone.No imagined numbness or other side effects. But it is a bit like standing at the bottom of a mountain and knowing I must scale to the top. I feel well-prepared unlike my first backpack trip into the Sierras when my pack weighed 55lbs(I weighed 115), I wore a pair of Keds and my sister and I had brought our two 3 month old puppies! Now that was a toughie!

My husband is sitting quietly behind me - my sentinel. He's not supposed to be here. No family after the first infusion. He's not deterred but he is quiet as a churchmouse hoping to be excused for breaking the rules for love. I excuse him. I adore him for his commitment to see me through every part of this.

Over - the drip has stopped. A non-event really. Thank You Lord! Now the wait for the symptoms. The anticipation that something is coming I do not yet understand. But I am not alone. And it will be interesting.