I had my appointments at the beginning of last week. I saw all my doctors. Monday was full of scans. I was injected with radioactive dye. I was also made to drink that drink that makes the cancer inside me glow. It wasn't all that bad really. The worst part of this day was that the nurse who made the IV in my arm missed my veins in 2 separate places. It was tough to sit there. She was digging around and everything. After she couldn't find a vein, she went a little lower on the same arm and then she did it again! She then told me that it was a good stick when clearly it wasn't. It started to get red and puffy around the needle location. So I decided to let her go on with the next patient and let the other nurse come back and tell her. When the other nurse came back I told her that it wasn't good and it hurt. She looked at me a little weird. She then took my arm and tried to flush the IV. There was no return. She kindly removed that needle from my arm. I got immediate relief. I sat through all that. I guess I could have gotten mad because she had to make sure. I also didn't get offended because I know she deals with tons of people and she had to make sure, she was just doing her job. I did however look at the other nurse who knew English well enough to understand me when I yelled NO GOOD at her pointing down at my arm. The thought of having radioactive dye in my veins not going anywhere wasn't exactly a great thought. It would have almost defeated the whole purpose of the scans. So I sat there while my arm was pokeed yet a third time with the thick IV needle and gets return this time.
The other thing is I am only allowed to let the nurses take my blood pressure and take blood poke into my right arm. Since they removed my left armpit and 15 lymph nodes it does not allow them to take accurate readings. Wouldnt you know my entire life I have always used my left arm for things like that. My best vein was on the left side of course. I now have to either get poked with my port, or the right side.
Luckily other than having to wait a little while when I got to the room where the scans where and got on the machine it was painless. The radioactive shot feels a little weird. When they shoot it in your arm, it feels warm and you can feel it going throughout your whole body. It goes up into your head, around and down one leg and up the other. Then they put you in the machine and then you hear the machine tell you to breathe, Hold your breath. Then release. Your lungs need to be full of air when they take the shots.
I got to go back to change and go to the waiting room where Lisa and my baby niece was waiting for me. She is about a year old. I love being with my sister and my niece. Anyway, my sister was nice enough to take me because everyone else was working. With my leg the way it is, my husband and mom don't want me going anywhere alone.
That was mostly it for that day... on to Tuesday
About Renee and my blog!
- Renee Bravo
- Dallas, TEXAS, United States
- I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer at the age of 29 years old. I am a work in progress. I am learning, growing, and trying to raise awareness for Early Detection. I believe in Girl Power and the power of Prayer. I am a mother, a wife, a strong woman in the 30th century. I have zero history in my family, and I have tested negative for the BRCA gene. I should not be facing this right now, but I am. I figure its for a reason. I decided to share my experiences more for awareness but also a place for my family to get updates. I do not send out email updates to anyone, I post it here. Here I am, I hold nothing back. If I ask anything, its to learn something from what I have been through, and make your life better because of it, treat someone better because of it, love someone more genuinely because of it. And most important of all, make sure all the women in your life have regular mammograms or MRI's. No choice. I believe 40 is too long to wait. Women today need to start early. I would love to hear or talk to any of you. God Bless.
