Chemo Wreath

         I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas. It dawned on me last week when I was walking in the barn and a couple of stall doors were decorated for Christmas. I then realized “oh crap it’s Christmas next week and I have yet to decorate Joe’s stall.” Well, he has an owl stocking right now and that’s about it. I have the idea ready but it’s just a matter of actually hanging up the stuff. I am at the end of week three on my chemo pills and have been pretty tired. Priorities people!

         I have found that the holiday season is always a busy time for everyone. We are rushing from store to store, grabbing those last minute gifts or shopping for the essential holiday foods. For me it’s bacon, some kind of beef, and waffles. Yes I know it sounds like a weird combo but its works. I sometimes feel I should be wearing some type of protective gear when I walk into the grocery store the week of Christmas. Everyone is out to get that last ham or dinner rolls. I have been pushed around multiple times and given several dirty looks for parking my cart in that part of the aisle. At least when I didn’t have hair they knew not to mess with me. 

         Last year we made a couple trays of cookies to take to the nurses, doctors, and everyone else. Word spreads quickly when you show up to a cancer center with cookies. Within seconds of handing of the cookies I saw people coming from everywhere to grab them. It was similar to when you’re at a track meet and they fire off the gun that tells everyone its time to go. At one point I saw people double fisting cookies and shoving them in any pocket they could find. I was afraid it would turn into the hunger games at any second. I think this year I may slide them into the area where the nurses are and see what happens. 

         Two weeks ago I received a gift in the mail from the pharmacy, which was my chemo pills. I get my chemo in the mail from a specialty pharmacy. They call me every so often to see if I need more pills. When my bottle of meds looks like it is getting low, I count them out and figure out how many days I have left. It’s the only time it looks like a sketchy pharmacy in my bathroom. Since my chemo was just approved by the FDA over the summer it isn’t the type of medicine they have a lot of lying around. One day I was driving up my driveway and noticed this box outside my garage hanging on my wreath. When I first saw it I thought, “oh it must be some type of Christmas gift that someone sent me.” I mean it was addressed to me and I don’t remember ordering everything. I quickly opened the box and it revealed my chemo pills. Thanks Santa for remembering to give me chemo pills for Christmas. Nothing like white hair and getting sick from these meds to really bring out that Christmas spirit. What was even more bizarre was that my box of pills was placed in the wreath on the door. I couldn’t stop laughing when I realized my box of chemo pills was used to decorate the wreath on my garage. I now call it the chemo wreath. 

         During my last appointment at the cancer center I encountered another person who felt the need to share with the other patients. I was sitting in the upstairs waiting area when a man and woman walked into the check in area. I was already on edge because there were so many people at the cancer center. It was overwhelming for me. I am not a fan of huge crowds to begin with and I felt like I had zero personal space. As they walked into the check in area I thought, “Dear Lord please call me next.” Within two minutes of sitting down the woman promptly announced, “you know they told me I would be dead by Christmas.” I just stared up at the ceiling and thought, “they really need to get cameras in here so they can have this kind of stuff on camera.” I didn’t know what to say or how to respond. With how I was feeling I was prepared to say, “well Christmas isn’t here yet.” I knew enough to keep my mouth shut. 

       After my appointment I ran into this duo again. While we all were waiting to check out, both of them felt the need to make the sounds of a whip. Anytime a person would come to get someone to check out they would say, “Someone needs to crack the whip around here and get things moving.” However, my favorite line was when the man with her said, “you know all the doctors here are horrible and they should just fire everyone. I think that she should have the doctor with the nicest looking car because he’s obviously doing well.” I almost said, “Well you know what they say about men who drive nice cars.” At my next appointment I am going to pitch the idea of having hidden cameras in there. 

         No matter what the holiday season brings for you, enjoy it. It only comes once a year. It’s the one time when you are allowed to be jolly and fat. Stuff your face with cookies or any type of food you love. For me I will be eating my weight in bread and some type of protein. I have a couple pounds to collect after being sick last week. Fluids can only give you so much.