Every Step of the Way: A Nurse's Cancer Diary - Entry 11
Nancy Cohen, BSN, RN, has graciously shared her personal journal, in which she writes about doing battle with cancer for the second time in her life. This is the 11th installment of a weekly blog that will enable readers to join her on the journey.
Entry 11: The Dog Wins
November 20, 2011
Day number two following chemotherapy. Definitely feeling that fatigue. I’m dragging, physically and mentally exhausted.
I’m impatient with my son, which I attribute to the steroids I’m required to take for several days around the chemotherapy infusions. I have mouth sores and my eyes feel as though they’ve been rubbed with sandpaper. I force myself to workout but my energy level is way down. I cannot push myself.
I made the mistake of trying to extract a nut from my dog’s mouth. That was the very next day after chemotherapy. Stupid, unthinking me!
Unfortunately, my thumb became the victim of some sharp incisors. The dog’s teeth penetrated this finger in two places, both the nailbed and the pad. That bought me a trip to an emergency room at the local hospital.
I went through the “fast track”, that is, evaluated and treated in 2 hours flat. The finger was examined, X-rayed, washed out and I’d been given my first dose of antibiotics.
Click here to read Entry 10: A Port, No Breakfast & Patient Providers.