Out of the grey mist.

(I think) I’m out of the woods for this first round, mostly. Took pretty much exactly a week.
Timing checks out quite accurately: with the protocol I’m getting and with start date last Friday, I got the first actual chemo IV starting last Friday evening, for 24 hours straight, then another type of poison Saturday evening. According to the information sheet, the poison works in my for 7 days, and is out of my system in 9 days. That’s right about now.

And this last week was quite miserable: can’t sleep but can’t stay up, hungry but can’t eat, I’ve had neuropathy (nerve damage) in my hands, feet, and ears. (That, unfortunately, is still on. Hope it’ll get better — but it’s a common and sometimes persistent side effect.) The veins on the side where I got the chemo are ruined too, so I can’t hold my hand straight.

Starting Wednesday I could start walking outside, we’re talking walks around the block, 800-1000 metres. 3 weeks ago I was doing 100 km on the gravelbike, how the turntables…

BUT.

The lump from my neck is pretty much completely gone — and that happened in just 4 days, while I was in hospital! No wonder I had such a hard time, immunologically speaking, all that shit has to exit me somehow, through liver, kidney, etc. It doesn’t change the fact that I still need 2 more Rounds of Misery, and who knows what afterwards, but it’s a good sign. Grew fast, but went fast, too.

Now I recuperate: I want to gain (back) some weight (with the steroids it’s difficult, I’m constantly eating and still losing weight or stagnating at best), want to do some excercise in the next week (I think this means walking), and nurse my veins back to some form of health before the next round has to start.

And today morning my cat, who escaped me for the last week like the plague, suddenly decided I’m now good enough to climb in my lap again and slept there for 2 hours ❤️.