I know, I know…it’s been a while since I’ve written
anything. I promise I’m not falling off
the wagon with my blogging. It’s been a
rough 3 weeks for me.
Chemo, as always, isn’t a pleasant experience and only
continues to build up. Then this past
week I managed to get an infection. Fun
times at the Bamberg home.
And to put the icing on the cake, on the day that was
supposed to be my last chemo treatment I’m not able to receive chemo because of
the infection. One of my chemo meds
(Avastin) inhibits my ability to heal so the RN felt it was best to hold off on
treatment in order to allow my body to heal.
But, wait! I’m not finished. After having to postpone my final treatment
until later in the week I then had to miss chemo for the second time in one
week. One word – insurance. You never want to be without it (especially
in my situation) but it sure can be a pain in the butt sometimes. I went for my final treatment the second time
on Wednesday and wasn’t able to receive treatment because I have a new
insurance company and they wanted to review and approve my chemo drugs. Let’s just say I was not happy.
For weeks I’ve planned out my last chemo treatment. New Year’s Eve. Party at Georgia Cancer! Whoo hoo!
I decided that if I was going to spend New Year’s Eve having chemo I was
going to make the most of it. I picked
out my clothes a week in advance. A nice
black cotton dress and sweater, my sparkly gold glitter shoes, and gold
accents. Todd and I even went to Target
and got me a new black hat to go with everything (ponytails with headbands are
no longer an option – Todd actually said I looked like Smeagol from Lord of the Rings – sad, but true!). I was going to look adorable! I even picked up a small 4 pack of New Year
tiaras, the small champagne bottles and a Simply Orange just for me – mimosa’s
– yum! Chemo was going to be awesome! Then my bubble was burst for the first time
that week.
On Wednesday I received a call from my oncologist to make
sure I was feeling alright and healing well from my infection. My colorectal surgeon had “fixed” me, so I
was feeling MUCH better I was just still on my antibiotics. My oncologist said that as long as I was
feeling good then he saw no reason to hold off on my chemo and I could come in
that day. Once again I had already
planned my outfit. It was more
casual/cute – jeans, tank top with an off the shoulder top for a pop of color,
cute and comfy shoes, and another hat. I
quickly got all my stuff together in preparation to sit around for 5
hours. My mom made me a PB&J
sandwich and I packed snacks and a Coke.
I sat around for about an hour and a half waiting to see if my insurance
company would respond quickly.
Unfortunately it became too late in the day for me to be able to receive
chemo anymore and we decided to put off my treatment for the second time that
week. SO upset! – venting moment – I understand
that insurance companies need to approve things but I think that in the case of
chemo or something serious they should just approve it and figure out the
logistics later. During a chemo week
Todd and I have to figure out childcare and rides to and from treatment; not to
mention the mental toll it takes on someone psyching themselves up to
physically make themselves sick. To have
that put off because of approvals is a little silly. – vent over.
So, now I’m going back to try my hand at my final chemo once
again this coming Monday. My infection
has been pronounced minimal and my insurance has approved my treatment so I am
good to go! (I hope…)
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