Ambulaaaance!

Well, no boring old hospital day for me! Oh no, I wake up (feeling a little nauseated in the first place, unfortunately, which kind of lasted all day, or until after I was done with chemo) and my favorito nurse Shannon greets me with meds and I go back to sleep and she comes back and says, Dr. S wants me to go over to NIH in an ambulance today! So wheee, maybe? And then everything happens quite quickly … Dr comes in to talk to me about the trip, AND we must go by noon. And Shannon says, well that probably means BE there by noon, so you better just be ready to go because you don\’t get much warning. Fun! So okay, I kinda lie around and brush my teeth and feel sick some more (wahhh) and decide I\’d like to wear my wig and contacts wellll just in case any of the EMTs were cute guys like on my first ambulance ride way back when, hehehe … um, unfortunately though, no, but also since that\’s how the NIH doctors/techs have always seen me, so that would be more comfortable for me, but either way, BOY was this a good idea later on, as you will see!

So we find out I have like 30 minutes (or 15 maybe? can\’t remember) before the EMTs get here and I was on the phone with Moe, which was just lovely!, and I think it was after that I had to wrestle with my contacts, which I haven\’t worn in, well, 15 days, so that was less lovely obviously. And then I just wanted to brush some eyebrows on and then, arrgh, the extremely nice social worker Lynn came in to talk to us so I felt bad for playing around with make-up stuff while whe was in there but oh well, don\’t think she cared. So anyway, I did manage to get all ready before the EMTs got there, somehow. And so they bring in the super-hiiiigh stretcher and I say, \”Okay now how I get up there??\” and they say, \”Duh, we lower it?\” and so they do. And I get in, and they bring me up, but oh it is so fun when it comes up! It\’s like you\’re on the floor, and then BOOOING, you\’re all up high in the air! Quite fun.

So. The ride. No flashy lights, sorry Moe. :/ But they had movies! Not a ton of non-kiddie ones, but they did have Harry Potter (#1), which I haven\’t seen in a while, but it doesn\’t really matter because of course I fell asleep most of the time towards the end. And guess what happens? The EMT driver ends up at the WRONG HOSPITAL! Oh my gosh. And my mom is even sitting up there with her, and how many times did we drive to NIH when I was having radiation there? Yes, approximately 12 times, that is correct. But you know, she trusts the driver, and also the driver kind of ignores her passive remarks that PSST, this is NOT NIH. So we end up at this other nearby Navy hospital and we\’re all kind of like \”hmm this is not quite right\” but they bring me in through the back, which is the ATRIUM, which is where all these Navy people who hate civilians are sitting (but here is where I am sooo happy I am wearing my wig and looking semi-normal. Whew.) and I\’m sure wondering why there is a group of EMTs rolling a stretcher through here and FINALLY the driver is like \”oh wait, uh oh!\” And Mom and I are like, Yes. Hello.

So anyway, wow this is getting long. I sure like my tiny details in writing. Well so we get over to NIH, to the RIGHT place, and I talk to Dr. C over there and a new doc (Dr. M) and we decide oh yes, this area where it hurts when I press it, and which is also the stem of my left inner thigh pain, and which ALSO is the exact location of one of my tumors, well okay maybe we should do radiation there to relieve the pain. Yeahh, fine, I guess. Looks like we will start on Monday and do 5 days of radiation. Guess what? Next week is my last week before spring break. And I have now come to my senses and realized there is no freaking way I\’m getting out of here before the weekend. My tube is nowhere near being done draining, pain is still not under control, and … what else? Oh yes, I still have to let down my new Rapunzel-like wig down for my prince to climb up! (They really take this \”Princess Room\” thing seriously, people! AND, I\’m on the 4th floor! Yikes!)

Well, so seriously, I do not know when I\’m getting out of here. :P On the bright side, Mrs. Tschetter came with my dad for a little visit tonight, which was very nice. Also got a package from Mom\’s friend Jane, who sent me a ROBE! I have been wanting one for sooo so long, and we got the loveliest plushy blue ones to wear during Spa Day (have I still not talked about that? I know I haven\’t written about the Med Reaction from Hell yet, ugh) that we COULD NOT KEEP! and I was so sad, but oh, Jane sent me one just like it! So wonderful and thanks sooo much. :)

Err, think that is it for tonight. People, it is so SAD how long it takes me to write these things. Why?? Anyway — time for bedtime things. Good night!!