The chemo train is rolling down the tracks

I received my first of four chemo infusions Monday, May 5 at the Iowa Clinic in West Des Moines.

I was in a large room with several other cancer patients.

The fellow on my right side was born and raised in North Dakota where he played football for the University of N.D. He was in his mid-40s, having been born the year after I graduated high school. He was married and had four children.

We spoke briefly of the cold weather in North Dakota and he said it starts snowing in late August or early September and goes through April.

He had a similar issue with colon cancer that I had.

He apparently was an IT guy and spent a good part of the day on the phone in meetings. I didn’t ask what company he worked for.

The fellow to the left of us was seven months older than me. He looked much older. For him, Monday was his last infusion.

There was a young lady and her fiance across from Debbie and me. She was in her early 30s and had stage 2 breast cancer.

She shared a story of her dad who had colon cancer in 2014 and to this day is cancer free.

Her fiance brought a small ice chest of food and sandwiches from Jersey Mikes. I was so hungry, as that food smelled great.

They had a plastic container of guacamole and chips. I’m not a fan of guacamole, but it still smelled good on a hungry stomach.

There were a couple other patients in the room, but I didn’t get a chance to talk with them.

It was a rough outing for my first experience at a chemo infusion.

I had two 20-minute infusions of nausea meds and then a two-hours regimen of chemo.

I learned that I need to eat more before my appointment as my stomach was upset most of the day. I was quite hungry.

I even resorted to eating Cheez-it crackers.

This has been quite a journey, and I’m thankful for every prayer, thought, email, Facebook message, card and more.

My brother, Tom, in Tulsa went as far as to have his church pray for me through him. That was quite touching.

And the medical professionals that have been a part of this journey are just the best. From the nurses in the hospital to medical staff at every level.

They are wonderful people who care and want what is best for me.

A dry mouth and hands can be the result of chemo. It was suggested that I rinse with a mixture of salt water and baking soda. That’s nasty tasting.

And using hand cream will help keep my hands from chapping.

I also can’t have cold drinks and ice cream for the first few days after chemo. The fellow next to me said to swish it around in my month and it will be OK.

As the chemo nurse said, chemo breaks down your immune system and it takes time to build it back up.

And I’m thankful for my wife being by my side encouraging me and making this journey more tolerable.

I have three more chemo infusions and three series of chemo pills. I will be done on July 7.

The end is on the horizon.

Have a great week, and always remember that “Good Things are Happening” every day.