Of Bike Battles (?), Side Effects, and a Pesky Alarm

Tuesday - October 30, 2012

After canvassing everyone who entered room 120 between 10 am and 4 pm yesterday, I finally offered a bribe of a delicious, perfectly ripe banana in exchange for the stationary bike.  Lo and behold, a smiling RN quickly  wheeled in the familiar bike and we made the furtive, giggling bike-for-banana exchange.  However, the bike has undergone a bit of a significant change. A large, laminated "Property of ..." sign is now affixed to the handlebars.  A salmon sign rather than the more assertive option of red or neon green or orange but a declaration nonetheless of authorized use and of implicit warning:  "hands off!" to all who might consider absconding with this hulking, visible piece of equipment.  A signal of undersurface turf battling always bemuses me and sets off my imagination.  What happened in the last 2 weeks to lead to the sign?  Did an interloper from another floor come down to Oncology and slowly wheel this hulking mass down the crowded halls, through the unwieldy security doors, and into an elevator before repeating the entire awkward process up on his/her own floor?  And THEN did the Oncology Physical Therapist walk briskly around the Critical Care Hospital floor-by-floor, making inquiries and tracking down our precious bike before tilting it up on its wheels and huffily pushing it away on its serpentine return route.  Ah, a good back story awaits!

My third line of "tree rings" coming in

In addition to a third set of "tree rings" left over from my Hyper CVAD protocol, the high-dose methotrexate has set off some enhanced and new side effects.  General bloating and flushing in my face have been an issue and my (rapid cell-growth) skin has been sloughing off like a shedding snake.  Charming, I know.  Yesterday, I experienced a tingling similar to my previous (and continuing at a lesser rate) neuropathy in my fingertips.  The methotrexate brought on strong tingling in my face and feet.  Raising my feet and biking alleviated the sensation in my feet but I was unable to resolve the odd feeling in my face.  Per Jonathan and Megan's firm admonitions, I reported the new side effect to my RN who quickly offered me medicine if the tingling was too painful (not at all) or frustrating (say what?  I can suck up anything this minor).

And now for last night's sleep report....     UGH.     Dexamethasone (steroids), frequent bathroom visits to void the floods of liquid being infused into my system, and an incessant not-to-be-thwarted air-in-line alarm going off on my sodium bicarbonate drip at least every hour all combined to create a fitful, disrupted, unsatisfying night.  The good news is that I have a full, deep bank of great sleep from home and have few taxing obligations on today's agenda.  I'll manage.  It's just bad luck ....