Monday, June 23rd
Day 7

A little late getting this one posted. Yesterday was rough as was Sunday night. As of last night, Camryn had not eaten solid food for nearly 48 hours. She plugs her ears at the very mention of food; that is how all the nausea has affected her. It's now her constant companion. The meds are a tremendous help. But there is a balance of choosing between high doses of anti nausea meds, which will knock her out; or more moderate doses which reduces not nausea, but not completely, however, Camy will be awake. So, one might ask, why not just give the knockout and allow her to sleep? Great question, the problem is that Camy needs to walk at least three times per day around the unit. She also needs to scrub her mouth four times per day (this one is critical as it relates to the next big chemo side effect which is the formation of painful sores in her mouth as the cells in her mouth die) which is done to help prevent bacteria growing in her mouth. I have not even mentioned how many times per day she urinates as her body is being pumped with fluids and nutrients that she needs because she is not eating at all, nor drinking. Think of a teenager with a bad attitude, maybe not the best example since ALL teenagers have bad attitudes, who has zero motivation to do anything except lay in bed. Plus, all she wants to do is sleep and watch TV. For Camryn, watching TV is actually a good thing (I can't believe I am saying this) because it takes her mind away from thinking about the nausea. Concessions, that is what Lee Ann and I are accepting. I want the World Cup, Camryn wants Disney Channel. Guess who losses this battle? Good news though, the ESPN app saved me from torturous hours of watching the Disney Channel. Thank you ESPN.