Suzanne has to undergo 7 Chemotherapy Infusions during her treatment. Today was treatment number three. The process which takes 4 1/2 hours for her looks just like you see it on TV & the movies.

At Rush, they call the room consisting of 4 infusion chairs where she gets her Chemotherapy a ‘Pod’. Two of these pods are placed in a U-shape layout with the nurse’s station in the middle. It’s all open with privacy curtains available, which few use. There are 12 of these Pods in the infusion wing of the Cancer Center.

When called back to the ‘Pod’ Suzanne is assigned a chair where she will be spending her time for the day. Each chair is reclinable and has a tray for her stuff. There is also a straight chair for the caregiver to sit alongside the patient.

The first hour, Suzanne gets a liter of fluids along with 3 different nausea medicines. Her specific therapy, Cisplatin is known for nausea as well as kidney issues. That’s why all the hydration prior to and after the treatment.

When the hour-long Chemotherapy is administered, extreme safety checks are in place to ensure these dangerous chemicals are given to the right person. Two nurses simultaneously: ask her name & birth date, check her Id bracelet and scan it, read the label on the bag and scan it, double-check the numbers on the infusing machine, then go back to the nurse’s station and check that the correct scan info was entered. Then, and only then can the nurse turn on the infuser.

Once the Chemotherapy is finished, another liter of liquids, high in potassium, is administered over the next 2 hours.

The staff here is very caring, happy, and seem to enjoy their job. This helps make the whole process easier for both of us to deal with. It’s a busy place. From the time we get there, till the time we depart, every chair in our pod is full. Some are in and out in an hour, some are there for a longer period of time than Suzanne.

Suzanne divides her treatment time working on her ‘Old Truck’ applique quilt, reading Amish mysteries, or just listening to music. Around noon we today we ate our ‘Lunchable’, needing to keep Suzanne up in calories is important at this early stage. The staff provides us water and snacks if we choose.

Suzanne has four more treatments to go, but the finish line still seems like a long way off.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16