Starting the Journey

At the beginning, it reminded me of a car-wash. When you drive through the car-wash, there are a few moments before anything happens – still you perceive the increasing pressure of the water.

The first two days after chemo, this is the way I felt, a buzzing of diffuse and disorderly energy throughout my body, a discomfort I could not define. On Monday, I received the medication without allergic reactions or headache. It took 6 hours instead of the 3 hours that were planned. That was the first round so I first got some saline solution then the medication against nausea before the chemo stuff. On the next day, it was time for the shot meant to boost my white cells.

Side-effects caught up with me two days later. The bone marrow, maker of the white cells, acts up under the effect of the shot. Bones get sore and you feel like you have the flu. And they were right when they told me skin and digestive systems would be first in line. On Thursday, a rash developed on my face. I won’t go into details when it comes to digestion but I now drink little sips throughout the night as I feel so dehydrated during the day.

Then weekend arrived and I felt better. Well enough, in fact, to articulate with sagacity how “the central themes of your religious heritage and theological understanding inform my ministry”, in other words write my final evaluation of the second unit of my residency. It was due on the following Tuesday. Chemo started – and life goes on.