Chemo....tick; Rest day.....not really!

Day 16 & 17

First things first - this is Paul writing the last couple of days blog, not Nat! She's absolutely wiped.  Nothing to be worried about readers - but I've never seen her so tired. Perhaps on a couple of occasions - like after the 18 hours of childbirth, followed by emergency caesarean for our first child.  Just to give you the picture of how tired she was.

So suffice to say I can't write it as well as she can or from her point of view.

Tuesday - last day of chemo. I arrived at about 9:15 having walked in from the hotel.  Its about just over an hour's walk for the 6 or so kilometres.  Good company with Matt's carer's Laura and Bryn.  When I arrived Nat was already hooked up with the myriad of chemo bottles and underway, quite a bit earlier than usual.  She was also very emotional.  It might have had something to do with it being our 14 year wedding anniversary, or being in a hospital bed in Moscow having chemo, or not seeing the kids for 3 weeks now.  I think its was combination of all of these, but either way she cried through most of the morning.

I had a little surprise for her.  Thanks to my new found friends Laura and Bryn we had brainstormed some gift ideas a couple of nights ago, and then with the support of Bryn, we went into Moscow the day before to shop.  Thanks guys.

The gifts went down a treat.  We had said we wouldn't celebrate, but to be honest I couldn't think of a more important time to tell her how I feel and how lucky I am to have Natalie in my life.  She will often say that "you didn't sign up for this", but I think I did.  And I know if the roles were reversed she'd do the same - what more could you ask for. So I felt if there were ever a day she needed to hear that, then it's today.

The second part of the day involved the hunt for hot chips.  Again with my main accomplice (Bryn), we hunted down a café/restaurant on the other side of the hospital away from the main road.  We'd heard they were slow, but the chips were good, so that's sounded like the best bet.

Bryn and I set off and found our target easily.  A couple of notes for those that haven't visited Moscow before: 1 - shops are difficult to identify.  Signage and shopfronts are not particularly large or bold, and of course being in a different language its made harder. We knew they sold burgers as this shop actually had something resembling a McDonalds menu on the window.  In fact the resemblance was so close I suspect Photoshop may have been involved.  2 - just about everywhere sells beer.

So we entered, poured over the Russian only menu with the word lens app.  I couldn't stop laughing after finding "mother-in-law on hot coals", but surprisingly didn't order that.  We had an entertaining exchange with the bar manager as we ordered burgers and chips times 5.  No beef, only chicken - the exchange was in Russian, but he turned to the kitchen and says "pyat (5) chicken burgers"!

Sorry I should have mentioned a third note about ordering - they quite often don't have what you order.  Interestingly the shop window had 4 types of beefburger on it but none available!

And then the beer caught our attention.  What are the odds of walking into a place with several international ales on tap! London Pride, Theakston!  We settled on a couple of German beers while we waited for our order.

Mmmm...hot chips!

Mission accomplished.  Nat (and Matt and Laura) enjoyed their hot chips and the chicken burger.  Perfect anniversary - minus the hospital bed and copious amount of chemicals being pumped into her body.

Nausea has been quite a common symptom for Nat these last few days.  Dr F says is completely normal with what is being administered.  She received anti-nausea medication which helped a little.

Chemo complete!

Wednesday - Rest day.  I arrived a little later. We decided to walk again, but the combination of rain and dropping into the shops to grab some supplies delayed our arrival.  Its not cold at the moment, but it is miserable.  Overcast all day, zero sun.

On arrival Nat was in need of a hug.  She is really feeling it.  Very fatigued, no appetite.  The smell of any food was enough to make her dry reach.  I spent most of the day watching her sleep whilst catching up on work email, or intercepting the dinner lady to stop the food entering the room and minimise the smell.

Again Dr F visited.  In his usual reassuring manner helped us understand that, whilst its not beer and skittles (for Nat at least), it is normal. Later on in the day, her vision went blurry, but after a good sleep and a protein drink she bounced back.

I tidied the room under close supervision (with no answering back as now is not the time!) - all in preparation for tomorrow, for tomorrow is B-Day.  That's right, the stem cells are going back in and Natalie's immune system will be born again!

Can't wait!