What a day! How should I start? … We woke up at 6AM and we went to the hospital to have the 5th chemo. Two weeks ago, when we went for the 4th dose there was a problem with one of the chemotherapy components (vinblastine). Today, there was no Vinblastine at all in the hospital, neither in other hospitals, foundations, pharmacies, or pharmaceuticals. Vinblastine Apocalypse! There was no V in the whole country… Of course, we spent the whole morning looking for it, my both families too, also the doctor and nurses. I don't need to say more; Vinblastine seems to be gone here. My doctor pointed out the following history fact:
In the past there was a Vinblastine crisis that lasted 2 years…
ಠ_ಠ ← That was exactly my face.
It was 12PM already. At that time I was supposed to be finishing with the dose, but I hadn't even started it. Then the doctor says that we could replace the Vinblastine with Vincristine. Nice, a new flavor for the cocktail!
We went to eat something, then we purchased the Vincristine (because it wasn't under the insurance approval). Having everything, we started the chemo at 3PM and we finished 5hrs later… 7PM. That's what I call a day!
I'm very grateful that we were able to find a viable alternative. I'm thinking about people in other places in this world who can't get any of these treatments… I'm thinking like that not because I have Hodgkin, but because I have seen the good will of some people like my personal doctor and the nurses, and I have also seen the reality of new things. For example, the doctor explained that one possible reason that we don't have Vinblastine is because it is one of the cheapest meds, and pharmaceuticals don't sell too much. Yes, that sucks! I know they are not a charity institute, they are a business. But we are all humans.
Anyway, focusing on the bad things will not solve anything. I decided to focus my attention on how things went well for us. I strongly believe that Jehovah God had a role in this, because He has helped me to have a good attitude towards things in life. And many scientists and doctors have proved that a good attitude has a good influence on us. We, my wife and I, also proved that attitude makes a difference!
I would like to conclude this post with a Bible proverb that states:
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit saps one’s strength.” (Proverbs 17:22)