Xanthia's MS Life

For the curiosity seekers and those who might need an infusion of some kind here is what my first time getting Tysabri was like. The *infusion* room sounds like you should be having tea or a spa treatment and in fact I took some Kava Kava tea with me which helped me to relax. There are big, grey, clinical pleather recliners lined up in a large room, about five or six of them. Once you take a seat they role a small TV/DVD player in front of you. They offered me headphones in case the content of my movie was inappropriate (I brought Ghost World with me). My friend Jim Taylor who works nearby stopped in and held my hand while the nurse inserted the IV. Typically I pass out during these types of things but thanks to Jim's story telling I was distracted enough not to think about what was going on to my left. They are very accommodating of visitors, extra chairs, beverages (alas not the kind I really wanted) and snacks like cookies and chips. For about the first hour there was only one other patient in the room with me at the other end of the room. She was morbidly obese and spoke in this shrill twang, talking about her favorite TV shows while drinking a diet Coke. She wore burgundy stretch pants and a matching t-shirt with hearts on it that went well past her waste line. Not pretty. The nurse dropped her pen behind the "coat rack" holding my drug solution, as she bent down her arm got caught on the tube attached to my IV and nearly tore it out. She just laughed and said "Oops!" Note to self, avoid this nurse. So I sat there with the IV in my arm watching the movie not in any pain other than the discomfort of having the cold fluid running through my arm. Later the nurse ordered lunch for me and I tried to eat with my free hand (not bad!) The procedure from start to finish lasts for a couple hours and I'll be going in every four weeks. My next appointment is February 14th, yup Valentine's Day. How romantic...just me, a nurse and a needle. It would be nice to have someone there with me to keep me company but I suppose I should get used to going it alone (cue tiny violins). Not sure what movie I'll take with me.