The Weight of Tomorrow (A Marina Story)

Chapter Eighteen

The following days after Maya's third day of chemotherapy were anything but smooth. Maya slept for almost two straight days, and in the short bursts in which she was awake, she spent her time violently vomiting into either the toilet or an emesis bag. After a full twenty-four hours of this relentless cycle, Carina made the decision to hook Maya up to an IV to keep her fluids up. However, she couldn't shake the growing concern about Maya becoming malnourished.

For the first two days, Carina struggled to get any anti-nausea medication into Maya. Despite her wife's best efforts to keep the medicine down, it inevitably came back up, leaving Maya feeling frustrated and defeated. More often than not, those moments of frustration would turn into tears, and Carina's heart broke for her.

Unable to bear seeing Maya in discomfort any longer, Carina reached out to Miranda, asking if she could drop off some IV anti-nausea medication. Miranda responded quickly, arriving within an hour to help Carina administer the much-needed medicine. Fortunately, this new medication worked effectively, easing some of the nausea Maya was feeling.

When Carina had carefully hooked Maya up to the IV, she noticed the bruising starting to appear on Maya's arm. Carina's heart sank as she took in the sight of the bruises; she knew they would only get worse as Maya's treatments progressed.

A wave of sadness washed over Carina, realizing that this was Maya's new reality. The toll of the disease and the treatments was becoming increasingly visible, and it hurt to see the physical manifestation of her wife's struggle. Carina felt a lump form in her throat as she fought to keep her emotions in check.

On the third day of Maya being in bed, still not eating and remaining hooked up to the IV, Carina decided it was time to call Dr. Foster. She filled him in on Maya's condition and asked if they could reevaluate her anti-nausea medication. Dr. Foster informed Carina that he would prescribe something a bit stronger that Maya could start taking a day before her treatments began. He assured Carina that if taken regularly, it should help manage the nausea. However, Maya would need to wake up every four hours during the night to take the medication, as missing a dose could lead to a resurgence of nausea, putting her in a difficult position of having to play catch-up each treatment.

Dr. Foster also mentioned that if the new anti- -nausea medications didn't work, he would consider prescribing the IV anti-nausea medicine that Maya would need to stay on for the week following her treatments but he was hesitant in prescribing these for regular use at this stage as they would eventually cause Maya to have severe drowsiness. He reassured Carina that it might take a few tries to find the one that worked best for Maya, something Carina already understood but desperately wanted to find quickly.

Additionally, Carina informed Dr. Foster about the bruising on Maya's arm, and he recommended that, once Maya was feeling up to it, they should make an appointment to get a long-term catheter and port put in her chest. He explained that this would be the best option to avoid further bruising and the repeated discomfort of needles since Maya would need several more chemotherapy treatments. It would also allow Carina to administer medication through the port if necessary, making it easier and quicker during Maya's moments of sickness.

Carina agreed with Dr. Foster that this would likely be the best option, but she knew she needed to discuss it with Maya first, as it was a minor surgery and at the end of the day, it was ultimately her decision.

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It took until day six after treatment for Maya to wake up feeling like she might be able to get up and do something with her day. Although she still felt unwell, it was nowhere near as bad as before. Carina had removed the IV from Maya's arm the night before but had assured her that if she felt bad again, she could hook it back up without hesitation. Fortunately, Maya hadn't gotten any worse and seemed to be on the mend, so to speak.