Thawing Out

So it turns out that the hardest part in the ice caps process for us wasn't how well Deb was able to tolerate the freezing of her scalp (she actually tolerated it quite well) or the hassle of dealing with the doffing/donning of the caps in the infusion center (which was a bit of a hassle, but I think we got the system down as we went along).  The hardest part was the trip home.  We still had to keep Deb's scalp chilled for another four hours after the Taxol infusion was completed, so we knew that we would have to change the cap out at least once on the way home.  I had even packed one cap in a smaller cooler of dry ice just so it would be more accessible when we pulled over to do a change (hopefully without having to actually get out of the car to do the change).  When we got to the car in the parking garage we made one more changeout so we could hit the road with a fresh cap.  With any luck we could do the first change at 20 minutes and have another 20 minutes to get home before the next one.

I was reminded quickly of the old Army quote, "No plan of battle ever lasts past first engagement with the enemy."

The Interstate was a complete parking lot.  I expected traffic to be heavy at 4PM on a Monday, but this was something special.  I wasn't even able to get out of downtown before we had to pull off of I-5 and make the (first) change.  Less than 2 lineal miles in 20 minutes, as it turned out.

So I thought that if we hopped on the I-5 express lanes we might - might - be able to make it the rest of the way in time.

Let me just say that I have never seen the I-5 express lanes come to a complete stop going north before they even crossed the ship canal bridge.  Until yesterday.  I exited via the University exit lane.

To make a long story shorter, I drove through the city surface streets instead and made two more stops along the way.  What usually takes me 30 to 35 minutes at that time of day took a little over an hour.  I never heard what had the interstate and its express lanes so tied up, but I did hear a lot of sirens as I passed back under it, so it must have been big.

We kept changing out the caps at home until 7:30PM when it was time to quit and let Deb defrost the brainpan.  She was a bit sore from the port installation, so she ended up taking a painkiller they'd prescribed for that as we ate a small dinner and then she conked out on the sofa.  Considering that our day had started at 4AM, I think we both deserved an early bedtime, so I ushered her upstairs to bed at around 10PM and I probably ended up falling asleep not long after she did.

So, one down, sooo many more left to go.