Believe it or not, I actually had a pretty good time during my inpatient stay — in my lovely room 40. If my doctors and nurses read this, I bet they’d nod and smile.

The very first time I went to ITA (It’s an outpatient department, short for Infusion treatment area) after my 69 days of inpatient life, I was surprised that those little lab tubs reminded so much of my days in room 40. Part of me missed it.

Let me walk you through how a typical day looked. Shall we?

5:30am — morning lab draw time.

Kudos to my amazing night shift nurses — so gentle that sometimes they’d get it done magically without even waking me up. I didn’t mind getting up a little though. It gave me chance to chat with them how their shift went and thank them for another hardworking night. With my little eye mask, I could fall right back to sleep without much troubles.

9:00am — easing into the day

Thanks to my considerate nurses, I often got to sleep in and started slow — turning on coffee shop music, making my bed, doing my skin routine, changing clothes and ordering breakfast.

Yes, I wore my own clothes everyday. I always make sure they were cute, comfy and, of course, practical — easy access for lab draws and transfusions. Hospital fashion takes effort, okay? 😄

And yes, sometimes I even put makeup on. I will never forget one morning, I was applying foundation — half my face was done — then a whole team of doctors walked in… I froze. It felt rude to continue working on the other half. So I had to awkwardly have the entire conversation holding my foundation brush, with one side of my face done only. Perfect timing!

The rest of the day

Vitals, meds and doctors’ rounds were the norm. I stayed long enough to meet every doctor rounded on the floor — some twice, even three times. My favorite part would be greeting them at the door when I could. And I loved asking questions, nerdy and specific ones, and get those little “education moments.” And every time someone said “that’s great question!” I felt like Monica Geller gets lollipop from her eye doctor!

Real tip — try to get involved in your treatments, understand what’s happening and why. Learn the logic behind, procedures and protocols. The better you understand, the more you can advocate for yourself.

Normally it’s quiet in the afternoon unless I had a transfusion or treatment scheduled. I noticed the second chemo made me a little more fatigue. I stopped fighting for no sitting or lying down in bed during day time and allowed myself enjoy a cozy nap. I was lucky and grateful that I didn’t experience pain or strong side effects from either of the chemos. That kept my spirits high and my days actually fun.

Cherry blossoms and the brown bag

A few weeks before I was discharged, I was cleared to go “outside outside”. That happened to be peak cherry blossom season. That day still feels like a dream — walking in the garden, breathing spring air, seeing flowers in bloom, and most importantly, shopping in hospital cafe for the first time after a month and a half!!

I remember showing my nurses what I go in that brown bag with such excitement, a blue bottle coffee, an instant noodle, a piece of coffee cake and a cup of fruits. They definitely remember it too.

Another real tip — try to move as much as you can — safely, of course. You’d be surprised how quickly your muscle disappears. I learned it the hard way. After doing 5,000 steps including many stairs suffered. I was sore for weeks. I’d never felt soreness like that before.

From then on, I would spend an hour or two in the garden — walking, reading, drawing or talking to a friend on the phone… with this alien mask.

6:00pm — Evening lab draw

Night time routine started with another lab draw and followed by shift change, when day time and night time nurses came in together, saying goodby and hello. Then it was dinner, night time meds, shower, facetime with kids, wigs off and winding down with vital around 11:30pm.

Oh one more thing, I normally kept two things going through the night, my diffuser and soft nighttime music. It wasn’t just for me in fact. It was for the nurses too. Their work is not easy. I wanted the room to feel peaceful and soothing whenever they walked in.

Sound like a full day?

Nah, not untill I tell you about all the activities kept me busy. Because of those, and the love and care from everyone around me, Room 40 became something special.

Stay tuned…