Putting the Emo in Chemo

Also titled "You've gotta Pump It Up"

This post is the Warped Tour of blog posts. Some highs, some lows, an epic guitar solo, maybe some violin exposure (Shout out to Yellowcard). This week I started my first round of chemotherapy and it was a kick in the ass and the chest because getting a port put in made me finally understand how NEO felt when he gets plugged into the Matrix.

The first round of therapy was definitely one that had been building up in my mind both from talking to other people who have gone through it, and the delay of getting it done due to some issues scheduling with insurance. Add that on top of the nurse describing each specific poison and the side effects that I would likely feel was like having an evil supervillain monologue his plans for world destruction only this evil supervillain was gorgeous and looked like Sloan from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, except with a giant rock on her finger (which my Mom honed in on first like a drone strike).

That really exacerbated my feelings of anxiety which made those 2 and a half hours feel like a lifetime. I’ve rarely felt nauseous in my life like I was then, except for most recently when my friends made me take 6+ shots of whiskey at Buff’s Pub for my birthday (shoutout Mckelligan and Civetti) which is probably the real cause of the lesions on my liver that they saw in the CT scan and not actually cancer.

I started to get a better feel for things towards the end of the day which was probably helped by putting some apple juice and Oreos (not double stuf) in my system topped with reruns of Friends (by Mom’s insistence). I had planned on putting my “Put The Emo in Chemo” playlist to work, but wasn’t prepared for how I would feel so I figured I would share it here with you all!

My top 5 songs on here are:

1. Guy I Used To Be by Lawrence: Super upbeat and also poignant reminder that this experience will definitely change me

2. Life Goes On (with Ed Sheeran and Luke Combs)

3. Suddenly Seymour (Glee Version): Ya need to throw in a musical every now and then and this version kicks ass,

4. No Problem (Chance the Rapper with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz): No words needed, just listen.

5. Anything Goes by Florida Georgia Line: This song is better driving in your car going 90mph but still works.

Honorable Mention:

Come Alive from the Greatest Showman Soundtrack

You Go Down Smooth by Lake Street Dive

Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It by Darius Rucker

Stronger Than Ever by Raleigh Ritchie

Anyway, now if you’ve been walking around the Charlestown Navy Yard the last couple of days you’ve probably seen me strutting around like this with my man-purse pump dangling proudly, but today I get to disconnect from the Matrix for a bit and have 2 weeks of normalcy while I go celebrate the wedding of my little brother down in the deep heart of Texas. YeeHawwwwwwww

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