Thursday, January 30th
Finally a little better sleep during the night, I actually woke up at 6am and felt well rested. That's typically when I write as I'm not ready to jump into full work until after my delicious hospital breakfast. Mmmm.
Thursday was a good and productive day overall. WBC down to 2.2 and the blast cells (bad guys) which were representing 97% of the WBC are dropping to 65%, so more good news. All headed to zero most likely over the weekend which is the goal, then the reboot can begin.
I've had a different nurse on every shift since I've been here, they've all been very nice and caring. Today's nurse has been on the Oncology wing for a long time. She shared that the second week after one comes off of chemo can be the more challenging one due to the zero white blood cells. This was a little deflating as I thought the tough part was almost past, but I prefer to have the knowledge so I can prepare mentally. It's always easier to know your opponent. There still may be fatigue, infections, loss of appetite ahead.
The liver enzyme issue continues to show itself on the blood tests so they've ordered an ultrasound for first thing in the morning as I have to be NPO for the test. Yes, that's me dropping some hospital lingo, NPO = Nil per os = Latin for no food! That breakfast will have to wait until I return. I'm not quite sure what we're chasing on the liver yet. The elevated enzymes indicate some sort of dysfunction which could have been a preexisting condition or due to the chemo treatments. Once again an unknown as crept into the equation and will all unknowns comes some doubt. Is there cancer in there too? Do I have an additional condition that will now interfere with the chemo treatments? Too many questions flowing in. The gastro doc didn't seemed overly concerned, but then again, doctors don't generally show their entire hands unless really pressed. That's probably because they don't hold all of the answers themselves and in the end it just causes needless worry.
The dashing Dr. Brian Masters (my brother-in-law) brought me another delicious lunch meal complete with a piece of chocolate cake that was phenomenal. When my kids cut my hair into the Mohawk, they borrowed the clippers from their uncle. It turns out the rechargeable clippers were not working so Joannne purchased a nice new set for them. Brian was gracious enough to shave his head, I think more out of necessity than solidarity for me, but still, he looks good. He's lobbying to play himself when the blog turns into a big Hollywood movie. I can say with sincerity that having him here through this has been a great relief, even more than chocolate cake.
I was able to get a ton of work done today which also felt great. The weather has been cold and rainy due to the northern weather pushing its way down. I still don't seem to get much sympathy from friends and family in the Northeast on this point. My friend John told me that his kid's ski club was cancelled due to cold!
Overall, a good day.
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