Ugh!

Round 2 wasn't any easier...it was more difficult!

My appointment started with an appointment with the doctor. He took a bunch of notes and looked at me...I knew what was coming, I had looked at my lab paper on his desk while he was writing and I could see my lab values were not in the normal columns. Sure enough, my white blood cell counts are down. My hemoglobin, and platelets are down as well. As far as the white blood cell counts go, it could be dangerous and if they fall any lower I will have to do shots at home to increase their production. Wow! Sounds like an adventure! He explained that they were simple shots that Scott could do...ha ha! Any of you who know Scott, know that shots aren't something he can even look at, let alone give! He was gripping his chair and grimacing just at the thought that I would need these suckers...he can't be the one to give them to me....it will never happen.

So my doctor suggested a friend, possibly a friend who is a nurse...Maricris are you reading this??? Karen???? So I am starting a sign up list (just kidding) for shot givers! Initially I thought I would be able to give it to myself but after thinking about it, I may need some time to get acquainted with the idea. Unfortunately, I may not have "time." I do my blood work Monday, get the results Tuesday...

As for the platelets and hemoglobin, they require blood transfusions. Hmmm! This is just exciting all around the corner, isn't it?!?!? I'm O+ if anyone has a burning desire to bank blood for me. Right now a blood transfusion seems like the least of my worries. Am I wrong to have that attitude???

The WBC (white blood cell) count is the dangerous one. I can get a "life threatening" infection so I need to be careful. I am trying to stay out of crowded public places and snot nosed little kids (and that includes my own!) Makes it difficult when folks send their sick kids to school and my kids bring the nasty germs home. My kids have had a crash course of germ "etiquette." It will keep me out of the hospital and they understand those terms.

This round was bad. On Tuesday, treatment day, I felt okay. I wasn't really sick like last time. I came home, rested and waited for the assault to occur. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, were bad. It is like having the worst flu in your life. No vomiting but just the most uncomfortable, sometimes painful, nausea. Mouth sores have not happened. I think I have figured out how to drown them out so them don't have a chance to develop. I drink tons of water the day of my treatment.

By Friday, I was feeling okay enough to go out. At 3 am I woke up in so much pain and discomfort, I stayed up the rest of the day. Scott tried to give me tea and sat with me while I tried to throw up but nothing really helped. We are still tinkering with remedies and what works and what doesn't work. So far, I am an expert on what doesn't work! We will take it day by day. I will find my little bag of tricks and hopefully it will get better. If my WBC drops to 1000 or under, they will most likely stop treatment until my levels come back to acceptable numbers. He said right now it is a fine line and a judgement call if we continue with the level they are at. He chose to do treatment on Tuesday. I would have to guess that was due to my overall health and age. Here's to being the youngest one in the infusion room!

I did meet a really nice lady this time around. It broke my heart to see her all hooked up and put a story to the body. I really enjoyed talking to her and learning about her and her battle with cancer. She was going in for a blood transfusion a few days after her treatment and she was so inspiring. She was so matter-of-fact, no fear. She is in a battle and it was just par for the course. In my defense, she has had a longer time to get used to the idea of putting poison in your veins. Our chat helped me and really enjoyed talking to her. It helped pass the time for both of us and I almost didn't notice that they put the drugs in the IV straight from the refrigerator!! OUCH!! That hurt!

I return on Tuesday for some more fun! Can't wait! NOT!