Ready, but not ready for round 5, which didn't happen anyway

 I made it to my appointment this morning. At check in the lady commented about how I looked tired. I replied with I just don't want to be here. She called it a love/hate relationship. The folks here are great, but the reason for being here is not. 

So, I am here with clean hair and a fresh face. I have already had several pee stops. I forgot to put the numbing cream on my port this morning, so had to use the freezing spray. I will not forget again! They have taken my blood and now I wait. 

On the last update I forgot to include my genetic consult. I won't go into details, but it is recommended due to my age. They said that some people don't want to know. There were 3 options: not test, the basic test, or the full test for as much as possible. Since it will not affect future insurance options...colon cancer does that for me, I opted for the full on test. That way if something comes back, my kids can follow up and stay on top of things. They will have 90 days to get the testing done for free if they would like. I also sent a text to my brother to let him know that he needs to stay on top of his own screening, because my diagnosis makes him somewhat high risk. Crickets... He complains that he never knows anything, but he doesn't ever make an effort. I did my job, the ball is in his court. 

Waiting... At least I have plenty to work on today to keep me busy. 

Well, my white blood cell count was too low, so we are deferring. Today was not meant to be. I am not sure if my next round will be next Monday or if we will stay on schedule. There are no appointments available for next Monday. On the bright side, this time off gives my body time to recover from the last round. Hopefully the side effects that I am still feeling will wear off. I have been told to rest and eat protein. 

Breakdown of numbers that I don't have access to yet... (nurse showed me on the computer)

Absolute neutrophils were in the 800's and they want them to be over 1,000

White Blood Cells were 2. something. Normal is over 4.5. I have been trending downward each round. Last time I was at 3.1.

Platelets were normal, which is good considering my bloody nose issue the last 2 weeks.

Albumin was low- ???? New one for me

Liver Enzymes dropped by half, but were still double of what normal should be.

All things related to anemia had been trending upward, but dropped just a little over the last 2 week. 

So, specific prayer requests this week: 

  • The cold/sinus issue to finally resolve
  • The blood work numbers
  • The lingering side effects to fade before the next round
  • the scheduling for the next round- If I can get in Monday next week, then I will have to defer later for my California trip. However, if the schedule fully shifts, I won't have to defer for VBS and just finish a week later. If I can't get in Monday, I will stay on schedule, but defer for VBS. Either way, I will finish a week later than anticipated in July, which puts me a week closer to Samantha's wedding. I would like to be off 4-6 weeks before the wedding. 
The planner in me wants to know all of these things, but there is also no guarantee that I won't get deferred again at some point due to sickness of blood work. 

 

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