Chemo Round 3 Day 12

Today we hit a speed bump in the road to recovery. Last night I had some itching on my legs and this morning I had a little bit of a rash near my knees. Then I began bleeding from my nose. It was not a lot but took about an hour to an hour and a half to stop. My platelet count was down to 25,000 so I got a platelet transfusion. I have had a rash most of the time when I get platelets without premedication so this admission I have been getting 50 mg of Benadryl IV before the platelets.(That is the same as two over the counter tablets.) It works faster IV than by mouth. As you know, it can cause you to be sleepy and when I get it, I get a little light headed and sleepy. Today I slept about half the time my wife was here due to the medicine. I did not get any new rashes and my leg rash stayed under control so I guess the medicine worked.

My hemoglobin is staying steady and my white count dropped also, to .2 today with 26 neutrophils. We just have to wait for it to return to normal. I have done well otherwise. I am able to eat and walk without any problems (except when I was too tired to eat or walk from the Benadryl). I have not had a significant fever yet, although it was up to 99.3 this evening. Dr. Lanzotti is having it checked every two hours while I am awake tonight. I have not had any trouble with my mouth or swallowing yet. If it occurs the same time as my last round of chemo, I will have trouble by mid to end of next week. We just have to wait and see.

When I did finally wake up today, Teresa and I played Ticket to Ride again. This time I won which is unusual. I felt bad that I slept so much while she was here but she is very understanding.

I have not heard anything else from St. Louis. I expect to get an update next week to see if I have a matched donor or not. God has provided everything up to this point, so I am not worried. He will do what He thinks is best for me.

I continue to receive get well cards, get well wishes and many of you still ask about me. I really appreciate that. It has certainly kept my spirits up and that has been shown to help a person get over an injury or illness quicker. Once again, I wish you God's blessings and a great weekend.

Doc