Chemo Round 3 Day 19

Well, I am doing a little better today. My temperature has been up and down all day. It gets to about 39 and then I take Tylenol and it comes down to 37.5. I finally talked them into letting me get up today. I did only two laps the first time and three the next time. Even if I do not walk later tonight that is a half mile. It is amazing how weak one can get lying around in bed. They say it takes three days to make up for every day down so I still have a ways to go. My muscles all ache like a viral infection.

I am still having some trouble swallowing and lots of trouble talking. This is pretty much the same as the last two times. They are having me see an ENT doctor to be sure everything is alright. I am sure that I will be fine once my white count starts to come back.

I have had a lot of problems with my PAS hose the last 24 hours. They squeeze your calf to prevent blood clots and I am at a higher risk for that while I am on bedrest. Last night I developed a leak where the sock and the machine clip together. It took 8 hours to get a new pump and of course that did not fix the problem. It then took almost 14 hours to get new socks due to multiple errors and then when they did come, I got two pair within 5 minutes. I should be set for the rest of this admission.

My labwork today showed my hemoglobin to be 10.2 after the transfusions yesterday. My platelet count went up from 29,000 to 40,000 after the transfusion. My white count did not change much. It is 0.2 today and was 0.1 yesterday. I had 18 neutrophils yesterday and today I have none, but I do have 28 bands which are baby neutrophils. I have been getting a shot in the arm this week called neupogen which is supposed to increase the white count faster. I have had four doses so far. Hopefully it will allow my neutrophils to bounce back soon and that will allow my own body to get rid of the infection. All of my blood cultures have been negative and that is good.

I did not hear from St. Louis today and I have had so much trouble talking that I did not call them. We will call them early next week if they do not call us.

Teresa did not come up today because of the snow. She and Micheal spent a lot of time shoveling the driveway. I wanted to make sure Teresa got her nap today so We agreed that she would stay in Jacksonville today. She will probably be back up tomorrow. She really needs to get more rest but I cannot get her to slow down.

It felt good to be out of bed today and not having to sleep all the time. God has a plan for me and this time he has thrown in a few extra twists. I guess that is so I do not get bored! I am very appreciative of all your prayers and cards and comments on the blog. I am humbled to see how many people check the blog each day. My family and I are truly blessed. May He bless all of you as well!

Doc