A Lost Week

Wow, what a week I just had.

The holiday weekend was just fine.  Went to a concert on the beach in Port Washington, and then to the beach proper -though I spend my time there under the beach brolly since I'm not supposed to get my skin in the sun. I enjoy it just the same -well, not really since I am a sun-worshiper as bad as I know that is for the skin. But the brolly is the next best thing and at least I can be at the beach.  Mind you, I also wear 70 SPF block -I think that stuff would stop a missile.

Monday rolls around and I can't seem to be warm, even in the sun, Tuesday same thing going on. I had an injection on the 26th that can have flu-like symptoms, the chills being one of them, and that's what I had.  Tuesday evening Sue tells me I'm hot (I thought I already knew that), but alas, she meant the other kind.  Sure enough I was running a fairly high fever, for a chemo patient.  I called Sloan and spoke with the on-call doctor who tells me to go straight to the emergency room.  What?

So, off Sue and I dutifully go to the emergency room as directed, where they give me a blood test and once they have the results, they admit me.  And today, Sunday afternoon 5 days later, I finally get back home.

I had a condition called neutropenia and I had a neutropenic fever, caused by an extremely low white blood cell count -due to the chemo.  Plus, the chemo had wiped out most of my blood platelets.  With the two conditions combined, they said I was not in good condition and could not be anywhere other than in a hospital bed.  So that's where I spent my last week being dosed up with yet another set of drugs.  Brilliant!  Just what I needed and, funnily enough, just what the doctor ordered.

Thing was I felt fine.  No horrible shakes or anything else.  Maybe I felt a little under the weather, but it really was minor.  But I had to stay there untill all my levels came back towards their respective ranges.  Mind you, nothing has hit the minimum level yet, but they are all heading in the right direction.  On Friday I was scheduled for a platelet transfusion but my level started to come back and they decided to see how I did on my own and decide on Saturday. The transfusion never happened.  For the first few days all the hospital staff used masks in my room -makes you feel like the unwashed. Though actually, of course, it was for my benefit since I had no natural protection of my own.  Plus, visitors were very limited for the same reason.

So, what next?  Well, I had my second round of chemo scheduled to start this coming week, but I think they will move if forward one week to give the ol' bod time to recover a bit more.  Now my whole schedule for chemo and surgery will be delayed one week.  Could be worse I suppose.

I'm rather hoping this coming week will be totally uneventfull. Will see.

Be well you all,
Chris