A day off?

As opposed to previous days this week, today feels like a new paradigm. We only need to make one trip to a clinic today. At 4:30, I am scheduled for my next chemo injections. I don't even need to get lab work done today. We feel almost lost about what to do with the extra time. 

So, here's the story. Tuesday morning we went to the lab to check on my uric  acid level. The venetoclax medication has a tendency to elevate uric acid counts in the blood. This is a problem because too much uric acid tends to crystalize, and among other things, like gout, it can cause kidney problems if crystals form in that delicate organ. 

We also had an appointment at 4:30pm for injections, but Monday's labs showed my platelets had dropped again. So, my 4:30pm appointment for Tuesday was rescheduled to 7:30AM, so that I could receive a platelet transfusion as well as the chemo injections. That same day, my dose of venetoclax was doubled, which of course means more uric acid worries. So, it was back to the lab in the afternoon. 

I am grateful to say that, in spite of the increased dose of venetoclax, my uric acid level remained stable. This was a very good thing, because according to the protocol for this form of chemotherapy, they needed to double my dose again. No problem for me; it just means taking more pills. I've become an expert at taking pills! 

Yesterday I had a followup appointment with the ophthalmologist regarding the recent surgeries I had to repair my corneas that were damaged by the chemotherapy I had last year. The good news is that they are both healing very nicely. What that means is that, although I am having chemotherapy again, it is not a contraindication for having the cataract surgery that I have been looking forward to in September. 

The afternoon brought another lab visit. Lab visits involve a trip to North Lancaster Medical Office. But because I had taken my pills fairly early, I needed to have labs done around 2:30pm. That meant two hours between labs and injections. Never at a loss for workarounds, Jill suggested we do some grocery shopping between appointments, rather than return to Dallas and then turn right around to drive to Skyline Medical office. Good idea, said I. 

Now grocery shopping should be a routine task, right? Well, we went to a Roth's Market. Among other things, we were looking for something that Jill has found handy. It's simply a bag of cut up, fresh veggies that can be slipped into the microwave and cook up in a couple of minutes. Roth's, we were told, doesn't carry such a product. Poor Jill, who has been sleeping poorly and dealing with more stress than I think she wants to admit, had a bit of a meltdown. We paid for a couple of other items we had in the cart and left. 

So, off to Walmart to try again. Now the closest Walmart to the clinic is, we learned, not a Super Walmart. Not only does it not have a veggie department, but the couple of shelves in the cooler that did have any type of veggies were mainly empty. We put the cart back and left. I suggested we go to Winco, a couple of blocks down the street. There we scored everything left on our list, including the veggies that started the whole adventure. 

Jill began to relax at that point, and as providence would have it, we arrived at Skyline right on schedule. Our visit to the infusion center involved simply receiving my three little shots, and we were headed home. A trying day, I'm afraid. 

This morning, Suzanne called from Dr. Waugh's office. She said my labs all look good, and since I already have an appointment for a potential transfusion tomorrow, there is no need for labs today. I have to have labs in the morning anyway, and that will indicate whether I need a transfusion and also whether I am doing OK with the chemo meds. So, today, we have but one trip to make, and that is for my injections at 4:30. 

And so, it's like having an unexpected day off! Nothing we have to do until then. We are enjoying a lovely morning together. We sat on the sunny front porch and sipped some coffee. Then we went for our daily walk around the neighborhood. A friend called, who was not aware of my relapse. We chatted for a while, and then he prayed with me. And now I have time to update the blog. 

The one downer this week is that our recently widowed neighbor had a serious mishap yesterday. She is a tiny little lady whose primary companion these days is her German Shepherd. She was walking Mimi, when Mimi spotted a dog she didn't like and took off after it. Joan was dragged to the ground, which apparently broke a couple of bones, as well as cutting her face and one hand. If you are a praying person, please add Joan to your prayer list. 

We are so grateful for our neighbors, all of whom are concerned about Joan and will pitch in as needed. They have been a godsend for me and Jill as well. This is a neighborhood like none other we have lived in. It is the way neighborhoods should be. We give God the glory for that. When we moved here three years ago, we were convinced that God had orchestrated the whole thing. How else could it all have gone so smoothly? We didn't know, of course, why He wanted us here. Now we believe it was so that we would have neighbors to minister to us as well as giving us an opportunity to minister to them. 

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”