The Phoenix moment

BOX SCORE



Element

Current

Std. Range

Hemoglobin

12.2

13-17

Platelets

29

140-375

ANC

200

1800-8300

Did you ever toss and turn in the night, even though you were dog tired when you went to bed? I sometimes do, and last night was one when I did. There is, of course, always a reason for not sleeping well. In the case of last night, it was multi-factorial. It was not helpful that both of my shoulders have recently been assaulted with vaccine injections; Saturday was Covid19 booster, and yesterday was the annual flu shot. So, both of my shoulders are currently tender...and I'm a side sleeper. I also developed a headache in the middle of the night, just the way I did Saturday night. I conclude that both were associated with the vaccinations. 

Yesterday, I had labs drawn while I was in for my flu shot. Usually, we get the results in just over an hour, but yesterday, after a 2:00 PM draw, they hadn't come in by bedtime. That was discouraging, because I am at the  point in my chemo cycle* called the nadir, when my blood counts tend to bottom out, and they have indeed been like bottom of the barrel since Sunday. So, we were really anxious to know what the trend would be yesterday. 

I realized this morning that my mood is much better, since I received the lab results which show all three of  the counts that appear in the Box Score above to be on the rise. I'm not sure I had put together in my mind before, how much of a stress factor it is for me (and for Jill, too) waiting for the rebound. That's especially true when the counts are near the threshold for a transfusion. Looks like I have dodged that bullet for this cycle. 

Transfusions are not physically hard. The stress comes from not knowing exactly when one may be necessary and whether I will be able to get into the infusion room or have to make another visit to the ER. As you may have gleaned by following this blog, the ER is one of my least favorite places on the planet. 

So, I am up. I have had some coffee (which helps with the headache), and my labs are on the rise. I feel like the fabled Phoenix, rising from it's own ashes. Life is good, and we look forward to more than a week of less stressful living. Yesterday marked 18 days in a row of one or more medical appointments per day; mostly more. The future is always unpredictable, but the outlook is promising for three days off before next week's two blood draws and two ophthalmology follow up appointments.  All of that should mean a sum total of about an hour in the clinic, God willing. On top of everything else, we got nearly half an inch of welcome rain in the last couple of days.

Given our new life vision, as outlined in my last previous post, we are hopeful that we may be able to get out a bit next week, before the next chemo  cycle begins again on the tenth of October. 

 

*I'm thinking of getting a T shirt emblazoned with: 

"Due to AML, I traded in my

 Harley for a Chemo Cycle"


 

 

 

 

 

 

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