28 November 2023
Whether it was the prednisone or the sore back, I got all of one hour of sleep last night. For the back, I alternated between an ice pack and a heating pad. Nothing worked. I took 1/2 tab of cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxant) and it did no good. The first time I took a whole tab of that it knocked me out for an entire day. Then in the early morning, diarrhea hit – three times. That’s the first in quite a while. Wade slept through it all. He later told me it was the best night of sleep he’s had since he’s been here.
Barbara picked him up at 6 am this morning and we all said goodbyes. He stops in Denver and is hoping he’s not stranded. He later texted me it was 40°F and snow on the ground.
I took an Uber to the cancer center and made it with plenty of time to spare. Sean, the driver, was talkative and he could relate to me since his mother was a survivor of stage 4 lung cancer.
Pat was my nurse again (hurrah!) and I asked if she could give me a fix of saline in addition to the Herceptin and Magnesium. She did! I started to feel better immediately.
Strangely, my blood work was pretty good. My white blood cell count was even normal (and has been since I stopped Taxol). Of course, my Magnesium was low and I needed that drip added. Otherwise, there was nothing in the blood work that would lead you to believe I felt like crap.
Earlier, I texted Dr. Jellinger my vitals: BP 148/91 (the monitor asked if I was sure), Pulse 98, Temp 97.9, Glucose 211, and Oxygen 98. He later texted me to have nurse or physician to check pre- and post infusion. Pre-infusion the BP was 126/76 and post-infusion it was 135/71. I suspect he was concerned with the morning reading I did at the house.
I sent for an Uber around 12:30 pm and it was just arriving to drop a fare off at Holy Cross. Pedro was his name and he didn’t speak much English. You are given a PIN code on your phone and he has to type that in to confirm the ride. I had to give him the numbers in Spanish. He drove very fast and moved into the lane and then signaled his move. He didn’t follow the map and when I told him which exit, he merrily sailed past my exit and headed to the Fort Lauderdale International Airport where we got tied up with semis lined up to get into Port Everglades. I still gave him a 4 star rating and tipped him.
I’m slowly putting the house back together after Thanksgiving and Wade’s visit. It didn’t seem like he was here for a week. Time really flew!
Since I’ve been hydrated, I hope to be able to drive to my two appointments tomorrow: Amy Sear for acupuncture and Dr. Dunhill for wellness check.
I still stagger around like a drunken sailor (which I was at one point in time) due to the neuropathy. It also feels like I am wearing wooden clogs when I walk. At least I have the energy to put a load of clothes in the washer. I suspect I’ll go to bed early tonight. Apparently, I dozed off in the infusion chair today which is pretty hard to do with all the activity around you.
Stay tuned!