15 September 2023
Yesterday, I had one bowel movement with semisolid stool. Then at 3:30 this morning, I had a second. I thought everything was in hand and I had turned a corner. Then at 7 am I had an episode of diarrhea and it’s pretty much wiped me out (no pun intended). I haven’t gone for my morning walk, plan no yoga stretches and no swimming. In part, that’s because I’m expecting an Apple delivery between 9 am and 12:30 pm but the diarrhea just saps me. I guess it’s perfect timing for the hydration therapy this afternoon at 1:30 pm.
Yesterday was a good day even if I did suffer a little buyers remorse from all the electronics I purchased. I’ve always had a touch of that any time I make a big purchase but it soon goes away.
Holley and Jim invited me, Chris and Jude to the Marlin Bar at Islamorada Fish Company off Griffin Road. It’s found in the Outdoor World facility.
Jim kept trying to get me to take my photograph in the jaws of the shark. It is a popular tourist photo op. The Marlin Bar is quite nice and they have a great happy hour with $8 cocktails and a pretty decent happy hour food menu. We ordered way too much food. I had the coconut chicken and a California roll. Both were pretty much entire meals by themselves. We shared appetizers and great conversation. This group is a lot of fun and the conversation never lags. All of us have taught at one time or another at Broward College and so we certainly have some life experiences in common.
Holley and Jim dropped me off at the house and I was pretty wasted so I popped a Xanax and headed to bed. I still waked at 3:30 am but after the potty break I immediately went back to sleep until my alarm went off at 6 am.
Did you ever read encyclopedias for fun? I loved doing that as a kid. My first exposure to anything like an encyclopedia was the Childcraft set of books. On rainy days, I used to pore through the 15 volumes and it was where I was first introduced to the famous composers like Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, etc. as well as the animal and plant kingdoms. What little I know about art came from the same series.
Later, my parents bought a set of Encyclopedia Britanica and I steadily worked my way through the alphabet with them. They say as you get older, you revert to your childhood, so now I’m working my way through Larousse Gastronomique. It just might outlast me even though it’s a single volume. The big difference is I could read the other encyclopedias in dim light and not squint. Now I need bright lights and a magnifying glass to read the print.
UPS insisted they would deliver my iPad today before 12:30 pm. If that had happened, I would have been home to receive it. I think they stopped for lunch since the delivery van was at the same address for over an hour. I asked the neighbor next door to watch for the delivery and then take it into her house. I’ve never had anything stolen from the front porch but there’s no reason to take a chance with something that expensive.
I arrived at the cancer center at my scheduled time (1:15 pm) and was called back for the infusion shortly after 1:30 pm. Kenyda is my nurse today and she has parents that teach Anatomy and Physiology on south campus of Broward College. She’s also going to eventually go for her masters.
She flushed the port, took blood samples, and now we’re waiting on the blood tests to come back. I predict magnesium and saline but the blood test will tell. I’ve had two episodes of diarrhea today and feel lousy and have low energy. That makes sense since it is day four since the Taxol/Herceptin infusion. Nurses usually tell you it’s day three that is rough but for me it’s always been day four.
2:16 pm
The CBC with Auto Differential just came back. My white blood cell count is normal for the first time. The red blood cell count is low (anemic) and well as hemoglobin and hematocrit. Neutrophils relative is high (body under stress) and lymphocytes relative is low (higher risk of infection). Monocytes relative is low and lymphocytes absolute is low (possible infection) along with monocytes absolute (more susceptible to infection).
2:38 pm
I just got hooked up to the saline and magnesium. The saline should take 2 hours and the magnesium can run at the same time so it should finish first. That puts me out of here around 4-5 pm. Trust me when I say I’m stopping at Winn-Dixie on the way home for a couple of bags of Tootsie Roll Miniatures!
3:06 pm
The comprehensive metabolic panel came back with low sodium (135 with normal range of 136-145) and high glucose (294). Magnesium was 1.5 with a normal range of 1.9-2.7).
The dietician stopped by and had a chat and after her questioning, she seems satisfied with what I’m trying to do diet wise to help prevent diarrhea. She did give me a recipe for “magic” broth that is supposed to help replace electrolytes. Not only did she give me the recipe, she gave me kelp strips needed for the recipe. She said coconut water is excellent for electrolyte replacement. I like coconut but am not a fan of coconut water. I may pick up a couple of bottles anyway.
Now it’s just a waiting game to get the infusion over with in between numerous trips to the bathroom to pee.
3:40 pm
The magnesium drip finished. Now only waiting on the saline to wind up.
I ‘found a fourth bathroom! I’m getting used to this place. Looks like I’ll be through by around 5 pm. I’ll stop at Walgreens to pick up a prescription and then head to Winn-Dixie.
Stay tuned!
