17 October 2023
I got out of bed around 4:30 am for an 8:45 am appointment at the cancer center. I felt pretty good and thought about calling Joel around 6 am to tell him I was in good enough shape to drive myself but around 5:30 I started to feel worse. I’m glad I didn’t cancel Joel.
As it was, he had a hard time getting to the house because of a wreck on Davie Blvd. and we had a devil of a time finding a route out of the neighborhood because of all the diverted traffic. We finally made it to the cancer center with minutes to spar.
The good news is it was a crisp 58°F this morning with virtually no humidity. Of course, I’ll be stuck inside all day and will only get to enjoy it later in the afternoon.
Pat is my nurse again. She’s stuck with me. We actually have a good bit of fun bantering back forth. She quickly drew blood for analysis and has already hooked me up to saline and magnesium and it’s only 9:21 am. I might actually get out of here by 1 pm today! She also brought me an extra blanket to cover my chest area. I had meant to bring my new pair of gloves for my cold fingers but left them at home. The heated blanket helped and I just keep my hands in my jeans pocket.
9:37 am
CBC with Auto Differential arrived and my white blood cell count was back to normal. The red blood cell, hemoglobin and hematocrit were, was usual, all low. The neutrophils relative was high but everything else was normal which is definitely unusual considering how I’ve felt over the last week. Maybe it’s all in my mind.
10:25 am
The Complete Metabolic Panel came back with low sodium, high glucose and low protein. Magnesium was low also so I’ll get the full 50 ml again.
Today is the last Taxol treatment. Next Tuesday I meet with Dr. Velez and on November 7th, I have a Herceptin treatment and then every three weeks after that to make up either 12 or 13 sessions, depending on how Dr. Velez counts it.
In talking with Pat, everything should be much faster on November 7th. I will not be getting any more Dexamethasone or Benadryl – just straight Hercptin (and probably saline. That’s a relief even though I’ll miss the effect Benadryl has on me. I start floating every time it’s injected.
11:15 am
Started the Taxol drip. It’ll be at least an hour and then I need to finish the saline and magnesium drips. I’ll probably be let go sometime after 1 pm.
Stay tuned!
