2 Weeks and 2 Days Later…
Don’t worry, I’m feeling pretty good.
I still need naps. I’m on a strong course of antibiotics and so far, no side effects. I had a blood test and a CT scan on Wednesday and the news was good on all counts. My white blood cell count is still too low but has significantly recovered since quitting the chemo a month ago. Platelet count is up too. Equally good news is that my tumor seems to be on hiatus, with my CA19-9 numbers continuing to fall and no change in size in the CT scan.
It seems like I got sick and recovered just in time. If I’d gone to an emergency room today with the rigors I had 2 weeks ago I might not have gotten treated in the ER or admitted for the follow up work. True, I didn’t need breathing assistance but my care required doctors, nurses and medical assistants who are now working their asses off with the COVID-19 cases. It’s all hands on deck for them now.
Melissa feels the same way about her hip replacement. Just in time. Many hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries now. While a hip replacement is considered medically necessary it is not an emergency, so probably wouldn’t get through the kind of triage criteria they’ve had to start using in Italy. She would have been told to wait another couple of months. Whew, just in time.
We’re doing fine here at home laying low. We’d already stocked up on a lot of staples after I got out of the hospital, because I needed to isolate even without the COVID-19 outbreak. In the last week Melissa has been hitting stores to fill in the gaps. I already work from home so that was easy. There’s lots of space outside so walking the dogs is not a problem. I think we’re good here for another 2 months if need be.
I have another set of appointments on March 25. We’ll see whether the recovery trends are still happening. There was even mention about possibly going back on the chemo since I’ve been bouncing back stronger than my docs had expected. I’m beginning to tire of chemo. The long term effects are starting to show up, beginning with that low white blood cell count. Oh well, all I can do is eat well, sleep when tired, and stay happy so my immune system recovers well enough to deal.
March 15, 2020 @ 11:17 pm
Awesome to read your update. Glad for the good news. Here’s a virtual wave from camp Bellingham where we are also fully embedded!
March 16, 2020 @ 6:02 am
I’m glad to hear it. I figure if any of my friends know how to hunker down it’s you! I miss you guys so much. Someday we’ll get together again, someday!!!!
March 16, 2020 @ 2:48 am
So glad to hear from you. Sounds like you’ve got everything under control and are doing well. I agree, yours and Melissa’s hospitalizations couldn’t have happened at a better time. Things here are trying up with the virus. Our state has joined the emergency status, so pretty much everything is closed or closing. Only essential stores like grocery and pharmacy. We went hiking in our local state park yesterday, but they will close tomorrow. Mark is being cautious but is not too worried. He says adults fare better without a spleen than children. We have always had a fully stocked larder and supplemented last week. We’re also good for a couple of months. May have to get more toilet paper, though…..Sam and Kaylie are doing fine as well. It’s definitely a comfort having them close by. Never having experienced anything like this before, I’m having trouble wrapping my head around all this uncertainty. I like to have things neatly packaged. Mark and I were supposed to meet with friends in Chicago in two weeks. Looks like we’re going to cancel. We also have tickets and hotel for Portland, Maine at the end of April and not sure about that. Our “fuck cancer” and 30 year anniversary trip on the Queen Mary is still scheduled for May 31, but who knows what will happen with that. Basically, we’re just being inconvenienced and hopefully that’s all it will be. So, I’m keeping busy looking after the dog, working on my fibers, reading and walking. Now if I can only conquer my anxiety over uncertainty. Now there’s something for me to occupy my time—meditate! Ohm, ohm. Take care and know I’m thinking about you ❤️.
March 16, 2020 @ 6:00 am
Glad to hear you’re in place and under shelter! Get used to ambiguity because we’re heading to a long run of it. As a society we’re just getting the first glimpses of our world running smack up into reality. Our assumptions of a stable and orderly society cannot be supported with the civil system that we’ve made for ourselves over the past 40 years since Reagan. We’re more like a bipolar society, fighting something inside ourselves that we can’t seem to control…and right now the crazy side is steering.
March 19, 2020 @ 4:02 pm
This is terrific news! I’m so glad you’re better, and also that the timing worked out for the both of you, Coronavirus-wise.
Mom (92) went into the hospital with pneumonia on the 9th and 6 days later they locked us out as visitors. So there she is and here we are.
Stay positive and we’ll see you on the other side of the flattened curve!
March 19, 2020 @ 8:19 pm
Oh gee, my best wishes to her and yours!
My mom is sequestered too, out in NJ. I can’t even call her since she pretty much stopped using the phone a couple of years ago. My youngest sister lives a couple of miles away and has become our surrogate switch board. She’d walk in and arrange for us to talk over her phone. Since the quarantines none of us have been able to get through. Ah well, we can only hope for the best across the board.