Today was a Dr. visit to see how things are progressing. It happens to be one day before my next Chemo treatment, and I expected to have had a CT Scan before the appointment. I had noted this with the scheduling folks when I received a reminder of the Dr. Jonker appointment. They told me that the CT was scheduled for Oct. I found out today that it should have been done in early September so the Dr. could see the results and share them with me. Well that did not happen. So, I will be returning in three weeks for another Dr. visit after a CT Scan.
Before I get to the current situation, I should catch you up as it has been a while since I have addressed this blog. This period in my life seems to be busier than any other period that I recall. All aspects of my life seem to be racing forward with or without direction and my days are full of many diverse activities and responsibilities. I am not complaining as I like to be busy but some days I just need to slow down and smell the roses, as they say. There doesn’t seem to be enough time to just slow down.
Regardless, I had two sessions of Chemo since the last post. The 12th session was on August 3 and the last session (13) was on September 3. Both sessions were executed without fanfare or issues. There was a bit of an issue on session 13 as my WBC count was just below the acceptable level. I asked the nurse to advise the Dr. that I wanted to proceed as we were only just below the “go” level. He agreed and the session proceeded as planned. In terms of reactions to the sessions I was subjected to the normal listlessness, malaise, fatigue, nausea and the bowel taking control of my life for a couple of days. The latter is the most disconcerting as it appears that the colon surgery a few years back removed some of the “early warning system” built into our bodies. By that I mean when it is time – it is time! As a result, I like to stay close to home or at a minimum, know where the public facilities are wherever I am going that day. I think I can write a book about the “Toilets of Ottawa” as I have visited many over the years.
All in, the cycles are consistent with malaise for two days accompanied by constipation and lack of appetite. On the third day I remove the bottle and that seems to signal the arrival of diarrhea sessions for the next couple of days which are followed by days of increased well being. I take some stomach needles on day 4 through 7 to increase my WBC production. By day 7 I am pretty good and my regular eating and drinking habits take over. That leaves me week 2 and 3 to enjoy a more normal existence.
Other than Chemo, I have been busy with Lightning Tree Consulting activities as well as regularly scheduled WestJet shifts and anticipating the arrival and preparing for the start of the boat season. WestJet shifts are 3 days a week right now and they start at either 4:30 am or some other godforsaken time. That means I leave Lake Bernard sometime around 3:00 am. Early morning shifts are to my liking as I need daylight for most other things that I do. The boats started to be available for winterizing in early September and we are keeping pace with the demand. We will only be taking in 25 boats this year as we now know that more than that is a little stressful.
This morning I had my regular blood tests again in preparation for the session tomorrow. The Dr. just informed me that my WBC count was too low to proceed. That was a red flag for me as my three-week cycle is now at risk. If I delay one week now, then all other sessions are delayed by a week. That change would conflict with a vacation in November and Christmas and our planned vacation in January. I asked the Dr. what the issue is of going forward with low WBCs. He told me it could lead to an infection which is hard to control and sometimes leads to death. Well that got my attention. In the end we agreed to delay one week and then do my next session in 2 weeks instead of 3 weeks. That was an agreeable compromise and he decided to increase my stomach shots from 3 days to 5 days after bottle removal. Some patients do up to 10 shots between sessions. Not my idea of fun I assure you.
This was meant to be a quick update to you folks as I have not been able to get to the blog for some time now. I will update again once we get session 14 out of the way and plan for session 15.
Thank you for your interest and as ever, if you have questions or comments, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Be well ……
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