Thursday, May 5, 2016

Back on Chemo

We are now at Dana Farber waiting. One of the machines in the lab is broken and it is taking many hours to get lab results. Usually the results come back quickly, but today it is taking 3 or 4 hours minimum.

It is Thursday - my fourth visit here this week. Sunday, they told me to go to the ER because of a swelling in my left arm. Turns out this was caused by a blood clot that was caused by the PICC line that had been removed a week before. The PICC line was there so that I could give myself an antibiotic which I needed because I had a bacterial infection. This  (as faithful readers will recall) was the reason I was in the hospital for 8 days a while back. One thing leads to another.

Anyway, I am now injecting myself daily with Lovenox to  dissolve the clot.

Tuesday, I came in for chemo but flunked one of my tests. My white blood cell count was low. They told me to start injecting myself with neupogen. Which required a prior authorization from the insurance company which was going to take a while. They finally got it yesterday, so I had to drive in Dana Farber to get the prescription.  One thing leads to another.

The original plan had been for me to re-start chemo last week, but they decided to delay it by a week. But since I was there, they decided to give me some Zometa plus Saline - which is supposed to heal my bones. Unfortunately, the IV that they had put in that morning was no longer working - probably because I had pulled it most of the way out while reaching into my pocket for something. It took them three more tries to insert an IV line that worked. Barbara was afraid that when they started the saline, it would start squirting out through all the extra IV holes and that I would look like a lawn sprinkler. She wanted to get me a turn-table so that they could spin me around while the saline was squirting out.

Well, it is 4:00 PM and I have just been told that the orders for my treatment are in. Hooray. My white blood count is 10 times higher than it had to be and actually above the typical range. I guess I nailed that one.

This leaves only one remaining issue. I am supposed to get a shot of Velcade in my belly. When I get home, I am supposed to give myself a shot of Lovenox - in my belly.Yesterday, I was taking the Neupogen again in the belly. But here is the problem. Every shot is supposed to go into a different spot. There is only one solution. I need to work to increase the size of my belly. So tonight, when I am contemplating dessert, I will have to force myself to choose the most fattening one. What choice do I have? Dessert is now a medical necessity.