Plague part two

2/22/07 Day 43

Bad news everybody. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and I'm completely congested. I'll be doing a nasal saline expression later. Those who have been keeping up with the blog remember that I've done this once before. They spray a shot of saline up a single nostril and make you blow it back out into a cup. Very pleasant. I don't know why people don't request this every time they go to the doctor. The funny thing about the test is that while they're shooting saline up your nose with a syringe they're telling you not to swallow. The first time I went through this test, I thought, "As if I would swallow this cold salty liquid mixing with my own snot." Turns out, your natural instinct is to swallow as soon as the syringe is depressed. Just a word of warning if you ever have to do one.

Although I've been through this round of chemo drugs before, I can honestly say that I'm feeling the effects a bit more strongly. I don't know if it's because I was feeling so well going in this time compared to the first time. I've started throwing up during treatment, which I didn't do the first time. Not fun. Maybe this means I won't throw up after treatment like I did the first time. The nursing and support staff are really nice. I don't get woken up as much during the night which is really nice. I usually get about three hours of sleep at a time before someone comes in to change my IV or draw blood. Early morning blood draws are interesting to say the least.

Chris looks a lot better today. He couldn't come yesterday because of his illness. He's taking precautions so that he doesn't make me worse. I keep telling him that it looks like I already have what he has, but he doesn't want to take a chance. It's hard being apart, but we're dealing with it.

A bit of happy news. I got a surprise care package on Monday. Our friend Dawn sent us a king cake from Gambinos. We ate half of it in a sitting before we realized that we hadn't taken a picture. Big thank you to Dawn--I put on three pounds :). Another big thank you to Susan and Fred, the lotion and lip balm were a godsend. I don't look like an orange crocodile anymore--and we finished the cake the same day--you probably were part of the three pound gain.

Had a call from Laren in New York today. She sounds happy and busy. I still think she, Tina, and Caroline need to hook up.

Really good news. I got the results of my lumbar puncture back and it was good. No sign of spinal or brain involvement. My platelet count jumped to 85 thousand on its own, which means if I'm cut, I can clot reasonably well. Not as well as you guys, but I don't have to worry about bleeding to death from a scratch. As my chemo progresses and even after, my counts will start to drop. This is to be expected since it means that the chemo is doing what it is supposed to.

I still haven't received my Luperon shot, but I'll ask about it later. I'll keep you posted. Chris is off to lunch, since we can't eat in the same room right now. I'm waiting for my lunch--grilled cheese and french fries. My appetite is non-existent, but I know I have to eat if I'm going to get out of here and back to harassing you guys!