C-c-c-old

I just about froze to death at dialysis today. I went for the full three hours and then I got two units of blood after. Every other clinic or treatment center I've been at has always made it a priority that the patients be comfortable. That's not the case here. They don't have blankets or anything to keep you warm. They're all about getting you hooked up and getting you out - an overabundance of efficiency.
The other odd thing I noticed today was the racial makeup. I am the only white person in the room for the duration of my treatment. Everyone else is black.

Another day

Jon helped me get to the Mt. Zion clinic for some platelets yesterday. Then we went to the grocery store afterward. I had to get some prune juice. I wonder why they don't call it plum juice? You surely can't get much juice out of prunes. I've been having a terrible time with constipation and diarrhea. I'm either totally blocked or totally explosive.
I'm just staying in and doing nothing today.

Friday

Friday I had a dialysis appointment and an appointment at the clinic to get some platelts. I was so tired and dizzy I had to call the clinic to let them know I couldn't get there. I rescheduled to go into Mt Zion Saturday and Jon is going to help me out.

Well, rats!

I had torn a shoulder muscle a few weeks back. It was slowly getting better and was almost completely healed. Then last night I re-injured it getting out of bed. It sure hurts but I have some oxycontin so at least I'm comfortable.
No appointments today so I'm taking it easy.

dialysis

I had my first dialysis this morning. It was at 5:30 AM, which is too early to do anything. It was only a 90-minute session. The nurse, Mabel, was really nice but she talked really fast and it's hard to listen to a fast-talker early in the morning like that. Anyway, I believe I feel a small bit better. I have a day off tomorrow - no clinic, no dialysis, no nothing. Then I go back into the clinic at 2 on Friday. My next dialysis is Friday morning. I'll go for two hours, then next Monday, I'll do the full, three-hour session.

Nothing today

I went in and had some lab work done today but that was it. I am set up to go to dialysis in the morning at 5:30. I'll have appointments every Mon, Wed and Fri. They're going to start slow so tomorrow will only be 90 minutes or so and will work up to be 3 hours by next Monday.

Monday

Today I just got some platelets and had my Tessio catheter flushed. Dialysis is definitely going to happen - I'm just waiting to get an appointment sometime this week. I think that will make me feel better. It seems like EVERYTHING hurts. The worst is my left wrist, which I can barely bend and can't lift any weight. It's also very hard to send text messages. After that, my right shoulder hurts at the muscle I tore and now the shoulder joint has started hurting. My hips and ankles also hurt so walking more than a block or two is out. I think that all my joint problems are caused by a build-up of toxins in my blood and that dialysis will help that.
I saw Dr. Martin again today but just in passing so we didn't talk much. I want to try get get a date for the transplant. My disability runs out May 17 so I need to be ready to go back to work then.

Catch-up

Yesterday I went into Mt Zion for two units of blood. Also, Dennis, my home nurse came by to change the dressing on my picc line. I was so sleepy all day yesterday that I just slept through most all of the four-hour procedure. I should be feeling better today but I'm not really. I have to finish my taxes today and make sure I've exercised enough stock options for the next month or two. I don't know when my disability payments will start arriving but I better be ready for it to take a while.
Also, I have a new nephew Luke Joseph Williams was born this morning, so that's a good thing.

Friday

Today was fluids and platelets. I talked to Dr. Martin for a bit. I ran into him as I was leaving and he wanted to chat some. He isn't too concerned that my counts aren't coming back. He thinks we need to get started on the transplant soon before we lose the window that was created by my last dose of Melphalan. He also says he wants to start me on dialysis next week. I agree with him. I'm having a lot of stiffness and pain in some of my joints so maybe dialysis will help. I go into Mt Zion tomorrow for a couple of units of blood.

Nothing new

I went in and got some fluids and sodium bicarbonate today. They didn't take any labs so I don't know where I stand today. I go in tomorrow at 8 for blood tests, fluids and (probably) platelets.
It's a really nice, sunny day today. I wanted to go for a walk but my hips still ache too much so I sat in the plaza and enjoyed the sun for a bit.

Creatinine

My creatinine is up to 6.6 today. I think maybe I'm going to have to have dialysis soon. I went into the clinic today and got some fluids. I talked to Derek a bit about the pain I'm having in my joints. He also thought maybe it was the Nuelasta taking effect and starting to build white blood cells. In the past the pain was in my bones, not my joints. We'll see if my counts start going up over the next few days.

Night at the LSU

I went into the clinic yesterday afternoon for platelets. After my blood tests came back, they also wanted to give me a couple of units of blood. It was getting too late in the day for them ( the Hemotology / Oncology clinic) to get it done before they closed so they set me up over at the LSU. Since a bed wasn't going to be available until 9, I decided to go ahead and spend the night there. Two units of blood takes about 4 hours to transfuse.
It wasn't as bad as I expected. They had too many lights on but it was quiet. I also had the absolute worst mattress of all time. Most of the hospital mattresses have a pnuematic system that adjusts them to avoid bed sores. I woke up and my mattress was sloping to the right. I'm glad I didn't slide out.

Sunday

I'm a collection of aches and pains today. I hope that means the Nuelasta is working in my marrow to create some white blood cells. Vicodon before bed tonight for sure.

It's Friday

I've been into the clinic every day this week. It sure beats going to the hospital. Today I just got some fluids and sodium bicarbonate to balance out some electrolytes. I'm feeling a little better except I still lose my appetite of an evening. I may try to eat a small can of peaches soon. I'm also very tired. It's still very hard walking over to the pharmacy. That uphill block really slows me down but I think it's important to get the exercise. Also, my shoulder is almost completely healed. I actually slept in my bed last night - I could finally lay down.

More blood for me

I went into the clinic again today. The plan for today was to send me across the street to the LSU (Limited Stay Unit). It's a large, open ward with about 20 beds for patients who will be in for less than 24 hours. I got two units of blood and some fluids. I am getting a lot of blood to support me after this last chemotherapy. I don't know what will happen when I get a larger dose of the chemo for my transplant.
I was pretty tired this morning but I feel a little better now. I haven't been walking much lately - it's just too hard.

a little better

My creatinine has come down some today. I got some more platelets and some more fluids today. I'll go in tomorrow and get some more fluids and a unit or two of blood. My shoulder is starting to feel a little better. Got to get back to work on my taxes.

schedule change

Yesterday at my clinic appointment, we found that my creatinine was getting much higher. Dr. Martin decided I should come in every day for fluids. I'm feeling OK except my shoulder still hurts. Usually, if my creatinine gets this high, I'm back in the hospital and not feeling well at all. I guess I'll keep going in until I get enough fluids to take care of it.

taking it easy

I've been drinking milk shakes and taking it easy. Between the vicodin for my shoulder and the Marinol, I'm not real sharp so I sleep a lot. I had a clinic appointment today. My creatinine is 4.6 or so. Usually when it has gone up that much I'm not feeling well but I feel fine today. At the clinic I got some fluids and some platelets (after I fought my way through the old lady perfume).

A crazy day

Yesterday I woke up with a pain in my shoulder. It got worse as the day wore on and the catheter site started bleeding as well. I was worried that the catheter might be getting infected so I went to the ER about 10 PM. They did some x-rays and ultrasounds and ruled out an infection. They said that it's likely to be a torn muscle or some muscle injury. We're all mystified how it happened, though. They ended up giving me some morphine and sending me home - which was just what I needed. So I'm eating vicodin nowadays.
I had another appointment at the clinic today. I got some fluids and some platelets and that should stop the weeping around my catheter. I'm still very neutropenic so I'm staying in and taking it easy.

This week

This week I have clinic appointments on Mon, Wed and Fri. My Monday appointment went fine. All my numbers are good, except I'm neutropenic (low white blood cell count). Right now the plan is to wait for those numbers to recover and schedule a second bone marrow transplant in about four weeks.