Posted by Becky
We had a good Christmas, though geographically circumscribed by the 4 walls of DHMC. My parents flew up from Texas, so we got to see them over the last few days. They had to leave a bit earlier than planned, switching to an earlier flight before an approaching snowtorm hits Boston. The hospital kitchen made a not-at-all-bad Christmas dinner for patients and their guests, so we had roast beef and pumpkin Bundt cake. More importantly, we talked with a good number of friends and family on the phone. On Christmas Day, Leif got a small refrigerator delivered to his room; the hospital has a few dorm-size fridges that are available to patients who request them. This should make our lives easier. No more scrambles to re-date-label the cheese and half-and-half before the nutrition team throws them away, and Leif can get a midnight yogurt snack without masking up to leave the room. We have a second set of Christmas dinners stashed in the new fridge, made by Prue's friends Richard and Pierre. Those are on the menu for tomorrow's lunch.
Leif's still holding up well; no fever or infection so far. This is Day 10 of this chemo round. He has another dose of Rituxan scheduled on Day 12. Typically on this regimen, patients' blood counts start coming up around Day 21. However, Leif's blood counts have not come up as quickly as the average patient's. All of which is to say, these are still early days for this chemo round, but so far, so good.
He did get a unit of blood this morning. Since his spleen soaks up the blood products they give him, rather than giving red blood cells based on his hemoglobin numbers, they're going to give them based on his symptoms. They will still give platelets based on his numbers. This morning he felt extra tired and had a slight headache, which the blood transfusion dispelled. So now he knows what symptoms to check for. His fatigue is increasing on a daily basis, which is to be expected. He took a decent walk just now, which is the best way he has found to combat the feelings of fatigue and general crappiness that accompany chemotherapy.
We had a good Christmas, though geographically circumscribed by the 4 walls of DHMC. My parents flew up from Texas, so we got to see them over the last few days. They had to leave a bit earlier than planned, switching to an earlier flight before an approaching snowtorm hits Boston. The hospital kitchen made a not-at-all-bad Christmas dinner for patients and their guests, so we had roast beef and pumpkin Bundt cake. More importantly, we talked with a good number of friends and family on the phone. On Christmas Day, Leif got a small refrigerator delivered to his room; the hospital has a few dorm-size fridges that are available to patients who request them. This should make our lives easier. No more scrambles to re-date-label the cheese and half-and-half before the nutrition team throws them away, and Leif can get a midnight yogurt snack without masking up to leave the room. We have a second set of Christmas dinners stashed in the new fridge, made by Prue's friends Richard and Pierre. Those are on the menu for tomorrow's lunch.
Leif's still holding up well; no fever or infection so far. This is Day 10 of this chemo round. He has another dose of Rituxan scheduled on Day 12. Typically on this regimen, patients' blood counts start coming up around Day 21. However, Leif's blood counts have not come up as quickly as the average patient's. All of which is to say, these are still early days for this chemo round, but so far, so good.
He did get a unit of blood this morning. Since his spleen soaks up the blood products they give him, rather than giving red blood cells based on his hemoglobin numbers, they're going to give them based on his symptoms. They will still give platelets based on his numbers. This morning he felt extra tired and had a slight headache, which the blood transfusion dispelled. So now he knows what symptoms to check for. His fatigue is increasing on a daily basis, which is to be expected. He took a decent walk just now, which is the best way he has found to combat the feelings of fatigue and general crappiness that accompany chemotherapy.
Day 10 of 100 is just like day 1 of 10, if by 'day' I mean '10 days'! But still, 1/10 is a fine milestone!
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Mike