Paused Infusion

So, yesterday was a surprise! Well, not really, in retrospect. I went to my regular Monday appointment for an infusion of chemotherapy, weighed in, and nestled in my regular recliner. I was okay with seeing that my weight was down because sometimes with chemo your weight can increase ten or eleven pounds in a day. That happened to me last week and it was a tad scary. On my scale, I weighed 161 lbs. on Wednesday when normally I am 150 lbs. Then yesterday, I was 149. That's a 'go figure'!

To continue yesterday's story, I have to confess that I about crawled into the oncology suite. To interpret that...I was so terribly weak that I could barely stand. All week I was plagued with that lack of strength, and it was really bad yesterday morning. My husband dropped me off at the Roswell Clinic in Williamsville, went home, and I walked in - leaning against the wall the whole way. I couldn't stand up straight.

Now that hall is LONG. It goes on forever, and when you're feeling like you would rather crawl on your hands and knees, it is doubly L O N G. Well, I checked in and did the weigh in. Then they took my blood, using the mediport, which is a wonderful addition to my body for things like giving blood and accepting chemo.

The blood test bottomed out, which is a kind way of saying that my white blood cell count was a fraction of what it should be. So they told me I had to go home and regroup. Because of the low blood count, I didn't qualify for an infusion. Darn. Darn. Darn. Gladly, they gave me a shot of a miracle drug to make my bone marrow create beautiful white blood cells. I had to go home and let that drug work its miracles.

My husband was of course surprised when I called for a ride right after he had dropped me off but not really, because he knew I had felt weak since the previous Monday. I truly slept most of the week away - when I wasn't teaching - and didn't care much whether I sewed or not. For that reason, he knew something was amiss!

Well, home I went and sleep I did for the entire day. You know that sleeping thing can get embarrassing after a while. I have a tendency to look like 'ma in her cap' who just doesn't have enough energy to muster Christmas this year!

Today is Tuesday and so I return to the clinic for an 11:00 a.m. infusion appointment and hope it will be successful. I don't want to get behind on these infusions or I will miss spring too! Thankfully, I am stronger today. Yeah! I even feel like eating breakfast for a change. 

I write these musings of mine to help everyone grasp the ups and downs of chemo. And if you are going through chemo, these infusion pauses can happen. I guess it's no big deal because the nurses are making sure we are safe. We don't have to be scared when a pause happens. They just do, and the nurses take really good care of us because they WANT us to be able to handle whatever they dish out - which of course is tweaked in a recipe, especially for our individual needs... and that is just amazing.

Please pray for me this morning. I am doing the same. At least one success I anticipate...I will stand up straight and walk down the long hall to the oncology suite today because I feel stronger...thanks to a miracle drug and a wonderful backup support at the Williamsville Roswell Oncology Clinic.