Day 6

It's hard to keep track of the days, I had to go back and recount but tomorrow is Wed and we did come on Thursday so I guess that's right. All I can say at this point is, it's a struggle. I had my first day of collection but it wasn't enough, I will definately have to do it tomorrow and possibly Thursday, even though my white count is extremely high, it wasn't good enough. So it was back to the hospital tonight for another super shot, tomorrow morning for the 2 regular shots and collect for another 4 1/2 hours.

I have so much bone and muscle pain because the shots stimulate my body to produce way more white blood cells than it ever would so it's hard on my hips to sit for long periods and I was in a chair the whole time. By the last hour I was ready to call it quits but I couldn't. Tomorrow they said I could try the bed, at least I could roll from side to side and maybe alleviate some of the pain of being in one spot. 

Everyone in the apherisis room is so nice and conscientious but I finally kept my eyes closed or they would be there, johnny on the spot, asking if I needed anything. I shouldn't say this but it got annoying, but you won't tell anyone will you? Becky chronicled the event with pictures on her cell phone but I can't figure out how to upload them to the blog. And she, who says she faints at the sight of blood, even took pictures of the bag.

Stacy was down twice to see how things were going and Dr. Lunning ordered some more drugs, hoping to help me sleep, it doesn't help that I feel exhausted most of the time. I had the same nurse both nights for shots, Rosanne, I should have asked if it was her birthday like my sister, Rosanne. I asked her how I would survive going from this run down and then into 6 days of chemo and she said that patients tell her the apherisis collection is the worst because they are pushing, pushing. I hope she is right.

My sister, Sara, asked about the cleanliness issue when they had told me if I felt good I could go out and about. Mostly that lies with me, wash, wash, wash your hands, wear gloves whenever possible and if I rub my eye or mouth, ditch them and put on a clean pair. Chose wisely where you go out to eat, stay away from salad bars because you don't know how long the food has been there. If you go in a restaurant bathroom and it's out of soap, leave, that means there was no soap for the employees who are required to wash they hands before returning to work. Don't eat deli sandwiches, for the reason above but they encourage you to go out to eat just for a change of pace.

The most obvious is not to be around sick people and I know that everyone understands that. The nurse giving the basic care class asked if we had pets and I said yes, she said I could keep them but Bruce will be on litter box duty for the next 6 months or so.

She said I could keep any children also, that was very comforting but scary, not knowing where I would get any.

Here's to relief from drugs and a good nights sleep.