Out of the Pit

After a few really low days, I am happy to report that I am slowly making my way up and out of the pit. My fever is gone, my energy is a little higher, and my stomach pain has subsided. I think I can cautiously say that the worst days are over. I am still dealing with a few issues and have a long recovery ahead of me, but I feel a bit of relief at the moment.

 Day +8 (Thurs, Dec. 18) 

White Blood Count....................0.1

Hemoglobin...............................82
Platelets....................................43

Day +8 was "headache day" for some reason. It would come throbbing at full force for awhile, and then subside. Then it would come back... and subside. Lying down helped sometimes, and didn't help sometimes. The nurse gave me codine several times, but it didn't make a huge difference.

My hemoglobin also went down a bit more today which I really noticed when I went to make my bed. I actually got out of breath pulling the sheets up and tucking them in! I felt pretty tired overall, but it was a different kind of tired than the past few days. It was less of all consuming weight on my whole body, and more of... well... my "muscles-aren't-getting-quite-as-much-oxygen-as-they-are-used-to" kind of tired. It's a bit hard to quantify.

My day was a mixture of napping, eating, and short walks. I did a total of 3 km today which was up from 1 km the day before and 0.5 km two days before.

The other thing that started today (actually last night) was... err... well... let's just say the chemo has finally had it's way with my GI tract, and the back door issues have begun. I had to give a sample last night so they can rule out C. difficile and now anytime someone comes in my room they have to wear a gown and gloves. I'm not expecting the sample to be positive but the frequency of which I have to go test the plumbing is annoying. Hopefully that clears up soon.

I also got a new roommate and he is super chatty... when he's not feeling like crap. Yay!

 Day +9 (Fri, Dec. 19) 

White Blood Count....................0.3

Hemoglobin...............................84
Platelets....................................37

Today was a little bit better than yesterday. I'm still weak, tired, headachy, and dealing with bowel issues, but it's manageable. The C. diff test came back negative, so the nurses lifted the Poison Poop Protocol on my room. I spent some chunks of today napping but also had nice visit with a lady named Loraine, who has Leukemia, and did a couple kilometres of walking. If I can pump out 4.5 km tomorrow I will be up to 70 km!

Today was the day that my white counts went up a tiny bit. The nurse said I still don't have any neutrophils, but the fact that my white count went from 0.1 to 0.3 is great! My doctor said he expects it will be around 0.8 tomorrow, and there will be some neutrophils. 

He also said "You're doing great. I would be surprised to see you here when I come back on Monday."

Say what?

Well, indeed it is true. They have started the process to discharge me on Sunday which also happens to be my mom's 60th birthday. Mmmmm.... birthday cake on my first night out.

This is, of course, pending an uneventful Saturday. If I spike another fever, or if this cough that started today gets worse, I may need to stay in a little longer. But as it stands, it looks like I will be getting out of here on Day +11. 

I'll be staying in Langley for a week or so in order to come back here for daily check-ups, but if all goes well I guess I could possibly be back in Victoria by the new year.

Yeah!

That's all for now. I feel like crap so I'm going to go lie down and nap before bedtime... if that makes any sense.

Thanks for reading,

Christopher