December 26, 2008 9:50 PM

Well, today was the first of the maintenance visits that must be made every Monday and Friday until I have to be readmitted to the hospital - whenever that will be! The routine went as expected. Have the blood drawn, get the results, compare the results to a set of target levels, and implement a corrective action plan. Today my hematocrit and platelets were low resulting in my getting 2 pints of blood and 1 unit of platelets. This is all to be expected as my counts are definitely starting to fall right on schedule so there is no reason to be concerned about the findings. Similar treatment was done during this timeframe after my first round of chemo when I was an inpatient. I guess that I'm beginning to become an old hand at this.

Fortunately, for me, the nurses were able to locate a chair in the clinic for me much earlier than I was originally scheduled for. This meant that we were able to leave the clinic at 1:30 and not at 3:00 having arrived in the morning just before 8:00. As you can imagine, the trip to Boston was a joy this morning as traffic was very light. However, in the afternoon, we got caught in some construction which slowed down the drive.

Since I have been home, I find that I have to be more cognizant of the time - in fact, finding myself somewhat of a slave to the clock. Because I cannot brush my teeth, I have to perform oral mouthcare. This requires that I take an antibiotic lozenge 4 times a day and use a mouthwash twice a day. Of course the rules of the game require that the mouthwashing CANNOT be at the same time that the lozenges are taken. Additionally, I have to take a general antibiotic twice a day at 12 hour intervals. So, what's the big deal you say! Well, up until the end of August I had never taken any medications and, even at that date, I only started taking a Nexium when I got up in the morning which was simple enough.

In the hospital the mouthcare was a breeze - I had nothing to do and everything was right there in the same room. Likewise, all antibiotics were administered by IV which the nurses took care of. At home, I have to be conscious of the time, stop what I am doing, go to the bathroom, and take the appropriate medication. I sometimes find myself missing the times because I have been engrossed in some other activity.

As I write this, I know that it sounds like bellyaching - and it is! For sure, if that is all that I have to worry about during the day then I have nothing to complain about. This is all true. But the concept of being so regulated by the clock is so foreign to me that it gets to me. I suppose I'll get used to it over time and it will become second nature to me. Hopefully, that will be the case.

So, on that high note, I'll bring today's entry to a close.

Bob