February 27, 2009 11:10 PM 90 days to go

It was a longggggggg day....

We left the house at 8:00 to get to the clinic a little after 9 AM. My blood was drawn just before 10 and then the problems started. My 11 AM appointment with the nurse practioner did not occur until 11:50. At which time, she told us that my need for 2 units of blood had been put in only 20 minutes beforehand - meaning that the earliest that it would arrive would be 1:00. No such luck! It came after 2:00 and then it took over 2 more hours for the infusions and we did not leave the clinic until about 5.

Ah! But the ordeal is still not over. It's Friday night. And the northbound traffic on Rt 93 is messier than usual as the Friday night commute always is. So... long story short, we arrived home about 7:00.

11 hours door to door - it was exhausting. And, of course, the stay at the clinic is further complicated by the fact that I cannot eat lunch with large crowds of people (I find that eating with a mask on has drawbacks to it) - so we had to find a somewhat secluded spot for lunch (how romantic). We had brought a peanut butter sandwich for me because I can only eat prepared food that has been prepared at home. My wife went to the cafeteria, bought her lunch, and backfilled the sandwich with chips, etc. and we ate off to the side in the main lobby sitting in 2 chairs next to the wall with a lamp table between us - not so romantic after all!

Now that you've heard my tale of woe, let's cut to the chase. How am I doing? I am doing fine. The need for the 2 units of blood was fully expected as some of my counts were very low. However, it appears that my white blood cell count is starting to turn around along with my platelets. So everything is still on schedule.

When I return to the clinic next Wednesday, I fully expect to see an additional rise in my counts as I continue my rebound back to normalcy. This should be the last time that I go through the neutropenic phase. With my counts back to normal, each clinic visit should then consist of a blood draw, an office visit, and possibly a readjustment of some of my medications as revealed by my blood results. All in all, a relatively compact time - totally unlike today which was my longest day ever at Dana-Farber.

The saddest part of the day was that with the weather being so beautiful, my wife and I talked about going out for a walk some time this afternoon as we travelled to Boston this morning - but that was certainly countermanded by the events of the day. I know that the next several days will not be conducive to an outdoor walk - so losing the opportunity is even more disappointing.

However, with spring coming, there will be other days...

Bob