Man 5am is early..  That's the time we have to get up to get to Karmanos for the Bloodwork that is scheduled for 7:15am

RESULTS

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Bloodwork Results

Procedures

• Lumbar Puncture: NO
• BoneMarrow Biopsy: NO

Chemo

• Daunorubicin via Syring (avg 5min infusion): NO
• Vincristine via IV drip (avg 5min infusion): YES
• Pegasparagus via drip (avg infusion): YES
• Cyclosphomine: NO
• Cytarabine: NO
• Rituxan via IV drip (avg 4hour infusion): NO

With this pandemic, one major change has been that Dennis can’t be with me at these appointments. It’s definitely challenging for both of us. I struggle to remember everything they are throwing at me and he cant keep up on the blog like he wants to. The goal of this blog was to help others that may be going through something similar and struggling to find stories of the process. I know I couldn’t find much to tell me what to expect. The major thing that I am constantly reminded of is no two peoples cancer journey is the same. Whether its the type of cancer you are fighting or even how your body is handling it. Don’t compare yourself to someone else...that can lead down a frustrating path. 

So here we are. Me trying to help my amazing husband out by doing my best to update this as I can. He has been my rock and continues to do so much for me on a daily basis, the least I can do is try and write some words. 

***Obligatory warning*** I suck at writing. You’ll probably easily notice the difference in my posts and his. I probably would have done better in English in school if it weren’t for the writing part. So sorry folks, you get what you get

Monday I saw Dr Yang. My blood counts have been lower than expected but he’s not overly concerned at this point, just cautious. It means however that I have to keep having these lab checks done and getting transfusions. Some days I feel like their just testing the boundaries of how much they can inject in me at once. But its all for the greater good so I continue to endure. I have another lab check today with the results below and Friday. I will have another chemo and lab check on Monday the 18th and then as of now that will finish this phase of chemo for a couple weeks. 

On the 26th, I will have a port placed and my picc line removed. It’s a fairly simple outpatient procedure and I’m looking forward to not having this in my arm anymore but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous about Dennis not being there when I wake up. Karmanos has been amazing though and I know I am in the best hands with the staff here. After the port placement I’ll get wheeled upstairs for Dr. Yang to do another bone marrow biopsy. My tolerance level for those and the lumbar punctures is reaching a disturbing level. The only nerves I have about the upcoming biopsy is the additional testing they are doing with the marrow. They are going to run a test called an MRD test which basically looks at the marrow at a micro level to view the cancer cells. We of course are hopeful and believing in positive results but I think that test result is what I am the most nervous I’ve been about. The anticipation certainly doesn’t help either. 

As long as all those results are good I’ll move on to the next phase of chemo. We don’t have a start date for that yet cuz its all pending these results. Dr. Yang again confirmed that as of now I will not be able to return to work until the end of September or beginning of October when I finish this “aggressive” round of chemo. Unfortunately that means I’m still a couple months away from having some type of normalcy return. Until then I will continue to try to update this blog as much as possible. Some days I have more energy than others but I will do my best. Plus there’s the part of hating writing and top that with my disgust of talking about myself. We’ll see how it goes. Thank you as always to everyone who reads this blog....your prayers and support for our family is what continues to push us to believe in the positive. 

Bloodwork Results

So here we are at the end of another week. Today’s segment of “how much can we inject in her” was brought to you by 1 unit of blood and 1 unit of platelets. Although my platelet count is way lower than it should be, its higher than it has been so progress is being made. I woke up today feeling slightly nauseous and didn’t sleep well. The nausea seems to be subsiding (maybe my body just wanted the blood first) and my lack of sleep was due to a dog that is petrified of storms. At first I thought it was cute that she hated them as much as me....now not so much. 

Yesterday was my birthday under quarantine. I am still floored with the outpouring of love and support that I received. I am definitely feeling very blessed despite what the circumstances may look like. My husband never stops amazing me at the lengths he will go to make sure that I know I am loved. Let me tell you guys, its not in the flowers or chocolates or fancy dinners...real love is when they see you in your darkest hour and still know exactly how to make you smile by just being themselves. 

So this is it for this week. Monday you’ll get a new post to begin the new week and we continue on this cycle. For now, I am going to enjoy the weekend with my family and take comfort in what we have....each other. 

Bloodwork Results