Sunday, February 28, 2010

Fever.

Yesterday I got an unexpected fever around 4:00 pm. I took Tylenol and it was fine 'till about 10:00 pm. Then, it came back.. I felt fine, just had the chills a bit. So, just to be safe, I called the doctor. She said it would be best to double-check my blood counts since it hasn't been done since Tuesday. So, I went to the hospital and had it checked. The counts were ok. So, the Doctor concluded to go home and take Tylenol again. I got back home around 12:30, took Tylenol, and went to sleep. Woke up this morning without a fever and feel fine but have been tired today. This could affect starting Chemo again tomorrow, but my guess is we'll still go ahead with it. The probable cause was I had a lot of activity on Friday. On Friday, we had a real nice visit with everyone at my company and Tyler had a lot of fun! It was great to see everyone. Then, we went to some friends house and I played (very lightly!) some racquetball for about 30 minutes. I was careful not to overdue it and the doctor says I should be doing some light excercise when I can. Then, we had a nice dinner. All of that was the most activity I have had in one day for quite a while. I think the fever was just a reaction to me getting a little excercise. Anyway, I feel fine today and I still anticipating starting Chemo tomorrow.

Eric

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A few normal days.

My blood counts started rising Monday and I had a transfusion on Sunday and then again yesterday (it took 6 hours!). The Dr. said things look good enough that I don't need to go in again until Monday - which is when I will start my round 4 of Chemo and stay in the hospital for 4 or 5 days. So, I feel great now and I can live a normal life for the next 5 days! After next week, I'll already be half done with my treatments. Times sure flies when you're having fun!

Friday, February 19, 2010

More blood transfusions.

I went in yesterday and today for more blood transfusions. I need to go in again on Sunday also and might need another. I am feeling better after receiving the transfusions but still tired. My white count is still dangerously low but fortunately I still haven' t gotten sick. It should start climbing up again within then next few days so I am still being very cautious. Maybe it's this beautiful weather we are having that keeping me from getting sick!

Eric

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Being Cautious now.

Today's blood test results showed that my counts all finally dropped into the dangerous zone (as expected). So, I have to be very cautious not to get any infection which would make me sick very quickly. Hopefully the counts will start recovering within then next few days. I received a blood transfusion today and will receive another one tomorrow that will take several hours.

Eric

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Feeling OK.

It's been 4 days since getting out of the hospital from my last Chemo treatment. I haven't gotten sick this time. However, I am still very vulnerable for at least another 3 days. I have been really focusing this time on trying to be as cautious as possible with my diet, staying hydrated, etc. This helps, but I am doing better this time mainly because my white blood count hasn't dropped as fast as before. Maybe this is because they got basically all of the cancer cells during the first two rounds. I have still been very tired and sleeping a lot for the past 4 days. I have had a headache most of the time also, but it's fine when I am laying down. Just need to keep taking it one day at a time!

Eric

Friday, February 12, 2010

Ah - Sleep!

I checked out of the hospital today around noon. Then, went to the clinic to have another one of those fun spinal tap's performed. Now, I am free for the weekend with the exception of going in for a shot tomorrow. After I got home today and ate a quick lunch I layed down and ended up sleeping for 5 hours. I think that was the first 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep I have had all week. I am looking forward to sleeping all night now.
Eric

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Day 3 of Chemo.

Hi everyone. I am on my 3rd day of chemo here at the hospitial. It is going well and I feel fine. I have been eating and sleeping good. I will be going home on Friday morning. Then, come in on Saturday for a shot to boost my white blood cell count.

Eric

Monday, February 8, 2010

Round 3 started

Hi everyone. This morning I went in early to the clinic for a spinal tap chemo injection procedure. It went much better this time than last time - still not a fun thing, though. Then, I was admitted to the hospital and they started chemo. This week will really be just a lot of sitting around and I feel fine. So, if any of you wanted to stop by and see me, this week would be a good time. (as long as you don't have cold, flu, or flu symptoms). I'll be here at least 'till Thursday, probably get out Friday.

Eric

Friday, February 5, 2010

Relaxing day.

We went to the Dr. this morning and really didn't do much other than a blood test and set the schedule and plan for next weeks' Chemo. After that, it was such nice weather, we went down and had lunch at the little beach area in our neighborhood. It was sunny, no wind, and low tide so the water was calm. I was trying to teach Tyler how to skip rocks, but all he wanted to do was grab the biggest rocks he could lift and throw them in the water! It seems like Tyler is getting more energy every day, while I am spending every day trying to get my energy back!

Eric

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Progress report.

Today I received a blood test answer from a test done 2 days ago. This test was done to check the progress of my treatment. This special blood test is the same test that was done which gave me my original diagnosis back on Dec 16th. At that time, it showed 82.00% of "total viable leukocytes" were abnormal (cancerous). Today's result of the same test for the same cells show only 0.01% abnormal. The Dr. was impressed with this today and called this "remarkable", especially after only completing the first two rounds. Technically, they cannot call this a remission yet because of the 0.01% that showed up, but it sure is close! I am looking forward to cleaning up that last 0.01% with next week's Chemo treatment.

Eric

Monday, February 1, 2010

Today's Dr. visit.

Hi everyone. Today my blood counts are up again, in the normal range - except my red counts which are still very slowly improving. The good news is my white count and platelet count are both very high and have recovered on their own. I am still rather fatigued, but feel better today than yesterday. We are still schedule round 3 of chemo starting next Monday (the 8th). The nutritionist at the hospital last week gave me a lot of useful paperwork to schedule and prepare meals that expose the least risk when my body is vulnerable to infection (after chemo). So, I am going to work on a meal plan this week that will ready for when I come home after next week's chemo. Diet and drinking lots of water play a big role in not getting sick - and I didn't drink enough water last time. I hope this will help, because the past two weeks really were very difficult. But I am starting clean again now and I am ready for the next round!

Eric