My Status: Tired and Congested
Mood: Disappointed
Yesterday was Chemo Eve, or so I thought. I went yesterday for my labs, the machine they use to assess the blood values was not working correctly, so they told me they’d call with the results. In the afternoon, I did receive a call from the doctor’s office—to confirm my chemo appointment. I mentioned that I had not yet heard my results and wanted to make sure everything was okay. The gal was on the phone and I was told someone would call. That call never came. And one presumes no news, is good news because they would have called if something wasn’t right … right?
I woke up early this morning, packed up all my stuff, and exited just as my driver pulled up. I was totally prepared. A bag of snacks and water, a thermos of tea, my blanket for if I get cold (and slippers because my feet do get cold), and my laptop along with some movies. A veritable pack-mule ready for her trek. We arrived timely and they took me back. I kicked back in my chair, changed into my slippers, had the first movie loaded and laptop all plugged in when the chemo nurse came back and told me they were sending me home.
Um, What??? Honestly, I thought she was joking because I had already set up all my stuff and was ready to roll. But apparently my liver enzymes were high. One of the chemo drugs I could have had, but the other—the one I have two days in a row—cannot be given when the liver levels are out of whack. So they sent me home to drink lots of fluids and we’ll try again next week.
Why are the liver enzymes high? My guess is the anti-inflammatories I had to take to get the pain in my knee under control. And that I’ve had to take Tylenol for pain management. Not in doses which would normally elevate the liver functions, but since my body is definitely not handling things well these days, the liver decided it was going to whine along with the rest of the body.
By the time I got home, the day was half gone and I needed to rest. I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to drink more throughout the day… I already drink more than a gallon a day. Next thing you know my bladder will throw up picket lines and go on strike.
On one hand, I am disappointed we had to postpone the chemo until next week. I’m not a patient person, and I want to get on with things. But on the other hand, one thought that crossed my mind this morning as we were headed to my supposed chemo treatment—we’d had a lot of winds yesterday and I am congested and coughing, would that have made it more difficult to get through the chemo? Since the one drug is known for respiratory issues, my guess is yes. So maybe, just maybe, postponing things a week is a blessing in disguise.