Connect
← Return to Staying strong and facing an uncertain /certain future
Discussion
Staying strong and facing an uncertain /certain future
Caregivers | Last Active: Jun 22, 2023 | Replies (60)Comment receiving replies
Good morning! Sorry for the delay; We were on the road the past 3 days but now home and getting settled again. Tough waking up this morning in Wisconsin…we were in FL for a few months and returned home to 8 inches of snow…won’t be going barefoot through that white stuff today! 😅
Happy to hear Mr Ray of Sunshine is still beaming happiness throughout his kingdom. Hopefully that won’t dim in the middle weeks but if so, he knows it’s temporary and the clouds will part again. 🙃 It’s really encouraging to see that all his numbers are looking great! That little setback with the Rituxan isn’t unusual. I had a few too…the moments are dealt with and then it’s over. Mine always seemed to be from infusion rate edging up too quickly. So we’d slow it way down and I’d watch a movie.
Had to laugh a little when packing up to come home. I cleaned out a drawer in the bathroom and grabbed the little bag with ‘medical stuff’…thermometer! Your “Queen of Temperature Taking” actually popped into my head…just don’t get the meat thermometer mixed up with the other one. 😂
Thanks for checking in!! I need to find boots, socks and warm jackets again. Ho hum…
Replies to "Good morning! Sorry for the delay; We were on the road the past 3 days but..."
Connect
Good afternoon! I hope that you found your boots, socks, and warm jacket. Oh my. We lived in what we call "the high country" of Arizona for 25 years. Just outside of Flagstaff. Ugggh. We do not miss that snow and cold, cold, cold at all. We headed "down the hill" to a little lower elevation and the snow here is like child's play. Yippee! Summer's are warmer, but that's all good.
Well, Mr. Ray of Sunshine is still smiling, but he is pooped. As he explained it the day before yesterday - he is tired, weak, and depleted. Feeling better today. Still getting to his shop, just a little bit slower and for less time. I kept really good notes last month...well, partially. That's when Sunshine got annoyed at my temperature taking and I quit writing things down. That'll show him. Ha!! But, based on the notes that I did keep, he got tired a day earlier this month and I'm thinking that might be a trend? I was using the nadir formula for tiredness, etc. but he's in it a little sooner than advertised.
I wanted to get a little more specific on Val's blood work. It was all great because nobody mentioned otherwise, except for his chemo nurse. All values in his Extended Metabolic/Electrolyte panel were just right except for his BUN (this is what the chemo nurse mentioned) high is 24.0 and his was 24.5. The PA did not mention it. Val is also a type 11 diabetic, well controlled on metformin. His Estimated GFR is 57 and shows low, but has been that way for a number of years. Protein 5.9 (low is 6.3) He is back to drinking his protein drink. So strange - the kidneys get annoyed, the body needs protein, but I'm not sure the kidneys like the protein. His CBC was excellent except for his Lymphocytes at 0.55 (love is 0.95) and his Monocytes were above the .081 high value. Sooo.....because the PA said everything was fine and treatment commenced - I'm thinking it's ok.
Next round the first week of April. As Val says "just when he will start feeling good again......". You know the drill!
You're funny, extremely knowledgeable, and wise words of wisdom are always appreciated. I will wait with baited breath.....
Stay warm and stay out of the white, fluffy stuff!!!
Sheri