The Tail End Of The Chapter
The Tail End Of The Chapter
I would have thought that after my last round of chemotherapy I’d be on easy street. This, however, has not been the case. Nausea and fatigue from my last round lingered longer than all my previous chemos. Typically, I’d snap back to “normal” by the Wednesday after treatment, but by Friday I was still feeling sluggish. I also noticed that my mouth was dry, saliva was thick and my tongue was swollen and felt as if it had been sandpapered. Added to this, I mentioned at my last oncology visit that I felt like I might have developed (close your eyes if you’ve got a weak stomach) hemorrhoids. It was suggested that I try Preparation H and see if that might take care of the “problem.”
Well, it’s been a little over a week since my oncology appointment, and the “problem” got so bad today that I drove myself to the emergency room at M.D. Anderson. I figured that my system was going to continue working whether I was in excruciating pain or not, and because my symptoms were worsening by the WC visit, I needed help.
I arrived at the ER at 3:15ish; I checked in. I was called back to speak with the triage nurse. The nurse reassured me that I made the right decision to come down to the hospital, so that made me feel better. Shortly after giving my information, the phlebotomist called for blood work. After two attempts on my small and weakened veins, she managed to get the blood needed for testing. I admit, that by the second stab, I was in tears – frustrated because of the toll cancer and treatment has wreaked on my body.
On my way back to the waiting room, I got a warm blanket and settled into a book. It was a good thing that I wasn’t close to finishing my book because it wasn’t until 8:30 p.m. that I was called back to a room.
When I got into my room, I explained to my nurse my pains and concerns about my gastrointestinal tract. I wondered if this last round of chemo “did me in.” She didn’t disagree. She told me that my white blood counts were down to 0.6 (normal range is between 4.0 and 11.0), so there was reason to look more closely at what was going on with me. She also mentioned that because I was just about a week out from chemo that is was no surprise that my white blood count was low – it was probably at its lowest point before making a comeback to normal.
Next, Dr. H. came in fully expecting to find an (close your eyes again) external hemorrhoid, but instead did not. After careful consideration, he concluded it must be an (close your eyes) anal fissure. Yikes! Apparently, there is a tear inside my body, at the end of my digestive tract that is causing the extraordinary discomfort.
Dr. H. also told me that I was leukopenic (very low white blood cells), so he needed to be sure I didn’t have the beginnings of any infections in my system. This meant more blood needed to be drawn; I needed an antibiotic IV and a chest x-ray (to rule out any beginnings of pneumonia).
My nurse came back in and tried to search for a usable vein. After searching, she ended up using the same vein the phlebotomist used earlier – Ouch and no blood return. As she was talking to me, she mentioned that it would be nice if I had a port. “I have a port!!!! Can you use that to draw blood and do the IV??” The answer was, “yes.” Unfortunately, I didn’t have the port prepped with Lidocaine cream, and she missed the port pad by a hair, so I could feel the needle and the backside of the port. The good news is that my nurse called in back up, and the second try was a success.
By midnight, Dr. H. had stopped by with prescriptions and told me as soon as my IV was done, I could go home. It’s late, but I’m glad I wrote about today. It helped me wind down. I hope that from here on out I will be on the mend; it’s time for chemo drama to be done.
Lots of love to everyone, Lisa
-MESSAGES-
Hang in there! Good Morning Friend! What an awful day/night you had! I'm very thankful that you went to the ER. As you rest today, don't forget about how much we (I'm speaking for your village) love and support you! A million hugs! M.
good deal Glad to hear you finished your last round of chemo! I get that you’re not quite as excited as you thought you might be but it's certainly a huge milestone nonetheless!!! Hang in there! J. S.
sending love and hugs! Dear Lisa, that last message was not at all what we hoped to hear and do hope you are feeling lots better now. Just got off the phone with M. and he said "make sure you greet Lisa for me and tell her I am rooting for her" Said I would and we are all hoping you are soon back to normal again. Take care of yourself!! Lots of Love and Prayers, A. S., U. J., M. and D., too
What a rough night! Sounds like you had quite a night. I hope the book was good because it doesn't sound like much else was! It is my hope that what you went through was the worst of it, and only better things are to come your way. Find comfort in knowing so many of us are thinking and praying for you daily. I wish I could carry some of your pain. Love, C.
Hi Lisa I wish I could say that I was sending you warm wishes from California but Santa Barbara is going through an early autumn (you may laugh but autumn last year did not hit until December). I wanted to let you know that I was thinking about you and keeping you in my prayers. I especially thought of you fighting cancer last week because I looked like a fighter myself. Somehow and I am still a little unsure how I pulled this off, I managed to get a black eye from running. It was definitely not an injury I expected. I didn't run into anything, I fell and I am okay and very thankful it wasn't worse, but I did look a lot like Rocky last week. All I needed were some boxing gloves. Good luck in this final stretch. Like a marathon, I imagine it will be difficult but also like a marathon, think of all you have accomplished and all the people who have been cheering for you on the sidelines.
Best wishes,
K. "Rocky" D.
Hey Lisa Wow, what a night. I'm sorry about that, hopefully that's the worst of it. Still thinking of you in Arlington :)