Four Appointments Today . . . and No Edits

I woke up this morning still feeling tired from yesterday. I also had four appointments: 10:00 to see my therapist, 11:15 to see my surgeon, 1:30 to see my oncologist's nurse practitioner, and 4:00 to see my wound care nurse.

I went to my office first, with the good intention of working on edits for the grant proposal, but I checked in with my office manager - had to talk about my graduate student workers and to thank her for attending the Launch Party yesterday. Then, I visited with my friend, B. Then, I wrote some emails and then it was off to my first appointment.

I realized I had forgotten dressings for my wound - so on my way to see the surgeon, I stopped at my house to pick them up. Luckily, my house was on the way.

I got to the hospital and parking was awful. I circled the lot for 15 minutes - I stopped for a few minutes because a truck owned by the Culver Glass Company had taken two spots. So, I wrote him a note, "Parking is limited. You selfishly took two spots." Then, because the company number was on the truck, I called and told them that one of their employees took two parking spots and that other people trying to find parking in a limited area was upset.

Finally saw the surgeon after I followed a man to his car so I could snag his spot. The surgeon's still impressed with how well the wound is healing - I showed him the few nodules that have cropped up behind the wound in the upper quadrant. But he felt I should continue with Abraxane since it seems to be working and the wound healing.

Then, because I had to get something I needed from my Humanities Center office, I stopped by downtown for lunch (salads from New Morning Bakery), picked up what I needed, then back to the hospital to see my oncology nurse practitioner. They were running late - I think I was there just over an hour - but it was a good visit. She hadn't seen the wound since late September/early October and was impressed with how well it has healed. She also thought I should stay on Abraxane for now. I have this theory that the new nodules have cropped up because Abraxane has caused my white blood cell count to go down - it was 8.0 (whatever the measure is) when I first started Abraxane. Last time it was measured (the week before Thanksgiving), it was 3.7. That means that there aren't as many Herminator-2 cells running around to kill the cancer. As H. said, no one really knows why the nodules have cropped up and whether or not it would be better to stay off Abraxane and let the t-cells regenerate. What they do know is that Abraxane is working, so for now, we stay the course. I'm fine with that. I can handle the side effects.

Then, it was time to pick up Eddie, but I stopped at home to get his after school snack. After picking up Eddie, we ran an errand and I had about 15-20 min at home before having to go back up to see the wound care nurse. She has seen improvement over a week ago. The cavity is now only 0.8 cm deep; last week, it was 1.5 cm deep. Part of the reason why it's improved so much is that the top flap has collapsed down a little bit. Last week, the big area was 5cm x 2.5 cm and now it's 4.0 x 2.5 cm. Even the smaller open area has decreased in size from 1cm x 1cm to 0.8cm x 0.5cm. So, everything looks better - it's the new nodules that have cropped up that is a bit worrisome.

By the time I got home, I was tired. So, I listened to my body (the subject of my discussion with my therapist today was about cultivating my yin energy, my rest) and didn't do anything but watch TV. I thought that I could work on the edits for the grant proposal . . . but I decided rest was more important.

Well, good night. I hope you all sleep well!