Well, it was a tough weekend, but I’m feeling better now, one day before Chemo Treatment #3!  I just wanted to get a short update out to let everyone know that I’m feeling better!

 

PORT PLACEMENT UPDATE

With the benefit of some pain medicine, I made it through Saturday without much issue. I was still in some decent pain throughout the day, but the medicine made it manageable.  Luis and I spent the day just lying on the futon, and I tried not to move very much.

But Sunday, I was starting to feel much less pain even without the pain medicine. I did take one pill in the morning before I got up the courage to hop in the shower (my first since Friday’s surgery!) where I needed to scrub some of the surgical orange gunk off my shoulder and torso. The whole thing was pretty painless.

Now Monday, I haven’t needed any pain pills, and figure I will probably hold onto that bottle until I have surgery to remove the port!

 

SLICING MY THUMB

But Sunday wasn’t uneventful, nor without a trip to the hospital… However, this one was 100% chalked up to my own carelessness.

Slicing some onions for our morning breakfast, I took a big piece off the tip of my thumb.  And by that, I mean a solid layer of skin and whatever is under the skin came completely right off.

Tons of blood rushing out. Can’t get it to stop. Didn’t take me too long to realize that this was going to be a huge infection risk and I better get down to the immediate care center.

It did take a couple hours to be seen, but we told them right at the beginning that I was undergoing chemo. So they took us back to a private room almost right away, to get me away from all the sick people in the waiting room.

The doctor looked at it and said that no stitches are needed and that the chopped off area will grow back on its own, although it will take a long time. I just have to redress the wound a couple times a day – which was extremely painful to do for the first time this morning, but far less painful when I did it this evening.

 

TOMORROW’S CHEMO & CONSULT

Tomorrow is Chemo Treatment #3 and the first such treatment that will be administered through my Port. We have a numbing create that we will administer to the area at the house prior to going to Norton’s which should make the initial stick not hurt. I have to admit, I am looking forward to not having to get my arms poked this time!

We also have a consult with Dr. Stevens. This will be our first one-on-one consult since we began treatment about a month ago. I am not exactly sure what to expect from the consult, as it won’t really be a progress update since we have no new information.

Prior to treatment, they will test my White Blood Cell counts. We’re hoping for a rebound.

 

I’ll update everyone on how everything goes tomorrow!

Much Love,

Merv