My fourth chemo treatment yesterday marks the half way point in my proposed treatment plan.  All things going well, I should not need more than eight such treatments – and possibly as few as six if my next PET Scan (in just over 4 weeks from now) comes back pristine.

I had a great ‘off’ week last week, but first I’ll recap Treatment #4.  This is a long update!

TREATMENT #4

We got an early start for this week’s treatment, arriving at the office around 9am and getting taken back to a room almost immediately. An early start is by far my preference, because I can make it back to work around 1pm – only shortly after most of my west coast colleagues arrive in the office.

I came into this treatment in much better shape than last time.  If you remember, for Treatment #3 I had been dealing with blood clots, a bad port surgery, slicing off a piece of thumb, and a sore throat – and for those things I was taking Aspirin, Vicodin and Antibiotics in addition to my normal heartburn pills and stool softeners.  This week, I was all healed up and only taking the heartburn pills – and was feeling excellent.

The actual treatment was incredibly smooth, as it always seems to be with this Port. I wish I had gotten the port prior to any treatments because it really makes for a much more pleasant experience.  Absolutely no pain during blood draws or injections. I’m still a bit sad that it has to stay in for a year, but I think that’s a small price to pay for more comfortable treatments and eliminating any chance of messing up my arm veins for the rest of my life (which does happen to some people who forego the port).

I was disappointed to learn that my White Blood Cells have dropped once again.  I was hoping that after they had gone 3+ last time, that I was on the upswing.  However, my nurse Dolonia said they are more likely to simply hover around the 2-3 range for the duration of treatment, and likely won’t see a permanent bounce back until treatment as concluded.

Here’s a chart of my WBC count.  Remember that January 10 was my first treatment, so you can see what effect that had on my counts.

That all being said, I am not really back on house arrest as I was the first time.  I am still permitted to go out to dinner, or the grocery, or friends/family houses. I just am not to be in hugely crowded areas (no dance clubs!) or around sick people, elderly people or kids.  So that’s not so bad.

It also must be noted that I defeated Luis soundly in both 500 Rummy and Words With Friends!

FEELING BETTER THAN LAST TIME

I would say that I’m not feeling quite as good as I was after the first two treatments, but I am definitely feeling a lot better on this go-around than I did last time.

I was feeling pretty decent yesterday after treatment all the way until bed time; I turned in sometime around 9:30pm, which is later than a normal day but also I am always hopped up on steroids on treatment day and sometimes don’t get to sleep until Midnight.  I just popped a Restoril and was out no later than 10pm.

Today hasn’t been all that bad either.  I woke up at 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep, but that’s not at all uncommon.  Around 7:30 I just decided to get up and start my day, so I got to work around 8am and just worked through until about 6:30… and actually, I am still on Slack and Email while I write this post.  So, I would say full day today.  I’m keeping fairly busy these days – have been working on a couple new projects the past two weeks which have taken a lot of time, in addition to normal duties. I prefer to stay busy rather than not!

Only just the last couple hours have I been going downhill a bit – experiencing very mild nausea and a slight loss in energy.  But the latter could be attributed to waking up at 5am.

I had a juice from the juicer for breakfast (Thanks, Luis!) and was actually feeling well enough to have a proper sandwich for lunch.  Solid food a day after treatment usually isn’t on the agenda!  So I was happy to get and keep that down.  I don’t quite yet know what I’m going to be up for in terms of dinner.

If I stay just like this for the next couple days before feeling better, I would consider this round of treatment to be a massive success!

And also, I had a good poop today.  That NEVER happens the day after treatment!

GOOD “OFF WEEK” RECAP

I finally turned the corner of starting to feel better last Sunday, and I quickly started to feel very well!  I would even say I felt excellent from Monday on through yesterday’s treatment.  The best I had felt in a long time.

And I took full advantage of it!

Tuesday – Our 3^rd wedding anniversary!  It’s been three years since we got legally married in Oakland, CA. I was living in the bay area at the time – but also, it wasn’t yet legal to get married in Kentucky!  Hard to believe, right?

Anyways, I got breakfast in bed as Luis fixed my some heart shaped pancakes – just like he did for me on our very first Valentine’s Day back in 2012!  Such a sweet husband I have.  Luis got some yellow roses and white chocolate truffles.

In the evening we went out to one of our favorite restaurants in Louisville – Vietnan Kitchen!  I got my usual K8 which is a bit spicy – and I found out that my newly shaved head doesn’t do well with spicy foods!  Spicy head sweating with a shaved head in public is not a sexy look!

Wednesday – My birthday!  31 and officially into my “30’s” now… Moving on.

Martha stopped by early in the day with a big delicious chocolate cake that Jerry made.  Sadly, I was on a conference call during her visit and didn’t get a chance to see her.  But the cake was OH MY GOODNESS good! Chocolate brownie cake – so moist and delicious!

Shelby came over late in the afternoon and we had a good chance to catch up.  She went down to Arkansas shortly after I moved back to Kentucky, so it’s been a good long while since we’ve had some quality 1×1 time.  I soundly defeated her at her own game “Phase 10.”

Later, we met Jill and her friend Graham up at Ramsi’s for a birthday dinner – Jill’s treat! I surprised everyone by getting the Shrimp Tortellini (my usual).  It had been a while since spending time with Jill too, so I really enjoyed the day of reconnecting with my best friends!  We finished off the evening at Jill’s place eating some of Jerry’s delicious chocolate cake we brought over for dessert. Yum!

Friday – My cousin Nicki and her husband Jeff treated us to dinner at Seviche!  That’s our favorite restaurant and the place where Luis and I first met over five years ago. We both had a tremendous time with Nicki and Jeff.  It’s been a really long time since I’ve gotten to spend good quality time with Nicki.  We got a chance to reconnect as adults, swapping some fun traveling stories, talking about our new house and their new renovations, and even cautiously toed the line with some political talk (we both come from politically divided marriages). I’m really looking forward to our next dinner double date!

We started with some Guacamole and Brie.  The Guacamole was sat right in front of me so I dove into that immediately.  I only just got into the Brie when it was nearly gone and WOW was it good!  For dinner, Jeff and I both got my favorite meal – Churrascos de Argentina!  It’s an excellently prepared medium skirt steak with mashed potatoes and a dreamy chimichurri sauce. Luis got the Wild Mushroom Enchiladas and Nicki got the Mahi Mahi Tacos.  Everything was so delicious.

Saturday – We got up and made our favorite breakfast, Huevos Rancheros!  It’s about the first time I’ve been feeling risky enough to eat what sometimes can be an acid reflux trigger… well, the first time since two weeks ago when I started making it and promptly cut off a piece of thumb!

What goes into our Huevos Rancheros?  The centerpiece is Poached Eggs – on top of seasoned sautéed veggies (red & green bell peppers with onions and garlic).  This all sits on a bed of crispy corn tortillas covered in melted cheese and seasoned black beans.  And it’s all topped with fresh Pico de Gallo (freshly diced tomatoes, onions and chopped cilantro mixed with fresh squeezed lime).  With a side of freshly made guacamole!  It’s a lot of work but so worth it.

Honestly though, the biggest struggle was going to Kroger beforehand to get the ingredients…  I walked in straight to the produce section, and all of the fire alarms are going FULL BLAST.  And I mean to tell you, they are so loud it makes your head ring!  But EVERYONE was just going about their normal shopping without a peep.  I mean, the deli is straight up flooding with multiple fire extinguishers going full blast and lights flashing everywhere – but I’m just over here bagging up my bell peppers; I’m not passing up RED bell peppers when they are 10 for $10!!

Afterwards, the weather was so nice we took Marco for a really long walk through Cherokee Park.  It’s about a 15 minute walk to Cherokee Park from our house.  We went to the dog hill and let Marco do a lot of running before we put him back on the leash and did a full loop around the park.  We took Bonnycastle all the way back, passing the slightly ‘nicer’ part of the same street on which we live – the part closer to the big park.  And we got home just in time, because one we hit our block, it started to rain.

Sunday – My parents hosted the Huber Family over for a co-birthday celebration for me and Ashley.  Mom prepared a LOT of food, and I ended up taking home a LOT of leftovers!  Meatloaf, Asparagus Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Fresh Mashed Potatoes, Chicken Noodle Casserole, Corn – and a delicious Cinna-Melt concoction we got off Facebook!  Also, Jerry brought over some mini pies – Chocolate, Butterscotch, and Coconut.  I have samples of just about everything in the fridge!

My owl collection continues to grow as I got a decorative owl set for the TV room and a sturdy owl coat hanger.  Ashley also got me a new chess set made entirely of Mario characters – pretty hilarious and now on display in my TV room, and I will play anyone who wants to play!

I always enjoy spending time with the whole family.  Such a tremendous benefit to having moved back to Louisville!

Monday – Jeremy & Johnny hosted us for a Chemo Eve dinner at their place.  We had spaghetti, pizza & garlic bread for a very Italian spread while watching Jeopardy – and it should be noted, I got more answers than everyone; anyone sensing a theme with me and competitiveness?

Then we got to play on the Virtual Reality set they have hooked up to their Playstation.  The first game was a deep sea dive where at the end you get attacked by a huge shark.  The second was as an Eagle that you control which flies around Paris – including to the top of the Eiffel Tower!

So all in all, I think it’s safe to say that I maximized my “off” week and got out of the house as much as possible!  After being caged up and feeling crappy for so long, it was nice to be feeling good and allowed to venture out for the first time in weeks.  Thanks so much to all the friends and family who filled each day with such love and fun times! 🙂

BONE MARROW DRIVE

This is really important to me!  Luis and I are attending a Bone Marrow Registry Drive at St. Agnes Church (1920 Newburg Rd) on Saturday, February 25, to join the Bone Marrow Registry.

IF YOU ARE FREE, WE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN US!

We’re going at 1pm. But the drive is open from 10am to 2pm if you aren’t able to make it right at 1pm.

There is an urgency: Louisville resident Rebecca Weis is fighting a rare blood cancer called BPDCN and a bone marrow transplant is necessary.

But this is also very personal. As you know, I am fighting blood cancer myself. My prognosis remains excellent, and we’re very hopeful that the chemotherapy will cure my Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. But when chemo fails, bone marrow transplant is often the next line of treatment for lymphoma.

You must be between ages of 18-44.

Not able to make it this Saturday or not eligible to donate? You can still do two things right now:

1) Tell your friends about this event and encourage them to attend this Saturday.

2) Visit BeTheMatch.org and find out how to join the Bone Marrow Registry at a different time, or how else to help if ineligible to donate.

Please contact me if you have any questions! My cell phone number is 502-693-1234.

CARDS & CARE PACKAGES

Thanks again for the cards and care packages that continue to come in each and every week!  Since my last update, I’ve gotten a gift card to Massage Envy, a brand new DVD copy of “Beautician & the Beast”, hand scrub & lotion, and a card which says a donation was made in my honor to the American Cancer Society.

What truly amazing friends I have that know me so well and continue to care, care, care and keep caring during this long journey!  I love you all more than I could ever express!!!

I love everyone reading this so much!  So much love to everyone!

-Merv