Today I had an appointment with 2 of my favorite nurses, Theresa and Helen, on 8th Floor East to have my PICC line flushed, bandaging changed and labs drawn to check my cell counts. Last week when I came for this type of appointment I was feeling pretty great. I had a good deal of energy and was pretty certain that my lab work would reflect a normal cell count and I'd be free from hospital visits until the next week when it was time to have labs drawn again. Last weeks labs came back with low red cell and platelet counts so I was the proud winner of a 2 night stay.
Today when I made my way in for my appointment with my MIL by my side I questioned if I would even be able to make it from the elevator to the nurses station to check in for my appointment. I have been so unbelievably weak since coming home from my hospital stay last week. After my labs had been drawn and the bandaging changed and lines flushed we made our way out of the hospital.
While I had made the walk earlier from the parking lot to the hospital, both I knew and my MIL knew that I wouldn't be able to make the walk back. I copped a squat on one of the benches out in front and waited for her to pull around and pick me up. I feel like a celebrity with all this chauffeuring. Finally I can text or talk in the car....while it is moving...and not face the wrath of Jon or even my kids for "breaking the cellphone law".
Unlike last week there was no stopping to grab a bite to eat for lunch in an attempt to limit my exposure to the germ infested outside world. As soon as I got to the house it was time to shrug off my clothing and slip on my pj's. That act alone made me so tired that I had to lay down for a good 30 minutes before I finally had enough energy to get up and make myself something to eat.
I began to feel sleepy again, even though I had only been up and around for barely 15 minutes. Who knew making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and eating it could be so taxing. I felt my eyes become droopy and I shuffled my way back to the bedroom. A thought occurred to me as I scooped up Penny and put her in the bed. She began to bounce about like a toddler jacked up on pixie stix and all I could think was times like this make me wish I had a cat. Cats just eat, poop and sleep...which is pretty much my existence for the past week.
I didn't have the energy to deal with the energy that she was emitting. If I thought I could harness some of it and use it for my own I would do it in a heartbeat. Finally Penny exhausted herself out and it was time for a real nap. I text Jon to let him know that I was laying down but that I had my phone on loud and vibrate in hopes of not having a repeat of last week. I said a little prayer in hopes of my counts coming back as high enough so I can avoid another hospitalization.
My phone rang at a little after 2:30p and it was my oncologist calling to say that lab work was in and my red cell counts were dangerously low and I'd need to have another transfusion. Ergh.....damn blood cells!
She told me that I had two choices. I could either go to the ER as soon as I was able and they can do the transfusion there or I could wait until tomorrow morning when I have my appointment with her at the clinic. I will have to go in an extra 30 minutes prior to my appointment, which in case your wondering is at the butt crack of dawn, and they would do the cross, type and match in order to get the irradiated blood ordered so that when I was done with my appointment with her I could just go over to the hospital and have the transfusion.
Since I'm not running a fever I decided to just wait until tomorrow morning. Sleeping in my own bed as opposed to trying to sleep on a stretcher in the ER or waiting for a room to be admitted to and then going through the transfusion which you can't sleep through because they have to monitor your temperature and blood pressure every 15 minutes. Ummm....yeah, I'll take a good nights rest and meet this task head on tomorrow thank you very much!
Downside to going tomorrow is that my MIL will basically be held hostage, in the waiting sense, while I have my transfusion. If I get to go home after it is complete it won't be that bad. However, if they deem that I need to be kept for observation or because I have a reaction to the transfusion then the poor woman will have wasted an entire day waiting on me.
I can feel my eyelids drooping now and I still need to go pack a bag, just in case I end up having to be admitted. Hope for the best...plan for the worst. Goodnight!
Oh My Gosh, Jess! That thank you note was better than the cap by a long shot. I LOVED it!!!
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