I’m coming to the end of the week following infusion #3 in the current series of 6—this one was the double infusion with a cocktail of two chemicals. I’ll have infusion #4 with just one of those chemicals on Monday. And the surprise? I’ve made it through the week without any diarrhea! I’ve been waiting all week for it to happen, and it looks like I’ll get a pass this week. I don’t expect to be that lucky next week. For some reason my single infusion shot causes me more problems than the double one.
Not that I’ve gotten away without consequences. The double infusion is where I get to take steroids to help counteract nausea. And that they seem to do pretty well—but they also make me hyper. Which I counteract at night by taking sleeping pills—it’s a never-ending circle. Apparently you also often feel a let-down when coming off the steroids, and that I’ve felt since Thursday. I’ve been quite tired, finding it difficult to do my usual physical activities. It’s not “I need a nap” tired, but exhaustion on exertion. So when I need to make the trip from the basement to our second story, I sometimes need to pause on the main level before tackling the second set of stairs. Yesterday I had to truncate my walk, staying on flat ground and eliminating the hills and stairs that I usually include. The tiredness is still with me today, so I’m beginning to think it’s not only coming off the steroids, but a low blood count. I’ll let the nurses know that on Monday when I go in and see if they want to do anything about it, or just let me slug on through. After Monday, only two to go!!
The picture I’ve posted is from last Sunday’s Memorial Row celebration for my rowing coach, Charley McIntyre. I’m waiting on the dock for my rowing partner, wearing one of the bright orange shirts we had made for the occasion. You’ll note a couple boat-loads of orange shirts in the background. We had over 40 boats and close to 100 people come out—a very nice celebration.
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