The Latest Numbers!

Wednesday used to be The Day. The day we got the numbers. Some need to be up, others desperately need to be down. During Round #2 of chemo The Day was always Wednesday. Well, now we're going to shake it up. The Day is now Tuesday. This way we know a day ahead of time whether I will be able to receive chemo. This week it's Monday because of Turkey day. It turns out, because of some problematic numbers I haven't been able to get chemo in weeks.

My last day of the juice was Nov. 1st. The next week was bad. I had fevers and my white blood cells were dangerously low. I think they're supposed to be like 1500 and mine were 10. You don't have to be a math genius to realize that is bad.

The week after that the red and white blood cells were fine but those damn platelets were low. Supposed to be 100 to receive chemo, mine were 33. But let's face it, a 33 is pretty good compared to my all time low of 6. Gotta focus on the glass half full.

Let's review the most important number though, the beta hCG.
Nov 1. - 10
Nov. 6 - 5.9
Nov. 13 - 5.3
Nov. 19th - Today - 4.5

Eeking ever so close to the magic "less than 2." And all of those small drops were with no chemo. Chris had even prepared me for a jump this week, saying without chemo for 19 days there was a good chance the # would rise. It's always good to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Today's 4.5 was a nice surprise.

Here's the plan: chemo in the hospital Tuesday and Wednesday this week. That way I can be out of the hospital for Thanksgiving. Chris is still off of work for another week. I think he's finally back to himself again. It takes about a week to shake off the stress of work and usually that's when he has to go back. He hasn't shaken off the stress of his wife with cancer, but it's nice to be able to focus on one thing at a time. And right now that's me. I'm so blessed to have him and for him to be part of an office that's so wonderful, helpful and caring in true times of need. Chris and I can only hope to repay the debt we've racked up at his office and my office.

I've had such a wonderful flux of visitors and loved ones. I would of course much rather have them to Lancaster to go out and wine them and dine them. However, it turns out that sitting on the couch in your pj's and talking non-stop worked out just perfectly for Katie and Jesse. It goes to show you those high school bonds can still mean a lot - even 15+ years later when you have cancer.

My sister Ashley and  her husband Arty arrive tomorrow and I'm so thrilled to see them! I will be one day post chemo on Thanksgiving so I'm not going anywhere - not leaving this house - might not leave my bed except for the turkey part. So Arty, my chef/brother-in-law, will cook the feast for us! What a treat! He also agreed to put up our Christmas lights outside. It's something he doesn't get to do in Florida - unless it's a palm tree. And it's something I just simply wouldn't be able to do this year, period. It's a perfect fit!

It really does take a village to beat cancer. I might be the village idiot, but thanks to all the other villagers, I'm going to be just fine.