Back home.. finally!

Well back home, now..so let me close out this week and bring you up to speed.

Pretty much spent the last 3 days in the hospital bed with an on again, off again fever. At times I would feel pretty much normal, and then there were times when it would spike back up to 102.6 and I was fighting the chills, only to be dripping wet with sweat an hour later.

My Immune system was still crashed out on Wed with only 800 cell/microliter. And I got my first Neupogen injection on Wednesday. For those not aware, Neupogen is the commercial name for Filgrastim, which is a human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), produced by recombinant DNA technology. G-CSF is is a colony-stimulating factor hormone, naturally produced in the body. It is a glycoprotein, growth factor or cytokine produced by a number of different tissues to stimulate the bone marrow to produce granulocytes and stem cells. G-CSF then stimulates the bone marrow to release them into the blood. It also stimulates the survival, proliferation, differentiation, and function of neutrophil precursors and mature neutrophils.

So why is this important.. because neutrophils are a key component of your bodies first line of defense against any infection. They are very quick responders and non specific (ie they don't care what it is, they will fight and attack any foreign cell, bacteria, virus, etc.) Later your T & B cells (Lymphocytes) get involved and produced specific antibodies against specific infections, but the neutrophils are almost always the first responders and a key ingredient in how your Immune System functions and protects you. Ok.. schools out for this post now *wink*

Suffice to say that my neutrophils were non existent when I was admitted. By Thursday morning my WBC count was up to 1400 cells/microliter, but the neutrophils were woefully absent, and the fever was still present, so I won the trifecta and had a third night in the hospital! Thursday also brought my lung function test and trip by wheel chair downstairs to the respiratory unit. Got to breath into the machine for about 30 minutes while they assessed how my lungs are doing. This is because the Bleomycin can cause a decrease in lung function, so they are keeping a close eye on things. Was good to get out the room for a bit, although have to say, after laying around for a few days, all that heavy breathing for the test sure made my diaphragm and other chest muscles sore, guess I need more practice with the heavy breathing! LOL Actually had some visitors on Thursday and it was great to have people come by and break the monotony of the hospital. Marn & my Mom have been great about being there, bring the girls, so that could Daddy was all right and giving me some time alone. It was just the right mix and very much appreciate everyone who came by, brought food, helped out, etc.

Last night, was a miserable night, as I got hit by a common side effect of Neuprogen (muscle spasms up my back from butt to my head.) This was a very rhythmic and painful thing to endure. Luckily the nurses/Doctors were on top of this and gave me some pain killers and muscle relaxers, and I got about 5-6 hours of good sleep, Marnie came to the hospital and spent the night with me. Someone mentioned taking ibuprofen, I can't take any NSAID's (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like Ibuprofen or Aleve (naproxen) because in my body they depress my platelets which are already low. So for me it's Tylenol (acetaminophen) or stronger drugs for pain management.

This morning my fever was gone, my WBC's were still climbing and some granulocytes (neutrophils) present again in my cell counts. So the Doctor released me and I came home were I watched a couple movies, had a most relaxing/refreshing bath to get rid of 4 days of hospital sweat, grime and funk! LOL Further proof that the chemo is working on killing things, has been my facial hair growth has slowed to almost nil, and today in the bath, left lots of hair from below in the tub, so my hair is starting to fall out! That was strange to see, and Marnie and I had a good laugh about things! Then I had a great 3 hour nap and dinner that Dave brought by this evening.

So someone asked how I'm doing emotionally/mentally with all this.. as they said my blog was more what was happening and seemed to be lacking the emotions at times. Well being admitted to the hospital scared me for sure and last night was miserable with the pain and muscle cramps. But over all I'm doing ok, I am just going day by day and trying to find the positive in all the stuff that is going on. I have had my moments of despair, tears and I'm lucky that Marnie has been there to hold me. Some else asked why I was not angry about all this.. and my simple answer is, while I have at moments expressed my frustration/even anger, my overall reaction to most things in life, is that energy is better spent in a more positive manner, especially when my energy is low. This is one of those that, that I could just waste energy being angry about.. or accept that it is what it is and move along using that energy to fight and over come this disease.

And thus it's back into the breach we go! Have a couple days to rest up and then start Round 2 of Chemo Therapy on Monday. Am glad to be home and thank everyone for what they have/continue to do for me during this time.