the waiting game

So this week has been a waiting game. Once the chemo was done, soaked in and then kicked back out by the kidneys, you wait to see what side effect treats are come along. You also wait for the white cells to fall out the bottom tank, and then for them to obediently return a good while later. Well they bottomed out very successfully by Tuesday - zero point zero. "you just can't get more zero than that man" would be a Spinal Tap style explanation of the enormity of their smallness! At the same time my platelets which had spectacularly soared to 617 last Friday had been shot down in flames to 16. So Tuesday night I had a platelet transfusion, a wee top up if you like, to keep enough corks in the bloodstream. I felt sorry for them, after they'd done such a grand job of catching up.
My mouth started breaking up again from Monday. I could feel the skin going from under the tongue and round the sides. Nothing like as severe as before, at least yet. You just don't know what to expect next with chemo side effects, which ones and exactly when, but you do know when they arrive.
I think one of the main effects this time is tiredness. Although I have been charging up the stairs for exercise this week. It is just so good not being attached ot the drip stand all day! So my stair challenge is from the basement to above ward 17, 5 stories! 3 times on Monday, two on Tuesday. Three again Wednesday, and thurs and once friday (kinda lost the ball today). Not much by normal standards but definitely all my body seems interested in.
Later Wednesday I was given 3 bags of blood, as red cells had now dropped to 76 (yes another armful!). That was enough to kick the platelets up to 38 and reds to 110, which is low but fine enough. I foolishly recorded a brief high temperature on weds. "Stupid boy!" in a Mannering voice i was thinking to myself, as i knew what was coming next: a plethora of blood tests and two sets of IV antibiotics, just in case. The temperature only lasted a couple of hours and have been fine since, dooh! Weds blood count: whites still zero, as expected. Docs recon this should be the worse week, but may not rise for a week or more.
So Thursday, fever calmed down, so back to old routine - up n down the stairs a few times, sleep, same old waiting game. However all was not the same, I did not realise until today (Friday) as i forgot to ask the docs, but bizarrely my white cells have started to recover! The total white count was up to 0.8 and neuts were 0.5. I was told this unexpected news on the ward round today and it is just brilliant. As if it continues, which we shall find out from the next blood test in the morning, it means two things: stage three of my therapy could possibly start by the end of next week, and, I could get another home pass!

Oh yes the other main thing I've been up to this week is trying to eat as much as possible! To anyone in a normal situation this must sound stupidly easy, but gaining weight after losing 16 pound in 12 days is proving to be harder than I expected. I think I have it cracked now, but it is a shame I am stuffing down anything (mainly hospital canteen provided) to put on weight and not even tasting it (my taste buds are very much dulled, with no salt whatsoever!). And yes those NHS sprouts still keep coming up high on the leader board of nice "tastes"!

So tomorrow hoping for an end to the antibiotics, and a very good blood test :)