neutrophils still low yesterday, so no chemo yet.
also no montana trip. maybe a couple days at the oregon coast instead, this weekend. (plan E.)
they’ll be re-testing her neutrophils monday (8/11). if they’re up, val will start chemo again tuesday.
if they’re still not up on their own, then val will start taking shots of something-that-starts-with-N to induce her bone marrow to squeeze out baby white blood cells a bit early, and boost her immune system back up into safe-for-chemo levels. the shots sound rather unpleasant and can have side effects of notable bone pain; plus, once a person starts them, she is stuck taking the shots for the rest of chemo. so we’re hoping her neutrophils will rebound on their own this week, and val’s planning to get lots of nourishment and sleep and relaxation to support her body in that effort.
but either way will be good, and chemo will resume tuesday.
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This is starting to push the limits of my visualization techniques (heh) but I am going to try to imagine great production of nue (hold on while I scroll up) neutrophils in Val’s microscopic universe. Little cartoon producers squeezing out little baby white blood cells that zip away to do good things and will make the shot unnecessary. Thanks for keeping us posted.
Bummer about the delay, the missed trip, and the possibility of a painful series of shots. Hope that in the next few days a multitude of neutrophils appears so that treatments will be back on schedule again.
If you go to the beach, breathe in lots of sea air and wiggle your feet in the sand. Find some seashells and sanity and come home feeling refreshed.