cancer

Tired, to say the least

Posted on by Dan

I’m forcing myself to stay upright for a little while, since my M.O. has been one of a horizontal position. The last couple of days have been a blur of sleep, vitals, blood work, mushy food, sleep, measuring pee, more sleep, and visitors (did I mention sleep?). My parents made the trek to be with me for awhile and my dad did the honors this afternoon of preemptively letting loose my mane. So, monkish I sit before this laptop, wrapped in white cotton.

Virginia has taken it upon herself to make sure I don’t lounge around in bed all day. We went for our first walk outside the room yesterday, but I made a quick retreat after seeing all manor of coughing and general illness in the public hallways. Hey, I might have roguish tendencies, but I’d rather err on the side of caution while my immune system performs a reboot. She’s also named my inspirometer Babar, and boy does he want to play all the freakin’ time.

Tonight will be the last bag of chemo for this first round (called induction), then it’s dealing with side effects (intended and unintended) and waiting for my white blood count to start to go up enough to leave.

That’s about all I’ve got energy for. Until next time… take a moment to breathe in some wonderful, outdoor, springtime air for me.

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Thank you (and update)

Posted on by Dan

Thank you for the well-wishes, prayers, good thoughts and vibes, and offers both on and off the interwebs. I’m beginning to more strongly believe that regardless of relationship, faith or even proximity the great pooling effect of all that thought and energy can provide a cushion of support upon which to rest. I am touched. I’ve also been encouranged to post updates on the blog (even if there isn’t always scratchcrafty goodness to include). So, I’ll do my best to provide you (and me) with a central spot of information (so I’m not sending out so many different versions of it in as many different e-mails or calls).

I will be spending the next month (the 1st in a series of at least three extended hospital stays) at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I was admitted Monday night (March 16), after a bone marrow biopsy (taken the same day) confirmed what the hematologist was suspecting with my blood results. Tuesday, after a sleepless night of vitals, bloodwork and enough plasma and other blood products to get my coagulation factors high enough to have a hickman line put in, they final were able to do that. Treatment for the leukemia actually started Monday night with the main drug ATRA (basically a high dose of Vitamin A). Chemo started on Tuesday and will run for a total of 7 days.

So far the side effects haven’t been too bothersome (although I’m told they don’t really start to hit until a week or so in). Until then, I’m doing my best to choke down the “wonderful” food they serve here and gain as much reserve energy in case I can’t eat much later on.

I’ll post some more later with a description (and photos) of my new home away from home. Knowing that my immune system is completely gone really puts the kibosh on getting out of the room, the hospital does provide some equipment to help wile away they days (including an in-room treadmill, this laptop I’m writing from, and other forms of electronic entertainment). My friends from work sent over a ton of books (thank you!), and I’ve already finished Kevin Kling’s The Dog Says How.

Thanks, again, for the outpouring of support. This is going to be a strange ride, but one which we’ll look back on not just with bewilderment, but also amazement and newfound strength.

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Adding unpleasantries to the mix

Posted on by Dan

Well, friends and readers, I’m a bit at a loss of words right now, but feel like I should at least start a note about the upcoming months. I was recently (like, 24 hours ago) diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia. I’m sending this note from my hospital room, where I will be confined for the next 4 weeks. The treatment, from what they’ve told me, is very good and has a 85-90% positive outcome. But, my stay will be confining (since I will be spending most of the time in a somewhat sealed room). I have plans to work on some knitting during this time, but I’m not sure how often I will be updating the blog. I’m not sure I want to turn this into a follow-Dan’s-health-blog, but this is such a huge thing for us right now, it didn’t seem right to not say anything. So keep us in your thoughts (especially Virginia, as she starts to pull super duty of housekeeper, supporter, caregiver and partner), and I’ll do my best to scratchcraft away the hours of recovery.

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