Where did we leave off? Ah yes, Chemo #2.
Mrguy did pretty well on Day 1. You have to return to the clinic 46-48 hours after the infusion to have them disengage the Folfox pump they attach to you, which mrguy has nicknamed "The Weevil".
Photo on this page.
Then he was soooper tired, as well as shitting his little heart out. On Day 2 his temperature was spiking up and down. There are rules about when to call in for advice and when the temperature is high enough that you go to the hospital because you are having a neutropenic fever. Having been to the hospital 4 times in 6 weeks at that point we were NOT INTERESTED in going to the ER. But you can die from an infection if you have the fever, so that Friday was a bit of a nail biter. I asked non-doctors for advice. Mrguy was pretty adamant about not going to the hospital, and I finally calmed down. First, the fevers weren't going up and up. They were going up and down. Second, a friend said to check his personality changes (there were none) and third, I realized that if I took his temperature on the "pillow" side of his napping head it could be 103f and on the non-pillow side it could be 97f at the very same time.
Noted.
His weight is a concern. I had managed to get his weight up to about 175 before the treatment via Boost and lots of encouragement and because his appetite, which has been awful since December, has returned. But we couldn't keep the calories in with the relentless pooping. And it was making him feel gross and depressed. We are now experimenting with no Boost and more eating, supplemental fiber and engaged participation in the problem solving by mrguy. He's feeling much better. It's clear that at this moment the chemo is doing something, because post Day 5 he has more energy. He has done things that were not possible on February 18th -- feeding the cats, emptying cat boxes, bringing in the cans from the street. He should not be doing the cat boxes (again, neutropenic fever)
We even did a non-cancer adventure yesterday. The drive-thru car wash. Mrguy's car had not been driven in months, and when the pollen season hit, the pollen sat on his car and became a solid mess. So we went to UPS and to the car wash. For $5 you get the regular car wash. But for $2 more you get "tri-color foam".
Who would not want that? So good.
So the downside of the week is mrguy's eyesight. I took him to the optometrist, who diagnosed him with pappeledema, which is caused by intracranial pressure. Great! The neurologist is referring us to a neuro-opthalmologist. I will say that when we have done everything we can do and there is a thing happening in the future I feel like I can relax a bit. Also mrguy is so much better than he has been.
It feels hopeful even in the midst of the uncertainty.
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