Skip to main content

Fuck you, Dmitry

Last night I had a number of special guests show up at my crib here in 5 north at the Denver VA hospital. Dear Olie brought me the pumpkin pie I'd been fantasizing about, and I've had a slice for every meal since. And thanks to my very talented cousin-ish Sara, my room is really in top form. One of the nurses peeked her head in my door and said "Oh, your room is so welcoming!" I thought that was funny because right now the first thing you see when you walk in is Johnny Cash flipping you off. :D

perfection

Today I started my last bag of Cytarabine, and should be disconnected from Dmitry for the foreseeable future tomorrow midday. Hopefully that means the side effects from this crappy crap shit will abate. The worst right now is the swelling. I think it gets a lot worse for some people, but right now I feel like I have bags of water hanging from my midsection. I can't even wipe myself the way I used to because it's so much harder to bend. And when I walk around my knees and thighs feel huge. One more day! That is great news, but it's not the only good news I got today. The test results from the samples taken from my last lumbar puncture came back clear. And no sign of leukemia cells were seen in my eye exam today. So Dr. Bowles is inclined to discontinue the twice weekly lumbar punctures under the assumption that my CNS is free from AML. Hooray!

(real) Dmitry, Brent, Olie, Sara, and Chris <3
Thank you for visiting and making me feel supported. I wanted to squeeze it in before the worst started. Thankfully, my hemoglobin was holding steady today and I didn't need a blood transfusion. But Drs. Patil and Bowles let me know that most people end up on antibiotics during this next phase. I guess the immunity in my gut might not be strong enough to keep the bad stuff out, so I'm keeping an eye on my temperature.

That and every random little bodily function. I got scared for a minute today when I thought I was peeing blood, but luckily it might be coming from some other place. I will definitely let you know if it does turn out to be pee blood, because that is really something special.

Ok random question, since I go through my day contemplating the necessity of certain precautions. If you had cancer, what kinds of things would you stop doing? Would you stop wearing a seatbelt? Flossing? Wearing shower shoes?

smiling Brent :)

Comments

  1. Rachel LewisAugust 29, 2017 at 5:42 PM

    Looking at calories like, ever.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 30, 2017 at 6:40 AM

    I like that bit of great news in there! And to answer your question, if I got cancer, I would quit caring about having "too many" cats...or rather, I wouldn't listen to Chris when he told me "no, you can not have any more cats." I would have all of the cats, and no one could stop me from that mission.

    ReplyDelete
  3. acbAugust 30, 2017 at 7:52 AM

    I'd like to keep flossing but punch more (scary jerks) and street harassers. Too much?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Elizabeth JohansenAugust 30, 2017 at 3:14 PM

    So great to see Brent!! I would double up on my seat belt, and get tooth implants so I don't have to floss. Though I do like extra wide floss, so I might miss flossing because it is so productive when you go extra wide.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Zach MmmMmm ChocolateAugust 31, 2017 at 11:53 AM

    Blow my 401k on cryptocurrencies. Play the odds. Maybe single-handedly kickstart the next big thing.

    Stop paying taxes in general?

    Eat Taco Bell for once

    Eat long pig for once



    Zzz

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Taking drugs is a full time job

It almost feels like I never left. After a week at UC Health, and a glorious ten days at home, I'm back at the VA for take three of chemo. I'm at the point where I feel almost recovered from the last two rounds. I can walk at a fairly normal pace, I can climb stairs without feeling (abnormally) out of breath, and my guts aren't constantly in a twist. I even had a beer with coworkers on Friday. It was really nice to see everyone, and I was pretty much my old self. So it seems a shame to put more poison in my body and fall back into the sick zone. I know in about a week I'll be feeling pretty shitty, so I don't know what kind of Halloween costume I'll be able to pull off. Any suggestions? This round of chemo is called GCLAM: three days of Mitoxantrone, and five days of Cytarabine and Cladribine. I also get shots of Filgrastim to stimulate my bone marrow to produce more white blood cells. Hopefully this will help lessen the blow of the other drugs, my cell count...
6 comments
Read more

Transfusion

I didn't know I could get so excited about blood products being injected into my body. But the days of anticipation paid off and I finally got a transfusion yesterday. It was a little nerve wracking signing the waiver when they told me the odds of contracting hepatitis or HIV, but then I remembered the other odds they gave me, so I said fuck it. I got two units of red blood cells and two units of platelets. It's pretty interesting how they have all the blood components separated out. I guess blood used for transfusions like this is specially filtered and irradiated so I don't get anything, like white blood cells, that would be bad for me. fresh blood It took hours to get it all in there. It gave me a metallic taste, but after a while I felt a little more alive. I could take a deeper breath, walk outside with Brent, and eat food. Hospital food even. Though, I much preferred the strawberry banana smoothie Brent brought for me. That tasted a lot better than blood. I...
1 comment
Read more

Sarah Lobser - January 23rd 1980 - April 26th 2018

This is a link to a shared photo gallery, please add your own! https://photos.app.goo.gl/9VvG4uLed9lvU6o62 Sarah Lobser passed away peacefully in the evening surrounded by friends and loved ones after a multi-day celebration with many happy moments. Her sense of humor shone through to the very end and her life and spirit will continue to be an inspiration. Sarah gave us the gift of bringing all of us together. All of your comments on this blog kept her spirits up through this long, difficult time. If you are so inclined to help others in need, please sign up to be a bone marrow donor or donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and of course, add your photos to the shared gallery. Much Love, The Lobsers
12 comments
Read more