Of Blood and Spleens…

Got my first blown vein Tuesday… can we say ‘April gets her blood taken too much’? I know it is not an unusual thing to have happen but…it was weird…you get a big bubble of blood under your skin and then it is bruised for a while…isn’t it pretty?the doctors appointment was…interesting, I guess…Dr. M discussed with Dr. R (the hematologist/oncologist from IU) my blood test results…they decided that the higher numbers are probably due to the hemolytic anemia and not the lymphoma…Dr. M said that what is happening is not something typically associated with remission…that this anemia stuff isn’t related…so, from what I understand (which isn’t much) this may or may not have happened whether I had gotten cancer or not…he is going to keep an eye on my numbers (ie; blood work every other day) and most likely start me on the crazy high dose of steroids again early next week…LUCKY ME! side-effects heaven on my week off…He said that it would be a few weeks of keeping an eye on my blood counts to see if getting my spleen removed is what is required…IF they can do it laparoscopically I would be in the hospital for two days and then the recovery time…because of my weight they may have to take it out by opening me up…that would require longer in the hospital a week of rest and then being careful for a while…My recent CT scan came back clean…no signs of lymphnodes…but it did show an enlarged spleen…I get my PET scan Saturday morning at 7:45…I am NOT going to get much sleep that day…I have to kill an hour and a half between getting off work at 6 and my appointment then it will probably be 11 before I get done…then I get the privilege of going home and trying to sleep…before going back to work at 6…but I’m not complaining…nope, not me…I’m pleasant…heck…I’m even cheerful when I don’t get enough sleep…this is Wednesday, and it feels like the week is going so very slowly…I had three people at the cancer center tell me I looked really tired…I guess it is showing…I guess I am not trying hard enough to hide it…the house I am in right now is more physically demanding than I am used to…I have to get the client up every two hours to use the restroom (she is in a wheelchair, but is able with a little help move herself from place to place)…and the entire house is linoleum, which is a bear to sweep/mop…my back and neck ache for the first time in over a year…and tonight she did not want to sleep….I also asked the doctor if I was still going to get a month of radiation and he said it was on hold for a while…but I will probably still be getting it after the anemia stuff is figured out…hey! did you catch how casually I threw the word REMISSION in there? Yeah, that is how the doctor said it…just in the middle of conversation, like I already knew this information…I didn’t know I WAS in remission…you would think that is something that would be more formally discussed…not so sure how I feel about it…I am going to see him next Thursday to discuss my blood counts and the results of the PET scan so I will be sure to more pointedly discuss this Rword he just so casually threw around…and if it is a concrete thing or not…

Amy said…Wow, April, thanks for the update! I had been wondering about your PET scan. I had an earlier date written in my prayer journal. I guess they ended up pushing it back. I have been wondering how you are doing this week and continue to lift you up in prayer daily.JoyAnne said…Wow, Remission. That’s fab! You’re near the top of the mountain, keep climbing lady!