Not the update I was planning to share
I got up at 4:45 this morning and did my normal morning routine, including working out and walking around the neighborhood. I thought going down to the beach might be a little stressful instead of relaxing since I needed to be at Zimmer Cancer Center by 8 am for my pre-infusion appointment with Dr. Robinson who had been on vacation last week.
I had even mentioned to Rick before leaving, “You know, Dr. Robinson is the one who will prescribe my chemo today. If he’s not comfortable with my platelets being at 91, there’s a possibility he will want to defer treatment again.” So I wasn’t surprised when Dr. Robinson suggested we do blood work again before starting the infusion, just to make sure my platelets had not gone down any further.
That was a wise choice because they had, and now my result was well below the acceptable range for treatment. Low platelets can put a person at risk for uncontrolled bleeding, both after an injury or spontaneous internal bleeding that might come without obvious external signs.
So even though Crystal had driven down from Durham and we were ready to go with cold capping and even though my port had been accessed, Round 2 of chemo has been delayed again . . . this time for two weeks. We are going to try again on April 27.
But before that scheduled infusion, Dr. Robinson has asked me to come back on Thursday for more labs and an office visit because we really don’t want these platelet numbers to get critically low. There’s a good possibility I will need an injection called Nplate,a platelet booster that works with your body to create more platelets.
In good news, I still have my hair, though it has thinned some. Dr. Robinson said most people have lost all their hair by this point, so Penguin Cold Capping does seem to be working for me!
A friend just asked me what I thought was going on. I told her I like to believe I’ve maintained my body well, like a fine motor vehicle that’s been running on top-tier fuel, and it doesn’t like the fact that someone put old-school leaded gasoline in the tank. 😂
Again I am reminded of Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”
