Wednesday, August 2, 2023

AUGUST 2nd. That shaky feeling the day after

 

Well yesterday got away from Kristina.  Like platelet transfusions there’s a sedative involved, but more this time.  There’s a preservative in the stem cell stew and they sedate you in case there are any reactions – so just as the transplant started, the sedatives took effect and, well, the rest of the day was pretty much lost in the fog.  She woke up and thought that it was 2:30 in the afternoon but the clock said 7:45pm.  The clock was right.  An odd, weird day.   But a good one with the long awaited transplant done.

This morning she reports that she’s feeling pretty good, but a bit shaky – stuttering and stumbling over words, not walking right, etc.  Largely it’s a repeat of her earlier 2 transplants.  She thinks that sensation is due to the antiemetics she’s taking – the drugs to combat nausea.  She’s frustrated by it, but she knows what’s coming – the delayed impact of the chemo. 

She’s expecting that by Saturday she’ll be laid pretty low by the after effects of chemo.

Today’s news:  Her Liver Enzymes shot up.  Way up.  They’ve shot up before, but not to this degree.  There may be some med related impacts.  Her doctor said it was like she went on a huge drinking binge last night.  Which she didn’t.  Or at least doesn’t recall (maybe yesterday’s singing nurses returned for a party?  Probably not).  A short term spike that’s med related isn’t a huge concern and the meds are being changed up to deal with it.  They are closely monitoring and hopefully they’ll go down in the next few days.  For now, it’s not a huge deal.

The short story is that all of this is largely ‘normal’ and things are going as expected – with the possible exception of the liver enzymes.  So for now, ‘so far, so good’, but by the end of the week or the weekend, she expects to be hit by the after effects of the chemo.

She’d love to have visitors.  Check in with her first (can’t have too many at one time) but in the formal language of one set of my grandparents, “She’s receiving visitors”.

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