Monday 10-16-2006

We all got up and did the usual breakfast thing on the patio, I stabbed myself with a needle, and we just took it easy in the morning. The others went out for walks and what not while I continued on couch patrol. The worst part of this DVT is the limitation on activity. I was just starting to get back into moving around a bit and even regaining some muscle mass but now I will have to take it pretty easy for a while. Then once it resolves, I will have to regain the strength I lost from sitting for a few weeks just to get back to my present poor fitness level. Maybe if I complain enough that will at least exercise my mouth.

I am at the end of my week off and ready to go in for another infusion. The rash is clearing up pretty well on my face though my chest is still covered in acne. It has even gone around to my back which it the first time it has done that. I feel good as my energy is decent, I am sleeping well, my lungs feel pretty good, my weight is good, and my stool is fairly normal.

We decided to treat Eva's parents to the excitement of an infusion so they took me up to UCLA today. I was curious about my counts and suspected that after the week off my platelets were probably pretty high which probably contributed to the DVT formation. They were at 973,000. This was even after a couple days of blood thinners. My reds were a little low but still in the normal range and my whites were high but within the normal range. Because the rash was still so prevalent, Dr. Isacoff held off on the erbitux but we were good to go for the Gemzar, Irrinotecan and I will be back in tomorrow for the Cisplatin. The infusion went pretty well. I was the only patient back in the lounge so Eva and her folks hung out with me until Eva and her mother realized that they were dangerously low on shoes. They went off to rectify the situation while George kept me company for the rest of my infusion. In an effort to maintain my weight, Dr. Isacoff brought me some pastries that were left by some drug reps. Sort-of alternative therapy in addition to the chemo. Now there is a happy guy. Check out the leg wrap. This was sort of out impromptu solution until I got my stylish jobst stocking (the wrap and stocking just provide compression to the leg which help prevent new clots from forming and helps the clots that are present resolve).

The office staff at Dr. Isacoff's office have really become quite a big part of my life recently and this picture was so cute that I had to throw it in. Everyone in the office is so kind and wonderful that I actually look forward to my infusions. I am sure I will eventually mention everyone in the office, but for now, here is one of the nurses in Dr. Isacoff's office, Allita, who happens to also have a gold medal (I figure that if Dr. Isacoff brags about her, I might as well be able to do the same) from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta (4x400 relay team). I just thought it was kind of cool to be tended to by a gold medalist. Aside from being an incredible athlete she is just a wonderful person, always has a smile on her face, and a really great attitude. I also thought Sony was adorable as he was looking out the window (just think ewok).

After the infusion, Eva, Eva's parents, and I went back to the apartment. I hung out on the couch and they went out for a bite at 3rd stop (the local pub). I felt a little wasted but pretty good for an infusion day and begun my hydration regimen to prepare for tomorrow. Everything was fine but it was a little tight with 4 people in our studio plus.
-TN