10/21/2009 - When Things Go Wrong

By God's grace, the second round of chemotherapy at the hospital went well with virtually no side effect except for mild cases of nausea. I went home as scheduled - yehey! When I got home, I was pleasantly surprised when relatives and friends brought delicious and nutritious food to us the next few days. Thank you, Tita Belen, Henry, Nora, Bessie and Cristina! I also received a package of Chinese herbs from my mom that Gina so graciously brought with her from Manila. Thanks, Gina! What a nice homecoming - I could feel the love!

The following day, I got my Neulasta shot at the doctor's office to help my blood count go up. Everything seemed normal, but when I had my blood tested a few days later, all the numbers were low, especially my platelets. It was 4! The normal range starts at 150. My platelets were doing the limbo - how low can you go?

The doctor wanted me to have a platelet transfusion as soon as possible. Although I did not really need a blood transfusion yet, the doctor though it will be a good idea just to have both at the same time. The transfusion should have been an outpatient procedure, but the soonest available slot was not until several days later. The fastest way to get a transfusion in this case was to be admitted to the hospital. Still, the soonest availability was 2 days later. In the meantime, a mouth sore started to develop on the side of my tongue - where it hits my teeth whenever I talk, chew, gargle, etc. Not a good thing!

October 17. Almost everything that could go wrong went wrong that day. I might have missed the notice that October 17 was the National Incompetence Day. As soon as I woke up that day, I had to deal with mistakes made by people who were responsible for my hospital stay and for informing me about it. When I got to the hospital, it didn't help that I got to see the other side of the Huntington Memorial Hospital. I stayed at the old wing of the hospital and got a room with a bed and chairs that were old and scratched, paint peeling off the wall, shower leaking, and of course, without a view. The room was not properly cleaned when I got there, and the bed was so uncomfortable they had to replace it middle of the night. When I complained about the bed, the maintenance person realized that it should have been taken out for repair! The nurse and aide were also in step with the Incompetence Day theme. With almost everything going wrong, I had to do a lot of talking with a growing canker sore on the side of my tongue (ouch!). October 17 was the day I was tested for patience. I wish that I could say that I passed the test with flying colors, but I failed miserably - test after test after test. As my husband put it nicely, patience has always been my Achilles heel. When will I learn to be patient?! Not soon enough! :-)

When things go wrong like they did on October 17, that was when I fully realized how blessed I was that things went so well the last couple of times I had my chemo at the hospital! I guess, sometimes it helps to go through bad times to fully appreciate what one had.

The canker sore has gotten worse since I left the hospital. As of yesterday, I could no longer eat solid food nor talk normally. My gums are tender and sore at night. They kept me awake the last 2 nights. I have a low grade fever and my throat is starting to hurt. I called my doctor this evening to see what can be done. According to the oncologist covering for my doctor tonight, this is about the time when I am susceptible to infections, so start taking antibiotics. Thanks for letting me know! And I thought I was doing so well after the second round of chemo. Lesson learned: chemo side effects can take weeks to unfold, so I should be more careful next time. I have another check-up with the doctor tomorrow. My blood count is likely going to be low again, so they tentatively booked a slot for me on Friday for outpatient blood transfusion.

Please pray that my blood count will go up so I won't be neutropenic anymore. Also pray that my mouth sore, gums and sore throat will heal quickly. They have been keeping me awake at night, that's why I am blogging at this time. I should have asked for your prayers sooner. It would be nice to have a good night's sleep, enjoy food and a regular conversation again! Please also pray that I will not catch any infection, especially flu. The flu season has started in America. So far, the doctor didn't want me to have flu shots because of my low blood count. Please pray that my family and I will not catch the flu, especially H1N1 (swine flu) that has started claiming lives here. I try to be careful and stay away from crowded places, but all it takes is one person to spread it to me or my family and on to me.

Please continue to pray for my complete healing, for my family and I to stay positive and happy throughout this journey, and for Robert and I to have peace with the decision on whether to have a bone marrow transplant. I think it will be better for me to have a bone marrow transplant, but Robert is not convinced that it is the better solution. Also please pray that if I were to have a bone marrow transplant, that they will be able to find a cell match for me as soon as possible.

Thank you once again for your prayers and for persevering with us through this journey. It means a lot to me and my family. I know this journey would have been a lot more difficult for us without your support. May God bless you and your family!