Tough News

I’ve been feeling pretty awful lately and its been getting progressively worse which is hard to admit.  Not being able to breathe is suffocating. At night the coughing is horrendous, making me sore and the lack of sleep painful. I do what is necessary and sleep. That’s it. 

I also had COVID which went into pneumonia so I was hopeful that after I finished the antibiotics, I’d feel better. Unfortunately that was not the case. 

Today was my oncology follow up after my scans last week so I started tracking my blood oxygen levels and sent them a summary of my concerns on Thursday hoping to get attention on the issue as I had raised this as a concern before Covid without success. Turns out, that wasn’t needed as they could see my levels were low during my routine vitals. They ended up walking me down the hall to confirm I was dropping into the mid-80s just walking around. So what does all that mean?

Let me introduce Hank, the oxygen machine that I am now hooked up to as I navigate my home. See all that tubing? It follows me wherever I go and there is enough to get everywhere. So no hide and seek for me…just follow the green line. Ugh!! I also have a travel version, Henrietta, that I’m just as excited about.

The main reason for my oncology visit today was to review the results of my scans. While the treatment did impact my bones positively, there is disease progression in the soft tissue which means my first line of treatment has failed overall. More wonderful news.

What all this means is that I’m now transitioning to IV chemo. I’ll have a port placed on Thursday and have my first infusion on Tuesday. New treatment means new hope, right? And it had better work so I can kick Hank and Henrietta out of my life.  A friend sent me this quote today that resonates…

Sails are adjusting and we’re trudging forward.

I am grateful to Uncle Tom for taking me to my appointment today. Dan is in Colorado with Tyler, which is exactly where I want him to be, and I didn’t want to be alone. He got to experience the whirlwind that is Roswell…phlebotomy, vitals, PA, onc, respiratory therapist, pharmacist and someone who referred to herself as the junk drawer. Her actual title is ‘Oncology Nurse Coordinator’ and she does all sorts of random things…hence, the junk drawer. So, thank you Uncle Tom for getting me through a very hard day.

Onward.