The Final Stand - Day 36

Happy Monday!

I am in a much better mood today than I was yesterday. Today was my LAST chemo session... YAY!

Okay... lets slow down for a minute. I woke-up this morning still hacking up large globs of mucus. As I was doing so, I could sense a burning sensation radiating from both sides of my neck. Great! I now have burns nearly extending nearly all the way around my neck. Time to moisturize! Back to the mucus for a second... I noticed that the mucus became a lot more difficult to manage after having sipped some water. So, I decided I would try going without water through my mouth and only through my PEG. It helped! I cut down to only my medicated mouth rinse and swallowed water only to take down medications. My mucus production decreased a lot. Sure, I had to worry about dehydration, but as long as I continue to hydrate through my PEG, I should be okay. Trust me... having a slightly drier mouth is well worth not choking on mucus all day.

So, the burns are getting worse. I imagine by the end of the week, my neck will begin to blister and peel. That is the typical end stage for the skin burning. From what I hear, it is only painful if the skin is being irritated. As long as I keep it moisturized and protected from shirt rubs, I should be good-to-go. My neck is also very swollen right now. The burning has caused a lot of liquid to build-up, which is to be expected. I will hold off lymphedema treatments until my skin is safe to touch.

The dark area covering my lower neck on the left side is the most severe.

Today was another long day. I had both radiation and chemo. My radiation appointments have been moved up to 11:40 instead of 12:20, so Jess and I had to adjust our schedules. It really threw off my feeding schedule. I lost forty minutes between my morning feedings. I didn't have my typical hunger feeling when I sat down to syringe my second feeding. Oh well... radiation is almost over.

My radiation appointment went well. We didn't have to wait long before I was called back. The nurses could see I had taken a turn for the worse over the weekend. They made me feel a little better by laying on the sympathy; their genuine sense of caring help lift my spirits. You know what else lifted my spirits? The fact I only have six more radiation treatments scheduled!

Chemotherapy went extremely well today... other than having a couple veins blown by an over-confident nurse. To be honest... it was slightly bittersweet. My medical oncologist and her team have been very helpful throughout this entire ordeal. It's kinda sad knowing that our time together is coming to an end. A good end, but and end regardless.

I was okayed for my final treatment. For the first time since this starting chemo, my blood showed signs of being impacted by the chemo poison. My white blood cell count was still high, which is a miracle according to my doctor. But, my platelets have decreased a bit. Normally, they would be around 150,000. Mine were at 140,000ish. Oncologists can continue giving chemo at 70,000 and its not uncommon to see people tank lower than 50,000. So, I have nothing to worry about. I'm still a freak of nature; immune to chemo.

The pod I was assigned to was a full house. I took the last of four treatment chairs. This was unusual considering I am usually by myself. The nurse assigned to my pod was very busy with the other patients in the room. Two of the patients were on oxygen. Each of them had issues keeping their oxygen saturation within acceptable levels. The lady had to be taken to the Emergency Room, so while I was receiving my infusion, I got to watch the medics from Tucson Fire go to work. My nurse was so overwhelmed that she got over-confident when trying to establish an IV. She saw big veins... ignoring my warning that although big, they were full of valves. She blew two of my veins before asking another nurse to step-in. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but when you're receiving chemo, you bruise a lot easier. Not only that, the bruises are often times painful to the touch. I've had some bruises take as long as three weeks to heal.

   The bruise on the left portion of my hand is over two weeks old. It is still tender!

Crazy! But, you know what? This was my last chemo infusion for this treatment cycle. I will receive some small does chemo infusions every three months for a year, but that stuff was rookie stuff compared to the Cisplatin. Those additional infusions are required as part of the clinical trial I agreed too.

Compared to yesterday, today was leaps and bounds better. A lot of it has to do with the support I receive from you... the readers. Many of you reached out to me, and believe me... it helps my mental wellness greatly. So, thank you. From the bottom of my heart... thank you! There is a reason why the Air Force included social wellness as one of the major pillars for resiliency. Have a good cheer squad is critical when dealing with one of life's greatest adversities.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but for now... I will bask in today's wins!