I am bedridden

I did not have such a good nights sleep as I had hoped, but this afternoon I managed a solid few hours and I am hopeful to catch up some more tonight. During the night I had a temperature spike (over 38), indicating my body thinks there is another infection. I was concerned, but since all the other observations were normal, including BP, the nurses told me not to worry. My temperature has stayed at this elevated level most of the day.

When the spike is detected, the nurses immediately take blood for a culture, to see if any new bacterium are present that the current antibiotic regime does not cover. We should get the results of this culture tomorrow. 

I have realised why my appetite has gone; it is because I have no saliva! Imagine every meal you eat dished up as a plate of soil. So I have caved to the enshakes model for both meals. Rose had some constructive ideas during her visit today, that I will also try.

Tomorrow I will finally get that last dose of Rituximab that was due on Tuesday. They delayed it because it can lower BP. They have already started injecting me with stem cell growth hormone to regenerate the blood counts, which is the standard practice at the end of the first chemotherapy cycle. In other words, the chemotherapy schedule and fighting this infection do have some overlapping paths. Another plus is that I will slowly get some neutrophils of my own to fight future infections.

My focus at the moment is my bad leg. If I did not have this, life would be much more bearable. However as things stand I am bedridden, with all the discomfort and lack of dignity that goes with it. They sent me for an ultrasound of the leg to check for clots, none were found. I have a feeling that not much can be done until the fluid has drained a bit more, and legs/feet are the last places to go. However, since it affects my quality of life so much, I intend to keep nagging the doctors about it. I think they should redo the CT scan, and I will suggest it tomorrow.

It has been a good day for visitors. Rose came nice and early, and I was helped out of bed by a nurse and sat in the arm chair for most of her visit. This just gives the normal pressure points that support my body a break. Later on Andrew popped in. We met playing bridge, and have been playing on and off for over 25 years! I showed him the BridgeBaron. I think he liked it. Whilst Andrew was here, Babbs dropped in for a surprise visit.

Now everyone is gone, it is just me and the gammy leg! I am currently hooked up to some IV calcium, and when it is disconnected I will try and get some sleep.