SLO Doc visit

I go to see my SLO doctor this morning, just to say Here I am. He tells me I look pretty dang healthy. We go over all that has transpired. He does not like the Elspar reaction, and thinks we should look for an alternate. There is more vincristine and elspar coming in round 2, but the other drugs in round 2 are nothing compared to danarubicin and vincristine so I should have no problem sucking it all in. I ask if I will be able to shoot in the 70s at golf, he says sure, and I say Great, I never could before!
Realistically, golf is out until 2006 because of the PICC line and I already know that.

He thinks the sleepiness/fatigue and the gas bomb in my gut are from the Elspar and will dissipate in a few days. He is also surprised that they didn’t show Dana how to flush my PICC line; it’s really a shame because I know how much she was looking forward to doing that. When the doctor and I are done they send me down for some blood tests, just to check my numbers.



This little old lady comes into the blood lab waiting area. She has a walker and her husband has a walker, she is about 4’10” and has long gray hair. She looks to me like a retired good witch. They call me into the blood lab, which is a 15’ square room with five stations for taking blood. They call in the little old gray-haired lady and she sits down at the station next to me. They start asking blood lab questions. They ask the old woman her birthday, and she says October 4 1922. She is 83. They ask, Have you been pregnant in the last 3 months? We all have a big laugh at that one.

The tech will not take blood thru the PICC line, they tell me they have to check me in through ER to do that, a RN has to do PICC draws, and I say forget it, just jab me the old fashioned way, which a blood lab tech can do. I thought the PICC line made things easy? Some bureaucratic madness?


Young John pointed out to me this am that I have lost all the hair on my right calf, and some on my left. Must be because I cross my right leg over the top when I sit on the couch. I am going to find the spot this afternoon for the tripod camera shot, and every day take some pictures of the changes in my body. This will be gross but scientifically or empirically interesting. I would think over time you could watch a time lapse of my hair falling out everywhere, and maybe my left arm shriveling and right arm growing, and stomach going in and out, and who knows what else. I don’t think I will post these photos, you can all breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe not until they show something interesting.

I volunteered to work at Hospice of SLO this morning; sent them an email and said here I sit with time on my hands. They are a volunteer group that offers bereavement counselling services to individuals and families. I must admit I have a little trepidation about volunteering for such service. I haven’t really had to deal with much grief or death, and in fact only recently remarked that (knock on wood etc.) I sure seemed lucky in not being dealt a lot of the tragedy that many seem to suffer. My dad died at 82, my Mom is fine, all my siblings are fine. They say if you look around the poker table and you can’t ID the sucker, you’re the sucker. Let’s hope the fact I have leukemia is the tragedy. Anyways, I have some fears about trying to help somebody that is dealing with death and dying, but I figure I need to pay this forward and hopefully not need it. Maybe I can learn a thing or two also.

Doctor just called and says I need some blood; my hemoglobins are back down to below 8, which is the expected result from the chemo. He schedules some blood for Wednesday, and I will have to lay low tomorrow.

Website of the day, this rocks, from Lisa S., thanks Lisa
http://www.monobrow.com/monobro/bro-48.shtml

I went into the garage at 6am to throw the load from the washer into the dryer, as today is laundry day. When you have kids you know that you have to check the pockets when you do laundry, or else you melt the chapstick on the wife’s nice new pants. I throw all the money and other stuff in a pile on the dryer. I happen to glance over at the miscellany pile and what do I see? Angels. Four angels. These were not here when I left 4 weeks ago. They must be a cosmic message. Hence, today’s Eyebrow Lowbrow. (Dana just ruined this for me and told me these are Cupids. Dang. Well Cupids are OK I guess.)