I'm Falling for You....(but not in a good way)

So we got thrown a little curveball this weekend.  

Treatment last week on Thursday went seemingly well.  Labs were normal.

Then on Saturday night, I started having hematuria (blood in my urine).  I called my oncologist on call and they said to observe it over the weekend, sometimes it just occurs without a definite cause, but resolves on its own.  Sunday, my urine color improved, and the bleeding seemed to be getting better.

Monday morning, I didn't feel great but I blamed it on the post-treatment slump that hangs around for a few days.  Jason and I began our usual morning routine where I go to the bathroom, get dressed, get ready to start the day.  Except when I moved from the wheelchair to the toilet, I was lightheaded and passed out.  Jason moved me to the floor and stayed with me until I came to, and we decided to call the squad to take me to the hospital.

So Monday, What I believed would be a 23 hour observation, turned into 5 days in the hospital, receiving various blood products (blood transfusion x 3 units, platelets x 4 units), IV fluids, a foley catheter, and prolonged observation.  Oh, and a few more bruises from my fainting episode.

My labs: WBC 1.06 (normal 5-20; risk of infection when low), hemoglobin 6.4 (normal 7+; when low, may be lightheaded, dizzy, short of breath), and platelets 5 (normal 100+; responsible for making clots to stop bleeding; when low, may have trouble stopping bleeding, risk of internal bleeding, risk of bleeding from things that ordinarily wouldn't make me bleed).  

My urine was dark dark red (almost purple) and had many clots in it, which meant they needed to run a continuous bladder infusion (CBI) so the catheter wouldn't clot off and become obstructed.

The urine color improved over the next 24 hours after the blood and platelet transfusions and CBI.  

So here we are, Friday. Everything moving in the right direction.  They topped me off with a unit of platelets this AM,  and I got discharged and came home late afternoon.  Home to my family.  Home to all my comfort items and my own bed(s).  Home to my pups. Home.

Asking for prayers that my blood counts rebound and stabilize so I can continue my treatments.  I've completed 1 cycle of immunotherapy, 6 cycles of chemo, and 2 rounds of radiation.  Dr. Gupta sees a chemo "vacation" in my future, so hopefully that will come soon.  

"No medicine cures what happiness cannot." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (Quote from my page-a-day calendar...I'm going to sprinkle some of these quotes into my blog posts because they are very positive and optimistic, and who can't use a little of both!?!?)

This is day 222.


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