Breaking Free ? Myra's Culinary Skills Sweetens The Load.

 
 

Today was what I call my D-Day, or should I say C-Day, where I present myself to my medical team in the Bons Secour Oncology Department for my chemotherapy. Within 10 minutes of arriving I have my customary bloods taken from me. Amongst other things, they need to check my white blood cell count. It's these fellas in your body that fight infections. BUT it's also these fellas that chemotherapy destroys. Drop below a score of 1 and the body has lost its ability to fight off infection. This morning my white cell buddies produced a score of 0.5. So if Chemotherapy is given with this level of score (and I just told you it kills more cells after each dose), it puts me directly in line to pick up any infection that's in my vicinity. The end result for me today was no treatment.
Disappointed, only but for my Ballooning experience, No! but more about that analogy later in this blog.
In essence what has happened is that my chemo has killed these white blood cells off and as for the back up? Well, the replacements are on the way, but because of the high dose I am on, they haven't all arrived yet. 

My Oncologist Dr. Breathnach looked me in the eye and asked "Are you disappointed Aidan"
I immediately retorted with the analogy I draw between this battle and my ballooning. 
I explained to the Doc how sometimes I may plan a whole flight, drive 15/20km dragging my crew with me, probably (at least) half inflate the balloon, then with a sudden and unforecasted change in meteorological conditions, I make the decision to abort the whole flight and then spend the next hour packing the whole kit away. 
Giving this background, I could see I was making sense to Dr. Breathnach, just as he was to me. We both smiled and nodded in mutual agreement with each other. My balloon had just landed in his mind. 


To fix this and to get my white blood cells to turn up in full,  the resolution is to put all my Chemo on hold so as to allow these good guys arrive and in the numbers they are needed. So I am chemo free for the next seven days to facilitate this. 


So what does this mean for me?

To be honest (and this blog reeks of that), it's like been set free from handcuffs temporarily, and then as you begin to enjoy your newfound freedom, SNAP/CLICK, they are latched back on again.  
You see, today is the first day in 2 months I have been free of the dreaded side affects. No tiredness, no weakness, no emotional turmoil, no ice crystals in the back of my throat. 

Yes, it's a welcome break, and to be fair, probably one that's needed. But I have to think of the longer term. 
I have to face the music next week, and I'll be going from chemo free to full dose. I want and hey, need to be able to deal with this next week. In the interim, as I'm now in pole position to catch any infection that's going out there, it's vital I stay well clear of enclosed public spaces, surgery waiting rooms, meeting rooms, hospitals, airline cabins and so on. 

 
On the Chemo Chair this morning with Chocolate Orange Scones and a Latte. 

My only consolation this morning was the tasty and yummy chocolate orange scones and latte I got served in my Chemo chair while awaiting for the return of my blood results. 
All served up by my best buddy in the Bons..... 'Myra'

See my post:
'All Go at checkup and Mrs Doyle says Go On, Go On, Go On...' posted 23rd November 2016.

I told Myra today of her new found fame on my blog. Moira is now the proud owner and wearer of one of my AidanMurphy.com lapel pins, and if I may say so, richly deserved too. I said it here before and I'll say it again, every hospital oncology department needs a Moira, and the Bons Secour has there's !


 


"Every hospital oncology department needs a Myra and the Bons Secour has there's". 

© Murf 2016. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 

Temperature checks twice a day is the new norm. 


So for the next 7 days, I must check my temperature twice every day. I must stay within the 36c range. Any upward deviation from this and I must call the hospital immediately. Any infection I get I'm told will necessitate a few days in hospital as it can only be fought by IV fed meds. So as you can appreciate, if you are a friend or colleague of mine and do intend to drop in to me here at home to say hello, please ensure you are infection free but ALSO that you are coming from a near environment this is also infection free. I know this all sounds anti-hospitable, but it's all for good reason, as just explained. 



So I'm Chemo free for  this week. 

I'll take that !!


It all starts again next week though. 

C'mon my little white blood cells, come to Daddy. 

I NEED YOU !! Lets nail this f#cker !!




As always, thanks so much for reading my blog. 

 




 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Image
Sounds like the action-packed wording from a popular music track, yes that one, the  twelve bar blues-form song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone under his assumed songwriting name, Charles E. Calhoun. Not to confuse you, yes, it was recorded most  successfully by Bill Haley & His Comets. But my comparison has nothing to do with a lively fun dance track, rather instead to be shaked, rattled and rolled in an unpleasant physical way. I have been missing quiet a bit from my usual social media haunts of late and these three words of Shake, Rattle and Roll from an inconvenient truth as to why. As I’m sure you are aware, when you get blasted by Chemo, that blast can be wearing a wide angled lens. In my situation, part of my bowel got caught up in the crossfire. This of course creates a huge discomfort for me and of course, destroys that golden crumb piece of appetite I try desperately to hold on to, which in turn gives me the firepower to deal with my ongoing Chemotherapy.  The resolution
Read more

A good mannered daughter, holding the hammer and a limerick pops up.

Image
Aoife, aged 2.  Her first words were 'Ta-Ta' Just over 7 years ago, the above photograph was taken. Alison my wife is my hero and always will be, no question, but Aoife is the apple of my eye, no contest.  I know the next bit might, OK 'does' sound totally biased but I can assure you (and those that know us both will testify) as an only child, we do not have Aoife spoilt and when we are out, be it ballooning, in a friends house, out shopping or meeting people for the first time, it gets remarked on more than often,  how mannerly our little Miss is. I can only accept 33% of the blame here. From day 1, myself and Alison would gently but routinely massage the manners in to Aoife. For the first 2 years it was just  "What do ya say Aoife? Say Ta-Ta"  and we moved on from there. So that's 66%, where's the other 33%? ... ..It's Aoife ! You can bring a horse to water but can't make it drink. That works for kids as well as horses by the way lol. I'm
Read more

The magic of Mondovi with the Spirit of Saint Pio.

Image
St. Pio in flight, Mondovi, Italy.  Photo: Wendy Tree I’m home a week from this amazing trip and thru sleeps, missed calls and timings, myself and my partner in Ballooning in Mondovi, Sir Andrew of Blagdon, we keep missing each other. Like ships in the night ? More like hot air balloons in the day I thought. So calling Andy yesterday, going to his voice mail (he was out shooting game on his estate, as one does), after the beep,  my words ‘Thank You’ had just vibrated from my vocal chords when I just burst into tears. I thought, after the wake of a few days, I had my mind settled, but it was having none of it. There was a balancing of sorts going on and I wasn’t allowed stop it. My tears, I’m pretty sure drowned out my sincerity of the Thank You, my main purpose of the call, not just for Andy, but for the entire Somerset crew who were all part of it , where heavily included to. Now, to my embarrassment, my emotive albeit tearful Thank You was committed to an answerphone.. eeek ! Friend
Read more