Monday, August 7th, 2017 Baltimore, Maryland A day in the life of a radiation targetMy radiotherapy regimen has required two treatments per day, one at 8:40am and another at 4:00pm. This has produced a daily schedule for us that looks like this:
In short, it's all about zapping and napping with an occasional meal thrown in. Alison, of course, has been serving in the all-purpose role of driver, cooker, medication dispenser, gentle nudger (get your irradiated butt out of bed; you've been sleeping all day long) and sleepmate. We're a good team. We fell a tad shortThe plan was for 10 of those days described above, but we fell short just a bit. After eight of them, my platelet count fell low enough (16 compared to a normal range of 150-450) that it was unsafe to continue (since radiation can depress your platelet count further). As for why platelets are important, that's an easy one: they are the cells that cause your blood to clot when you are bleeding. You can imagine the outcome if you start bleeding and can't stop it. If you are curious about how platelets do their job, you can read about the overall process of hemostatis (how the body stops bleeding). What's next?In short, a lot of advanced testing in preparation for the transplant (currently scheduled for Friday, September 1st). The general idea is to make sure that aside from your underlying medical condition that requires the transplant, you are otherwise in sufficiently good health to survive the rigors of the transplant process. So, the unspoken implication is that the testing might turn up a "no go" result from one of those tests. Where would a "no go" result lead? Good question. I haven't asked and don't need to know at this point. I consider it counter-productive to wander too far down the decision tree. The alphabet song
PicturesHere are some photos that we've either taken or collected in the last week. Tidbit
7 Comments
Linda
8/8/2017 05:11:07 pm
Love the video! Praying that you get rested and strong enough for the transplant. Thanks for keeping us up to date. :-)
Reply
Beth Davis
8/8/2017 06:26:28 pm
Keep the updates coming...so happy to know what is happenin' up there. We will be rooting for you and your team from here and hoping that the countdown to transplant day proceeds as planned. Love to you and to Alison <3 And the video....love it!! Couldn't be cuter!!
Reply
Cousin Hyman
8/8/2017 07:07:11 pm
Thanks for the update - we're all pushin' and prayin' for yah!
Reply
bev bley
8/8/2017 07:57:04 pm
Love to you and Alison. You are both so much in our thoughts and prayers. You both have so much courage.
Reply
Ronda ingersoll
8/8/2017 08:09:55 pm
Best alphabet song ever! Thinking of you both. I am glad you are surrounded by such love and care. Hope to see you soon. Xoxo
Reply
Karp Adele
8/12/2017 04:32:50 pm
Thinking of you both with hugs and love.
Reply
7/4/2018 07:31:28 am
I am hoping that you will find the healing that you need so that you will be able to live a happier and longer life. Radiation therapy is kind of full of process because it takes multiple session before it’s done. But I know that you can do it. You have a strong heart and mind that will determine your faith. You just have to keep on believing and then everything would be possible! Having the faith in a situation like this is indeed important.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Joshua GolubAn occasional blog about what's going on in our lives. Categories
All
A complete list of all of our blog posts, in chronological order.
If you subscribe, we will send you an email message whenever we post a new entry.
|